I may well be projecting a little here, but there are times when you want more than a small plate…

There’s obviously lots to be said for the variety of going nibbly, and politely insisting your dining chums have the last flame-grilled tentacles instead of you.

But Carne in Hove could be the more natural watering hole for those who aren’t quite so good at sharing and would rather have a big slab of something meaty, with gorgeous indulgent carb-heavy sides aplenty.

Obviously the clue is the question, and Carne is, unsurprisingly, a carnivore’s paradise, and omnivores for that matter, with wonderful high welfare meat and local produce, cooked with love and no small amount of finesse.

The menu has been created by Phil Bartley, the founder of the Great British Charcuterie, and a chef has overseen the best roasts in the city at Hove Place and at an ever-growing roster of boozers across the city.

Phil has forgotten more about meat than most of us will ever know and we were fortunate enough to take up his invite to the second incarnation of his pet project in Church Road.

The venue fits perfectly into Brighton and Hove’s exponentially growing scene of groovy grown-up bars and restaurants, and on an early spring Saturday afternoon rapidly filled up with late-lunchers and early(ish) cocktail quaffers.

It’s looking very slinky, with lots of dark wood, browns and blacks livened up by brightly painted Regency-style fittings, accompanied by nice amber lighting later in the day.

There’s also a front terrace which come the warmer nights (please God let there be warmer nights EVER again) which will be inevitably buzzing with beautiful Hove folk.

The vibe was chilled and we relaxed our way into one of Phil’s trademark titbits – Ox doughnuts with a dusting of horseradish.

Much more refined than you’re imagining in your mind’s eye, and even more moreish. We could have eaten 20 of these little tinkers.

Instead we exercised restraint and waited for our less-lightweight starters from the impressive menu created by head chef Jonathan Fais.

A plate of insanely rich, bubbling, buttery marrowbones were the sourdough spread of the Gods, and a bowl of scallops were teamed up with familiar friends in the form of black pud and bacon, and a not-so familiar gentle and creamy curry sauce.

Carne is also blessed with a super in-house mixologist, the passionate and extremely knowledgeable Nick, who served me up a couple of devilishly good ‘n zesty Paper Plane cocktails before we’d even made it to the main courses.

Equally, Carne’s manager Laura looked after us superbly, encouraged us to order a few more side dishes and didn’t bat an eyelid when filling our table with those many plates.

My dining chum, a strong young man with red meat on his mind, did the sensible thing and absolutely tore through a perfectly seasoned and immaculately cooked rib eye.

The oh-so tender marbled steak (and all of the meat at Carne) comes from Aurox, an acclaimed supplier and Michelin-chef magnet, which produces flavourful meat from “fully mature animals that have lived an unhurried life on a natural diet”.

Aurox quite sensibly points out that “animals that live longer, fuller, and happier lives produce higher quality and better tasting meat”, and to be honest I think I’d live a much happier life if I ate their meat on a regular basis.

I had an absolutely immaculate rolled pork belly, served with celeriac and hazelnut.

Taken from Iron Age pork, free-range piggies with a back story better than most – cross bred between a pedigree Tamworth sow and a Eurasian Wild boar, to what early domesticated pigs might have looked and tasted like 4,000 years ago.

Stand out sides included a heavenly/devilish bone-marrow-boosted bowl of mash (it’s a regular collagen carnival at Carne) and a creamy, Cheddary kale.

The puds were pretty and very nicely put together. The 80 per cent chocolate delice was the perfect antidote to the cocoa-free “chocolate flavour” abominations appearing on our shelves, and a vanilla cheesecake with early season rhubarb and rhubarb sorbet was a welcome reminder that spring is very much abounds in Sussex.

Mixologist Nick’s final creation was the appropriately named Nightcap – a thoroughly adult Amaro-based cocktail, with Cointreau, and Creme de Cacoa blanc mixed with a bit of hot water, and topped with pink pepper infused milk foam.

These days there’s a lot of talk about food noise and silencing your cravings, but sometimes it’s ok to treat yourself, go to Carne, crank up the food clamour to the max and don’t scrimp on the bone marrow.