Pop in for a gingerbread latte and a mince pie

We're counting down to Christmas at The Laine Deli - and wondering when we'll find time to do our own Christmas shopping!

The North Laine area of Brighton is a great place to start; you'll find an exotic mix of kitch and classic in the collection of independent shops surrounding us.

Before your shopping trip begins, why not call in to the deli for a seasonal energy boost? With a mouthful of festive food - a mince pie, perhaps? - and a shot of gingerbread syrup in your latte, you'll be ready for the day. Or call in at lunchtime for a turkey and cranberry sandwich. Go on, treat yourself!

A last-minute Christmas party!

We know how it is. You're busy working... and all of a sudden it's Christmas!

If you've left it a little bit late to plan your office party, don't worry. Although we're already booked to provide outside catering for a number of events this December, there's still some space in our diary.

Whether you're after a party in the evening or a festive office lunch, we can turn up with everything you need. And because we're based in the heart of Brighton, it's easy for you to call in beforehand for a face-to-face chat about all your requirements.

Brighton's preparing for the ice

Last winter was, as we're sure you'll remember, pretty cold. Mind you, it didn't stop us from putting chairs out on the patio!

Although we can't predict this year's weather, we can be certain there'll be ice in Brighton. The Royal Pavilion is going to have its own Ice Rink from 13th November through until the New Year. There'll be room on the 700 square metre rink for up to 200 skaters, with a special beginners' area and Penguin-shaped skating aids to help youngsters find their feet.

Tickets can be booked via http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/ - or just pick up a hot chocolate from us and and wander down to watch the fun!

Jamie Oliver interview

There's a great interview with Jamie Oliver in The Guardian today. We just thought we'd mention it, that's all.

Vote for The Laine Deli!

If you've not already voted, we'd appreciate your support in the Sussex Food and Drink Awards 2010/2011. You'll find The Laine Deli in the 'Best Sussex Eating Experience' category. It's now the fifth year of the SFDAs - and last year they received over nine thousand nominations!

The closing date for online voting is 1st October.

The city's first Local Food Week starts on Monday

Next week is Brighton and Hove's first-ever Local Food Week. It's being run by the not-for-profit Brighton & Hove Food Partnership, with events taking place from 20th to 27th September 2010.

These events include a cookery demonstration at Churchill Square Farmers Market on Wednesday and a Local Food Picnic in Preston Park on Saturday. There's also a special Apple Day in Stanmer Park on Sunday 26th September; perfect if you fancy some apple crumble washed down with a glass of apple juice!

More food fun for Brighton & Hove

Brighton & Hove has its very own foodie festival next month. It all starts on Wednesday 1st September at Brighton Racecourse with an afternoon of horse racing, a local food market, children’s activities, live food kitchen and charity Waiters Race.

There’s a food trail through the city on 4th/5th September and a Live Food Show in Pavilion Gardens on Saturday 11th & Sunday 12th September. Full details (and loads of other events) can be found on the Brighton & Hove Food and Drink Festival website at http://www.brightonfoodfestival.com

Brighton Pride 2010

It's the Brighton Pride Parade tomorrow, which means this is one of the city's busiest weekends. The parade sets off from the seafront by the pier (Madeira Drive) at 11am and travels through the town before ending up at Preston Park a couple of hours later.

If you're heading to the parade and are arriving by train, do pop in to The Laine Deli for a cup of coffee, a cake or a sandwich. We're towards the top of Trafalgar Street, which is the road that runs under the front of the station - and we have a lovely outside patio if the sun's shining!

The PM's in Brighton today

Prime Minister David Cameron has popped down to Brighton today, so we hear. We're open until four if you fancy a cup of tea, PM.

Your votes count!

More and more people are taking a keen interest in the food they're buying and eating. And, as a result, we're currently nominated in two local food awards.

We recently mentioned that you can vote for us in the Brighton & Hove Foodie Awards. (You'll find The Laine Deli in the 'Best Cafe' category).

We're also in the running for the Sussex Food and Drink Awards 2010/2011 in the 'Best Sussex Eating Experience' category. It's now the fifth year of the SFDAs; last year they received over nine thousand nominations, which shows how enthusiastic we are in Sussex about the stuff we eat!

Vote for The Laine Deli!

As we've mentioned previously, voting in the Brighton & Hove Foodie Awards is open until September. The Laine Deli has been nominated in the 'Best Cafe' category, so we'd really appreciate your support! (Just select The Laine Deli from the list).
You can also vote in categories for Best Restaurant, Best Food Pub and Best Food Shop.

The last weekend of the Brighton Festival

Starting tomorrow is the final weekend of the 2010 Brighton Festival (and the Fringe Festival). If you're coming into Brighton, there's loads to do - including wandering round the Artists Open Houses that surround The Laine Deli. Alternatively, if you're wondering what to do with the family on Sunday, why not pop down to Brighton Marina for the Big Splash; a free day of alfresco fun. This year's events include street entertainers and special hands-on activities for children. The event concludes with a firework display over the Marina.

Make sure your vote counts!

Apparently over 1000 people have voted in the Brighton & Hove Foodie Awards since they were launched in March. If you've already voted for us - thank you!

If not, please head for BrightonFoodAwards.com, where you can vote for Best Cafe (that's the category we're in!), Best Restaurant, Best Food Pub and Best Food Shop. Voting remains open until September.

The Brighton Festival Of Artists Open Houses

We're big fans of the Artists Open Houses festival, which takes place during the city-wide Brighton Festival in May. This year we're particularly excited because The Laine Deli actually appears in one of the paintings that's on display. The painting is called 'Kensington Place from Horatio House', the artist is Vincent Donlin and his work - along with that of Paul Emerson - can be seen during the first four weekends this month at 12 Carlyle Street. The Places, Faces, Time and Spaces house is open from 12 noon until 5pm, Saturday & Sunday until 23rd May 2010.

The 2010 Brighton Festival starts tomorrow

Saturday 1st May marks the start of this year's Brighton Festival, with events taking place across the city. One of tomorrow's biggest events is the Children's Parade, which is a procession that starts from Sydney Street at 10.30am and finishes at Madeira Drive. Around 4,000 participants from 70 schools and community groups are expected to parade through the city's streets before enjoying a musical finale by the beach.

Happy Birthday to The Laine Deli

The Laine Deli reopened with new management - Natasha and her team - on 21st April 2009. That's exactly a year ago.

So much has happened since then. Thank you to all our customers, to our friendly neighbours in the North Laine area and to our suppliers.

And now we're going to have a slice of anniversary cake before we get too emotional!

Voting in the Foodie Awards

Voting in the Brighton & Hove Foodie Awards is open until September, with The Laine Deli nominated in the 'Best Cafe' category. (Just select The Laine Deli from the list). You can also vote in categories for Best Restaurant, Best Food Pub and Best Food Shop.

Farmers Markets in Brighton and Hove

We've previously talked about our enthusiasm for local food producers. But did you know it's easy to meet some of those producers face-to-face?

There's a Farmers Market on the first Sunday of each month at Ralli Hall, which is near Hove Station. It runs from 10am until 3pm, with free parking available at Hove railway station.

And every week there's a Farmers Market at Brighton's Churchill Square. It takes place on Wednesdays from 10am until 4.30pm on the Piazza in front of the Churchill Square shops.

Vote in the Brighton & Hove Foodie Awards!

There's another local food challenge happening in Brighton. We're talking about the Brighton & Hove Foodie Awards, which run until September. You can vote for The Laine Deli in the 'Best Cafe' category - just choose The Laine Deli from the list. There are also categories for Best Restaurant, Best Food Pub and Best Food Shop.

There's plenty of time to cast your vote... but there's no time like the present!

Catering for Brighton and Hove

If you’re thinking about ordering business lunches or any other corporate catering in Brighton, please give us a ring at The Laine Deli. Not only are we perfectly placed for picking up last-minute orders, we’re also well-equipped for producing virtually any kind of event catering.

From breakfasts to buffets, from sandwich platters to giant cakes, we’re always happy to help.

Please download our Outside Catering leaflet, call in to the shop or call us on Brighton 686665 to discover more.

The Laine Deli on Google Maps Street View

Seeing as most of the UK is now mapped with Google Street View, we've taken a few minutes to look for The Laine Deli. And here we are!



View Larger Map

You can also click here to find The Laine Deli on a conventional Google Map.

Brighton Festival 2010

The Brighton Festival is almost here again, running from 1st May until 23rd May 2010. In a couple of months' time the city will be hosting a total of 242 performances and 113 other events, making it the biggest Festival yet. This year's festival has Brian Eno as guest artistic director.

Booking opens today at 10am, with a special offer promising six events for the price of five.

What happened to February?

February seems to have flown by. Mind you, the weather was a bit grim, so we're not complaining too much.

And today has a decidedly spring-like feeling. A little cold but a great day for sitting in the window and watching the world go by!

There's always time for a takeaway

It's a miserable winter's day outside, so why not grab a takeaway lunch to cheer yourself up?

Enjoy warming home-made soup or a freshly-baked potato... or feel especially virtuous with one of our salad boxes!

Cheer up your cabbage

We've recently produced a little newsletter for all our customers, regular and new. Please feel free to pick one up when you next call in.

As well as containing a Victorian cake recipe, it also has some tips for spicing up your winter veg. Here's how to cheer up your cabbage!

Find yourself a cabbage – red, white or green – then chop it, wash it and stir fry it with olive oil and a little crushed garlic. Alternatively, chop and wash your cabbage, then blanch it (which means boiling until it’s almost cooked). Drain it, drizzle it with olive oil, add some chilli flakes or curry powder and roast it in a hot oven for around ten minutes.

Business catering from The Laine Deli

As we've mentioned before, we're not just a coffee shop. We also provide outside catering for businesses in Brighton - from corporate lunches and working breakfasts to special cakes and evening buffets. Please feel free to call in and ask for more details, or telephone Natasha on Brighton 686665.

Seasonal weather

We've never been happier to see rain!

It looks like the weather's back to 'normal' today. That's going to make it much easier for everyone to get around the city. Just one question: what are we going to talk about now?

Dashing through the snow!

The snow's been slowing us down slightly during the last few days... but we're determined to open the deli as much as possible (as long as we can battle through the weather and the traffic). We even had a brave soul sitting at one of our outside tables yesterday!

Chilled choices

The temperature's falling in Brighton... but that doesn't mean we've been neglecting our drinks fridge!

As well as offering fresh smoothies and juices, we also have a wide variety of cold drinks available - including Belvoir elderflower presse, ginger beer, lemonade and loads of other tasty choices.

Snow in Brighton

It's another snowy day in Brighton with the buses cancelled and the trains running a reduced service. We're struggling to make it into town - so apologies if you're waiting in the cold for a bacon sarnie.

Back to normal

We're now completely back to normal. Not that we weren't normal yesterday(!), it's just that we hadn't quite finished giving the shop a post-Christmas tidy until mid-morning. Everything's now re-stocked and we're thoroughly looking forward to 2010.

A Happy New Year from The Laine Deli

A very Happy New Year to all our customers and friends!

We're now back from our all-too-short Christmas break and are looking forward to our first complete year at The Laine Deli.

So whether you're in the mood for a traditional breakfast, a detox smoothie, a light lunch or a piece of home-made cake, call in at 31 Trafalgar Street and we'll help you start the year exactly as you want.