Kindling Brighton is new to the Brighton restaurant scene and already it is kicking and screaming its affordable gourmet artistry into the city’s conciousness. Opening earlier this spring 2024 next to Indian Summer restaurant on East Street, Brighton, it is starting to make itself at home after a hiatus and a change of management. Judging by this evening’s bookings, it is already reaching across a wide variety of demographics in the city as it was fully booked all night.
The restaurant is run by seasoned Brighton restaurateurs Ramin Mostowfi (originator of Food for Friends restaurant) and Minky Lee and food comes straight out of the open plan kitchen from the talented hands of young but promising chef Ewan Cullen.
The restaurant focuses on locally sourced grass fed meat and whilst the menu is not extensive, what it does, it delivers really well. The public kitchen allow diners to watch food being created on the charcoal grill whilst a kitchen downstairs preps desserts and other sides to combine on one plate.
It is unusual to see a fully booked restaurant on a Monday night, but this one was filled with visitors of all ages and it’s priced so that it is an accessible luxury, not that dissimilar from the price of a gourmet burger but far far better quality.
We visited to try out the Monday roast, yes you read that right. How decadent! Although it is also available on Sunday too for the traditionalists. This is a shared platter (£29 pp) which covered the entired table with tender sliced Cote de Boeuf, crispy roasties, chargrilled brassica, maple syrup roasted carrots and a giant yorkshire pud.
Whilst the dining plates were small, the size of the delivery meant multiple servings alongside a rich jus made from red wine and onion, alongside a delectable horseradish.
We heard tell that the chef was once a vegetarian. Well patently this is no longer true as he was concocting in the kitchen whilst we waited and the meat was the pefect mix of pink and tender. Really blissful morsefuls were shared.
It’s unusual to find a dining spot which combines both good food and good service, often it’s one or the other but seldom both. Kindling has delivered the two in comination here, charming, informative yet unobtrusive waiting staff, and dishes which are both filling and well made without pretence or artifice.
We were offered wine or cocktails and there is a hearty array of both. We plumped for cocktails as a starter beginning with a sharp and crisp margherita, alongside an Old Fashioned (which arrived smoking!). These were mixed adjacent to the kitchen in the bar area.
There are plenty of sides to be ordered but the roast is generous in its sizing and there wasn’t space to fit more in, although I did notice lots of smaller plates emerging from the galley. We followed this main course with another cocktail (on a weeknight? Ooh la la!).
My companion who was still recovering from the weekend sampled an espresso martini, whilst I elected to sup on a French 75 (AKA the Soixante Quinze) This cocktail combines champagne, lemon juice, and sugar and was simultaneously sweet and tart. The drink dates from the First World War and first surfaced at the New York Bar in Paris. My first sampling of this receipe and it’s a knockout.
Following the main course, we sampled different desserts, all very reasonable priced at £6.50 each. My dining consort was very taken with the Basque Cheesecake with cherry coulis and a snap (akin to a ginger snap) stating it was the best he’d eaten. It bordered on savoury as a baked cheesecake is wont to do, with the sweetness in the fruit coulis.
I didn’t really need to consume a second course as I was so full, but its a hard job and someone had to do it, so I selected the Lemon Posset with raspberry compote and a thyme shortbread biscuit. This was a piquant glass of smooth citric pudding with the counterpart of a homemade shortbread which offset the flavour well.
The focus for the restaurant is simple, good food with a focus on quality chargrilled meat. In the time we dined, there were a mix of couples, families, and single sex groups as well as 30th birthday parties and friends.
Word has obviously got out that this is the place to enjoy a night out that is both good value and also bank manager pleasing which a hard balance to juggle.
I am absolutely going to be returning and recommend you do the same. You will leave happy, well fed, and cared for in this calm, intimate and easy going eaterie. Top marks.
Details
Kindling Restaurant
69 East St, Brighton BN1 1HQ
Serves happy-hour food · Serves vegetarian dishes · Has Wi-Fi
As far as I’m aware, Indian Summer is still very much alive & kicking (and screaming 😉) right next door where it’s always been; at least it was, when I walked past there yesterday. I’d say a trip to Specsavers might be in the offing 👓
Well true and not true at the same time. Indian Summer was once two units but downsized to one smaller restaurant. Kindling has taken over the previous part of the indian restaurant from when it was bigger. But yes, I have amended the text so it’s clearer Indian Summer still exists!