Marrocco’s and the dawn of TripAdvisor

Fifteen years ago, in June 2010, a TripAdvisor user named Candyjo quietly posted what remains one of the earliest - and most charming - online restaurant reviews in the UK. Her destination was Marrocco’s, the family-run Italian institution on Hove’s seafront. At the time, hers was the only review for the year - only the second in total. Today, there are nearly a thousand.

Founded in 1969 by the Marrocco family, the Brighton Beach business began as a gelateria serving homemade Italian ice cream prepared fresh each morning. Over the decades it evolved into a full restaurant, offering fresh seafood, pasta and grills in a close-knit, cheerful setting. The heart of the operation remains the same: a warm welcome, an open kitchen, and food made with care.

TripAdvisor, meanwhile, was just beginning to take root in the UK dining scene. Although the platform launched in the US in 2000, its early growth in Britain was slower. In 2010, most independent restaurants still relied on word-of-mouth, and online reviews were more novelty than norm. This is what makes Candyjo’s post feel like a time capsule. 

She wrote in June 2010: ‘If you go here (please don’t - I like to be able to get a table) you need to accept that it’s a small, family-run place where they cook the food in an open kitchen that might be right by your elbow, and if they’re too busy then you’ll have to wait, and if you take longer than usual over your starter that might mess up the timing a bit but that what you get is authentic, fresh and delicious.

I had the crab linguine - a whole spider crab so not a huge amount of meat, and very messy of course what with pincers and extractors etc - it was already chopped up a bit, the pasta spilled from the shell like a piece of art - it was beautiful. Am I being too effusive? Probably. It’s just so rare to get food this good, that looks this good and that I can afford (£11.95). The pasta sauce included fresh cherry tomatoes to die for, a hint of heat (chilli), perfect.

My companion had a whole, huge sea bass, grilled perfectly. Same price; it came with chips. The tables are closely packed and if it’s busy it’s noisy. There are children, who might possibly run around were there room to but there isn’t. There are grandparents, business people, couples, friends; often they seem to be Italian which seems a good thing. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable.

Perhaps you should go with the idea that it’s a café that serves fab food (and with ‘greasy spoon’ cafes charging perhaps £7 or £8 for a plate of breakfast, this is a bargain in comparison). Get a bottle of wine, linger. Then walk along the seafront towards the dreamy sunset and remember that city living can have its advantages.

I don’t especially like the ice cream (not sweet enough for me) but I don’t go there for that. Though I did share an ice cream ‘cocktail’ thing (banana split?) once and it was good.’

Fifteen years later, the heart of that review still beats. The prices may have changed, but the atmosphere, the setting and the charm of Marrocco’s continue to draw locals and visitors alike. Candyjo’s post wasn’t just an early review - it was a small piece of Brighton food history, lovingly written, and now part of the restaurant’s long and ongoing story.