Here at Argus Towers, we have a few foodies in our midst.

Not that I need to tell you that, dear readers, as you’ve seen my ugly mug plastered on enough reviews by now to deduce that by yourselves.

I won’t tar his visage with the same brush as mine, but another face you’ve also come to recognise belongs to my colleague Charles, who is similarly game for a meal out.

I tried the food and cocktails at Blossoms in The Lanes (Image: NQ)

So when he eats, I listen. Not literally, of course; that would be weird. I mean his opinion on where’s good to gorge in Brighton.

One of his latest visits was to Blossoms, a Japanese-inspired cocktail bar that’s hard to miss when you enter Brighton Square, given the titular pink blooms cascading over the entrance.

He came back to the office with plenty of nice things to say. So when I was invited down to try myself, I made sure to wear clothes with some give in them.

The dramatic flora extend to the interiors too: flowers cascade over the bar, the ceiling is studded with printed umbrellas and the walls are adorned with graphic wall art with a nod to anime.

It’s an influencer’s paradise. But there is substance behind the style.

A miso concoction and a negroni (Image: NQ)

Last year, the bar won three accolades at the BRAVO Awards and was nominated for another four this year, missing out this time on the trophies.

So does it live up to the hype?

My dining partner and I kicked off with a cocktail each as we waited for some small plates to arrive. Mine was the cheekily-named Miso Thirsty while my friend went with his old faithful, the negroni.

A riff on a martini, with the salt coming from miso rather than olives, the Miso Thirsty was a clever twist on a classic, while my pal was satisfied with his beverage.

Snacking on some prawn crackers – which my friend declared may have been the best he’s tasted, and he’s no stranger to a crisp – we wasted no time in ordering another drink.

The tequila-based Ember Light (Image: NQ)

The team clearly take pride in how the cocktails are served, I thought, as my next libation arrived.

The Ember Light was spicy margarita-adjacent, made with tequila infused with chilli crisp oil, and this was daubed on the sesame snap it came with – a fun addition that embodied the flavours of the drink.

Round one of food consisted of several small plates: tempura-battered prawns, duck gyoza, miso caramel ribs and firecracker chicken.

The gyoza and the chicken were my standouts. I’ve yet to meet a nugget I don’t like, and the sauce was rich and with just the right amount of spice.

The gyoza, meanwhile, were almost too attractive to demolish. Emphasis on almost.

The same could be said for the sushi platter, waves of rainbow-fleshed fish lapping against columns of maki and California rolls and a blooming spiral of pickled ginger.

Let’s just say it tasted as good as it looked.

A sumptuous sushi platter (Image: NQ)

Despite my pal knowing me for coming up to a decade now, he still could not contain his distain when I ordered another savoury dish.

Blame the food envy when I spotted a bao bun on an adjacent table, but I thought I had to try it – waistline be damned.

Soft and fluffy bun with salty strings of wagyu beef coiled inside, it beats a Big Mac any day (and I love a Big Mac).

As well as being rather full, by this point we were well lubricated enough to get chatting with our waiter, who insisted we try two of their signature drinks.

Who were we to refuse?

The first was their take on that most in vogue drink, the spicy margarita, made with tequila infused with two types of chillies – bold red Kashmiri and sweet and earthy ancho – in a process that takes a week.

The Shogun old fashioned (Image: NQ)

Thankfully the final product was only the work of minutes and it went down similarly quickly. Delicious.

But it was the second cocktail which I’d recommend anyone visiting try.

It perfectly summed up everything that’s right with Blossoms, a visual spectacle but with the flavours to back it up.

The Shogun old fashioned is brought to the table with a wooden contraption on top which is lit with a blow-torch, filling the tumbler below with smoke, and whipped off with a flourish, leaving your drink lurking below a canopy of wispy grey clouds.

The smoke is more than a visual gag, however; it adds depth and contrast to the sweetness of the pear and the Buffalo Trace’s caramel flavours.

As someone who isn’t a massive whisky or bourbon fan, colour me impressed.

Blossoms has at least two big fans in The Argus office.