Santa Fe - Brighton

It's impressive, the transformation of part of the old cinema near the Palace Pier into a funky bar and restaurant. Santa Fe's architecture faithfully replicates the beautiful, brown Adobe style synonymous with the actual New Mexican city. A big colourful bar and lounge area forms the ground floor leading to the main restaurant and open-plan kitchen on the first floor. Up a level again is extra dining space overlooking everything. A Sante Fe native, the chef has worked with the famous School of Cooking there to create an exciting mix of traditional and modern New Mexican dishes, among them some fine regional delicacies such as southwestern crab cakes and chicken barbacoa. Rightly popular is the house chilli, authentically made with steak chunks and black beans. Weekdays find a business crowd gathered here, replaced by students enjoying the live DJ on Friday nights, while Saturday nights are a sophisticated affair.