Review of Gars Chinese restaurant

Salt and chilli squid at Gars in Brighton

I can’t actually remember the last time I dined at Gars but safe to say it was way before the lockdown, writes Nick Mosley.

Back in the day then owners – the Cheung family – firmly established Gars as the go-to for business lunches and dinners – it was undoubtedly a place to see and be seen. It’s since changed hands but the interiors remain the same with a smart, light and bright first floor dining room and more informal banquette seating on the ground floor.

It was to the latter I headed with my friend Andrew to check out their lunch menu that is served daily until 5pm. I’m always keeping my beady eye out for good value dining as I’m a firm believer that you don’t need to pay a fortune to enjoy a quality experience in Brighton but to be frank you’re more likely to get that nowadays on a midweek lunchtime or pre-theatre menu. Hence why Gars piqued my interest.

Once settled – and with a glass of house wine in hand – the ordering (and stream of Brighton gossip) began.

I started with a generous portion of salt and chilli squid. Firm fleshed and in a wonderfully crisp (gluten-free) batter, once I’d polished off the squid I continued to nibble on the copious slithers of garlic and fiery red chilli. Delicious. Meanwhile Andrew was particularly enamoured by the Chinese restaurant classic: sesame prawn toast. These were veritable doorstep-sized slabs of generous prawn meat and didn’t stay on the plate for long.

Dumplings and pak choi at Gars in Brighton

My guest then dived into the dim sum – ordering steaming bamboo bowls of handmade pork and shrimp dumplings and what we concurred was possibly the tastiest pak choi greens ever. Drenched in oyster sauce and wok fried ginger and garlic, the vegetables were so fresh it was if they’d literally come out of the ground that morning.

I’m a sucker for pork – especially when there is the promise of crispy skin – so I was drawn to the crispy pork belly rice bowl and I’m glad I was as the meat was cooked to perfection and served – joy – with more of the baby pak choi drizzled in soy sauce.

Crispy pork belly rice bowl at Gars in Brighton

It never fails to amaze me how much food is consumed in Chinese restaurants; in my experience it definitely seems to be a ‘more is more’ mantra although god-knows where diners put it. Despite my protestations to our host Sasha we had a stream of additional dishes to sample including hearty wonton soup that Andrew was particularly impressed with for its authentic slightly sweet chicken broth.

Gars lunchtime menu is probably one of the most extensive I’ve seen with steamed dumpling plates at £6 each – you’d probably want to order 2-3 plates for lunch – through to more hearty rice bowls and pots in the £13-15 bracket. There are plenty of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options to choose from. The main menu is also available throughout the day however there is more than enough choice to be had without consulting that. I’d say you can have a decent un-rushed lunch – and fantastically friendly service – for the £15-25 mark.

With so much choice in Brighton, its almost unheard of that I end up returning to the same restaurant in the same week. But that is exactly what I did four days following my visit because I literally couldn’t get the crispy salt and chilli squid out of my mind. High praise indeed from this reviewer.

Having first opened its doors in 1983, I think its fair to say that Gars solidly remains a Brighton dining institution and has weathered the changing food trends remarkably well. Gars has most definitely still ‘got it’.

Nick Mosley

Gars, 19 Prince Albert Street, Brighton BN1 1HF

01273 321 321 • www.gars.co.uk