Founder David Toscano has acquired the former site of Thai restaurant Aumthong on Western Road close to Palmeira Square and is hoping to open in January next year.
The pasta-focused restaurant started life as a street food van, opening its first bricks and mortar site in an off-pitch location in Brighton’s North Laine late last year.
Toscano has opted to follow the design blueprint of the first Cin Cin - a small open kitchen surrounded by a horseshoe-shaped counter – so while the new site is far larger than the original Vine Street location it will have a similar number of covers in the main dining room.
“Our fist site is around 25sqm and has 21 covers. The new space is huge by comparison but we’re only looking at a couple more covers in the main dining room. However, we will have much better back of house facilities including a prep kitchen and there is also room for a 12-cover private dining room,” says Toscano, who worked in the City prior to launching Cin Cin.
The small plates menu at Cin Cin’s Hove restaurant will be similar to the original site with a focus on fresh handmade pasta and antipasti-type dishes but the new kitchen will have room for a grill allowing Toscano and team to offer protein-based, main course-style dishes for the first time. There will also be an emphasis on fresh Italian cheeses including mozzarella, stracciatella and burrata.
Cin Cin head chef Jamie Halsall - whose CV includes The Dorchester, Launceston Place and Roux at Parliament Square - has been promoted to executive chef. The plan is for each restaurant to have a dedicated front of house team with the chefs and Toscano (who now works front of house) flitting from site to site.