
Casa Don Carlos
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Quick info
About Casa Don Carlos
Casa Don Carlos is a Spanish tapas restaurant on Union St in Brighton, set up with red-and-white tablecloths and outside tables. The kitchen sends out a menu of 57 dishes, including gazpacho, tortilla española, and champiñones al ajillo, alongside patatas bravas and chicken chilindrón. Bread arrives with aioli, and a Spanish sausage cooked in wine is a recurring order, brought to the table flaming. Portions run large, with a recommendation of no more than two plates per person, and food and drinks are ordered through table service. The restaurant takes walk-ins rather than reservations, and it opens daily except Tuesdays.
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Menu & Prices
57 dishes · mains £2–34- Olivas£5.25
- Gazpacho£7.45
- Calabacin Frito£6.85
- Ensalada Mixta£6.85
- Tortilla Española£7.70
- Champiñones Al Ajillo£7.45
Reviews
What reviewers say
Reviewers most often mention paella, patatas bravas, flaming chorizo and spanish sausage in wine.
What reviewers say
Reviewers most often mention paella, patatas bravas, flaming chorizo and spanish sausage in wine.
Customer Review Summary
Reviewers split sharply. The Spanish sausage cooked in wine draws the strongest praise, with the flaming chorizo also called fun, and portions described as enormous enough that one suggests no more than two plates per person. Staff are called friendly and wonderful. One reviewer found the paella, patatas bravas and tough chicken chilindrón disappointing, with only the bread and aioli praised. Another mentions being ignored when ordering drinks.
Customer Review Summary
Reviewers split sharply. The Spanish sausage cooked in wine draws the strongest praise, with the flaming chorizo also called fun, and portions described as enormous enough that one suggests no more than two plates per person. Staff are called friendly and wonderful. One reviewer found the paella, patatas bravas and tough chicken chilindrón disappointing, with only the bread and aioli praised. Another mentions being ignored when ordering drinks.
Featured reviews
- Lord Walsh
“Everyone had told me how good this place was, so sadly, I really don’t understand the hype. …”
- Mary Victoria Belmont
“Popped in for lunch at 1pm, popped right back in for dessert at 7! Portions were enormous, I would recommend no more than 2 plates per person, especially if you're planning on having dessert as well. Everything was delicious, freshly made, the flaming chorizo was fun, the team was wonderful and very friendly. We'll probably not come back because we live 200 miles away, but we'll always have the memories of leaving this restaurant almost rolling.”
- Guillem Pol Aracil
“Great experience, staff are wonderful 🫶 it's great if you want to snack some tapas or try some Spanish food if you never did! …”
- Christina
“Food here was absolutely amazing and incredibly tasty. We got around 6 dishes and drinks and left feeling very full and very satisfied indeed! The Spanish sausage cooked in wine was particularly delicious and I’ll not stop thinking about that for some time! Only reason for not giving it 5 stars is because we tried several times to order a drink but was ignored/service was a little inattentive during our meal. Had to go find someone to get a drink in the end because they would not come over. Other than that, incredibly happy and would return!”
- Selcuk Bahtiyar
“I brought a friend here to try Spanish food for the first time. As someone who has actually lived in Spain, I honestly regret that choice. The paella wasn’t even average — it genuinely felt like someone had abandoned it halfway through, then later added a few things on top and served it. How they managed to make patatas bravas this bland in a country like the UK, where you can find some of the best potatoes in the world, is honestly impressive in the worst way. The chicken in the chicken chilindrón was extremely tough. I took a bite from my friend’s plate just to try it and immediately felt embarrassed for bringing them here. The prawn casserole was £12 and came with five prawns. That has to be a joke :) Anyone who has eaten the same dish in Greece or Turkey knows what a real prawn casserole looks like — restaurant owners, maybe take notes. Ironically, the best part of the meal was the bread and the aioli. We kept dipping the bread just to fill ourselves up — and even that wouldn’t satisfy an actual Spaniard. Brighton has so many genuinely good restaurants run by people who know what they’re doing. Give those places a chance instead of this one. In total, the £60 we paid was absolutely not worth it. The food looks better in the photos than it actually was.”
Hours
- Monday
- Tuesday
- Closed
- Wednesday
- Thursday
- Friday
- Saturday
- Sunday
Good to know
“Cosy, traditional-style Spanish tapas restaurant, with red-and-white tablecloths and outside tables.”
- AccessibilityHas wheelchair-accessible seating
Amenities
- Has wheelchair-accessible seating
Location
Restaurants near Casa Don Carlos
- The Ivy Asia Brighton4.52,7150 miWheelchair accessible
complimentary anniversary mochi, live dj music, beautiful decor
- RYBKA (the fish likes to swim)4.71,5340.1 miWheelchair accessible
fish and chips, homemade tartar sauce, calamari
- Lost in the Lanes4.61,3570.1 mi
eggs benedict and royale, veggie english breakfast, croque madam
| Place | Rating | Distance | Mentioned in reviews |
|---|---|---|---|
| Casa Don Carlos | 4.31,240 | — | paella, patatas bravas, flaming chorizo |
| The Ivy Asia BrightonWheelchair accessible | 4.52,715 | 0 mi | complimentary anniversary mochi, live dj music, beautiful decor |
| RYBKA (the fish likes to swim)Wheelchair accessible | 4.71,534 | 0.1 mi | fish and chips, homemade tartar sauce, calamari |
| Lost in the Lanes | 4.61,357 | 0.1 mi | eggs benedict and royale, veggie english breakfast, croque madam |
The 3 nearest restaurants by distance. Ratings, hours and review terms come from public business profiles.
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