It's not the easiest place to get to after a few drinks, so you could be forgiven for not venturing to Brighton Marina of an evening. But the owner of a swish new venue believes he’s offering something to tempt sophisticated souls into the marina for the entire night.

Rehab is a bar, restaurant and club, all rolled into one slick package.  Formerly The Ebony Rooms, entrepreneur Paul Craig, who also owns the neighbouring Karma bar, brought the premises and gave it a £250,000 makeover.

“We are trying to make the marina more of a global destination for younger people and make more of a circuit down here,” says Paul. “We’re going to offer civilized, cool clubbing for people who still love good clubs and good music but also fine dining and good service.”

The venue is spilt into two sections: a restaurant and a bar-club.  Customers can begin their evening in the restaurant, which serves traditional English cuisine.

Overseeing the kitchen is the venue’s operations manager Mark French, former head chef at The Ritz.  “It’s fine dining with a funky twist and not too stuffy,” says Paul. 

The menu changes regularly but examples of previous starters include confit of salmon salad and smoked haddock tart. Mains could include duck Wellington and calves’ liver and bacon, while delicious desserts cost from £4.95.

As the evening progresses, this area becomes the VIP room, and quirky touches such as adjustable tables help the transformation from an upmarket restaurant into a comfortable VIP lounge.

For those who wish to move on, a butler is on hand to escort diners into the main club or into Karma, skipping the queues.

Rehab’s bar-club is just as decadent and was designed by Paul himself.  He describes it as a “Seventies millionaire’s penthouse apartment, fusing retro styling with a contemporary twist”.  It features three flying ducks, banana plant print wallpaper flown over from Beverly Hills, a huge bespoke chill-out dome fire fitted into

a marble table and four ten-seater booths around the dance floor.

“We’ve got giant blackout drapes on electric rails which will close,”  adds Paul, “because, let’s face it, if you’re in a club, you don’t want to look out the window and see Asda.”  The bar area, with its trendy, cosmopolitan atmosphere, has a range of drinks to quench your thirst, including premium wines, beers and spirits, and cocktails, for those in a real party mood.

■ Open daily from noon until the early hours.