A reasonably warm welcome, reasonably prompt service which did waver and decline as closing time was brought forward for the AFL Grand Final and the wait staff all began to finish up. However given we were finishing up too it wasn't that big an issue.
Steve had the burger which looked more impressive than it tasted. The folded lettuce gave it elevation and lift so it looked bigger than it was. Apparently it was ok which I think says enough and it looked a little dry. The fries were good though - crispy, salty and golden.
I had the toasted lamb pita, roast shaved lamb, garlic yoghurt, chilli, tomato, herb salad, hummus. Again it looked very appetising but strangely enough in spite of all those ingredients lacked flavour. There was no seasoning that I could taste and the chilli didn't provide the kick that my tastebuds wanted. Having said that the topping was generous and the pita bread itself lovely and soft and doughy.
The Pantry strikes me as a place for wealthy and well to do Brightonians or should that be Brightonites to "be seen." Steve summed it up when he said that it was the deli that convinced us to have lunch there. I think if we found ourselves in Brighton again, we would probably try somewhere else not because The Pantry was bad but more because it wasn't good enough to make us want to return for more.