Review of Sunday lunch at Easy Tiger at The Hampton

Roast pork Sunday lunch platter at Easy Tiger at The Hampton, Brighton

I’m a big fan of the Indian kitchen, writes Nick Mosley. As testament, I’m sat – somewhat jet-lagged – in an apartment in Toronto having scoffed down two Indian thali meals and an utterly heavenly breakfast of masala dosa in less than 36 hours.

Canada’s Ontario food and drink scene aside – and I must say it is very impressive – I think we’re jolly lucky in Blighty, and Brighton and Hove in particular, when it comes to food from the Indian subcontinent. Although many may enjoy an old-school gravy rich meat curry, nowadays we have so many more authentic choices when it comes to vegetarian, vegan and street food dishes from north to south of the vast nation of India.

Although everyone has their personal favourite Indian restaurant – whether a specific dish, wider cooking style or service – for me there’s only one go-to in Brighton and that’s chef Sabu Joseph’s Easy Tiger kitchen at The Hampton on Upper North Street.

I’ll admit I am more than a little biased as I’ve known Sabu for a long time. He’s worked in his homeland of Kerala in the south of India, in the Middle East, London and also right here in our glorious city-by-the sea. And – trust me – being a great chef and generally lovely person to be around are rare commodities in our industry. We’ve worked together many times promoting the varied gastronomy of Sussex and also raised a lot of money for local charities.

That said, I’m always objective so I popped in anonymously, with my cohorts in tow, at the start of May to sample Easy Tiger’s ‘Easy Sundays’ menu, a thoroughly unique spicy twist on a British roast. The stars of the show are a choice of tandoor roast chicken, pork belly or stacked root vegetable option for vegans. I’ll hasten to add that Easy Tiger are always hot on gluten and dairy allergies so there really is always something for everyone.

Poppadoms and chutneys make a perfect snack at Easy Tiger at The Hampton, Brighton

Dining with my Dutch partner – and the ever-hungry Little Miss Greedy Guts – we started with a hearty plate of poppadoms with homemade chutneys. A perfect snack to munch on with one of The Hampton’s many, and ever changing, craft beers or a thoughtfully curated selection of wines, including one of the strongest lists of natural wines to be had in the city.

For our mains, we shared the pork belly roast platter alongside my go-to lamb biriani, which, alongside Sabu’s Kerala fried chicken can quite rightly be regarded as his signature dishes. I’ve written about both dishes previously so I won’t repeat myself but safe to say that this lamb biriani is a lip-smackingly comforting dish that neither scrimps on loaded ingredients nor flavour.

Piled high with roasted vegetables and masala spiced potatoes, alongside traditional paratha bread and spinach pakoras and accompanied by a banging, uplifting garlic and chilli chutney, undoubtedly pièce de résistance is the slow cooked pork belly. Now I’ve had more than my fair share of restaurant and pub Sunday roasts over the years and pork is always my preferred option – unless my dad pips me to the post and gets his order in first – but more often than not its flabby, fatty and pallid with crackling that’s either an overly salted, undercooked or over-fried disaster. None of that here; the kitchen has pretty much nailed the perfect roast pork.

Lamb biriani at Easy Tiger at The Hampton, Brighton

For food of this quality – and the impressive levels of friendly and knowledgeable service in a busy pub environment – personally I find it's actually too cheap. I usually find Sunday lunches are a complete rip-off but this roast-twist definitely delivers bang for your biriani.

I had a chat with fellow diners in the pub and I think its fair to say that Easy Tiger’s roast platters are more than enough for two people and at the twenty quid mark an absolute bargain when split with an extra side dish. Whether on a Sunday – or indeed any day throughout the week –  you won’t break the bank here and will always leave happy and sated.

Easy Tiger’s Sunday lunch menu runs for another month before things switch to a summer bbq theme on the 14 June. For lovers of all things spice and nice, Easy Tiger is undoubtably a long-standing proven roaring success in the Brighton and Hove food and drink jungle. Highly recommended.

Easy Tiger at The Hampton, 57 Upper North Street, Brighton BN1 3FH

01273 974 177 • www.easytigerbrighton.com