Rockwater – The Ultimate Dining Destination in Hove

Prime Beachfront Location in Hove

This restaurant is situated in a prime location on the beachfront in Hove, overlooking the sea and beach, with plenty to watch and see. You’ll never want to leave. Rockwater is probably one of the most stunning restaurants we’ve been to in the UK.

Whether you fancy an early morning coffee and breakfast, pizza with the kids, cocktails at sunset or an extremely special dining experience of the freshest locally caught seafood, I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

Four Distinct Dining Areas

There are four dining areas at Rockwater:

The Shacks by the Shore serves coffees, soft drinks, pastries, ice cream and savoury snacks such as tacos, lobster and prawn rolls, premium hot dogs, and more—casual on-beach dining.
The Lodge serves hot and cold drinks including cocktails, spirits and wine, and delicious tasty pizzas.
The Bar & Kitchen has the most varied menu offering small plates, burgers, steaks, pizzas, beer-battered cod, buttermilk chicken and a whole heap of other tasty dishes, as well as a large wine and cocktail list.
The Roof Terrace—and this is where we dined as a family of four.

Our Roof Terrace Dining Experience

We were so lucky it was a beautiful sunny day, and we began our Rockwater Roof Terrace experience on the sea-facing second-floor terrace, where we sat on comfortable garden sofas with a selection of cocktails awaiting our table inside. The atmosphere was a perfectly relaxing space, busy and bustling with couples enjoying a romantic sunset, as well as groups just taking advantage of the superb view. I don’t think you’d ever get bored of it.

Following a good hour of taking photos and loving our pre-dinner cocktails, we were shown to our table inside, but it still felt outside as there were huge open doors leading onto that fab terrace.

The menu was mainly fish—quite simple but absolutely fantastic—including small plates such as dressed crab, burrata, tuna fillet, scallops, king prawns and oysters. We enjoyed several of these plates and shared them. We all agreed this was the perfect summer dining menu; it was all so fresh and light.

We were ready now to place orders for our next course, which comprised sharing platters. We chose De La Terre, a superb dish of watermelon tuna fillets, forbidden rice, dressed hearts of palm, lemon caper salsa and corn tortillas. We also chose the lobster, of course, served with fennel aioli, house salad and dill potato salad—the dressing was fabulous and perfectly complemented the stunning salad and lobster. Finally, we chose the short rib, an absolute treat prepared with pico de gallo, sour cream, avocado purée, house salad and delicate little round soft flour tortillas. Oh my word… The entire meal was superb.

Exceptional Service and Desserts

Mama, who runs the entire restaurant from top to bottom, is a stickler for the best and most impressive service. The team members are all great characters with huge personalities and amazing knowledge of the food and drinks menus, and the restaurant runs like clockwork, thanks to Mama—the most characterful of them all!

We couldn’t leave without sampling the desserts, so we asked Mama to surprise us as each dessert sounded so delicious, we couldn’t choose. We were treated to a tangy lemon and praline tart served with blueberry and lemon salsa, a dark chocolate Marcel served with white chocolate crumb, a berry cheesecake accompanied by champagne-infused strawberries and lastly a bombe royale presented with raspberry jus and mascarpone cream. Honestly, the selection was amazing; we couldn’t choose a favourite—they were all equally sublime.

We completed our evening back on the Roof Terrace where we had coffees and more cocktails.

Final Verdict

Without a doubt, I would highly recommend this restaurant. The entire experience was a good ten out of ten—sheer perfection from the location, team and décor to the ambiance, food and cocktails. When you’re next in Hove, don’t miss out—make sure to book a table and let them know the Luxuria team recommended you.