Two-Michelin-starred chef Rafael Cagali has expanded beyond Bethnal Green with the opening of Maré in Hove. The restaurant launched earlier this month as Marea but was recently rebranded to Maré to avoid confusion with another business.
Positioned between the Brazilian-born chef’s hyper creative flagship Da Terra and his neighbourhood restaurant Elis, Maré has taken over the Church Road site that was once home to El Bolillo. The kitchen is run day-to-day by former Da Terra sous chef Ewan Waller, with front-of-house operations led by Cagali’s partner Charlie Lee and Ynyshir and Restaurant Story alumnus Jake Garstang.
Here Cagali discusses why Brighton and Hove felt like the right location for his latest project, how Maré will balance accessibility with ambition, and whether he has his eye on a Michelin star for the city. He also shares an update on Da Terra, reflects on the challenges facing top-end dining, and reveals early details of a forthcoming restaurant in his native São Paulo.
Your Hove restaurant launched a few weeks ago. How is it going?
The first few days were tough, but it’s always that way with new launches because we ask a lot of ourselves. Things are going well, though. I’m someone who always likes to evolve and continuously improve, and I’m confident we’ll be able to do that here. I’m in London at the moment but will be back on the South Coast soon. Charlie is there now.
Hove isn’t an obvious place to launch a restaurant for a chef of your level. How did the project come about?
I’d been looking to do something outside of Bethnal Green for a while. I’ve always liked Brighton and Hove and admire the independent spirit and quirkiness of the food scene. There are some great operators and restaurants here, and hopefully we can add to that. When the project’s investors approached me, it just so happened that two former Da Terra team members had recently moved to Brighton, so everything fell into place. Ewan (Waller) worked with me for three years and was showing real progression before he left, and his girlfriend Lauren also worked in the kitchen at Da Terra. We also have a very strong front-of-house team led by Charlie and Jake Garstang, who has worked at some fantastic places including Ynyshir, Restaurant Story, Casamia and Wilson’s.
What level is Maré pitched at?
The investors, who are local, wanted something very premium but also accessible. The answer was a concept that sits between Da Terra and my more casual restaurant Elis. Maré has been designed to offer an experience that wouldn’t look out of place in London but is also flexible and playful. We offer a chef’s menu, which is essentially a mini tasting menu, but we expect most guests will choose the à la carte, which has been designed with sharing in mind across a mix of small and larger plates.
The name is Italian. Does that mean the food will lean more towards Italy than Brazil?
Not really. The influences are the same as Da Terra in that the restaurant is based on my Brazilian-Italian heritage, but also the places I’ve worked. I spent part of my career cooking in Spain, so that feeds into the menu too. It’s not tied to one kind of cooking or culture. I don’t like to limit myself.
Brighton and Hove hasn’t had a Michelin-starred restaurant for a very long time. Is it your intention to change that?
That’s a tricky one to answer. That is the sort of level we want to work at, and accolades are always welcome, but our focus is on creating a restaurant that locals will embrace. I want Maré to be part of Brighton and Hove. That said, we are focused on top-quality food and service, so it would be amazing to get that kind of recognition. Let’s see what happens.
How are things in Bethnal Green?
This year has been a rollercoaster. The world feels increasingly unstable and it’s having a noticeable effect on the industry. It’s hard to anticipate how busy we’re going to be, which is tough for a restaurant like Da Terra. But we have a very strong senior team and continue to evolve the business. We’ve recently overhauled the kitchen and taken over and refurbished the bar across the hall, which now forms part of the Da Terra experience. We’ll keep adapting to make the business work in this new world.
We understand you have something coming up in Brazil?
Yes, but it’s a long way off. I’m working with a fashion brand that is launching a big apartment block in São Paulo, my home city. I’ve just got back from cooking for the CEO and some of the investors. The restaurant will be pitched at a similar level to Da Terra when it opens in two to three years’ time. It’s exciting to be opening in Brazil because I’ve never actually cooked there, other than a few pop-ups — I didn’t start cooking professionally until I came to the UK in my early 20s. There’s always been a big culture of eating out in São Paulo, but the food scene is booming, everywhere is packed.