When the owners of Cafe Chilli contacted me asking if I'd like to review* their newly rebranded Thai Restaurant, I was absolutely delighted and jumped at the chance. They also own one of my favourite spots for breakfast in Brighton, Vanilla Pod, so I had high hopes.
This family run restaurant on Church Road, Hove, used to be called The Green Mango but after five years, they decided it was time to update the menu and decor, which in turn led them to changing their name too. The decor was lovely and felt very welcoming on a rainy night in Brighton! By 8 o'clock numerous people had popped in for takeaways and tables were filling up, which was lovely to see on not only a Tuesday, but a very rainy Tuesday at that.
Spoiler; it gets reaaaaal tasty.
Henry opted for a beer & I went for a Kiwi & Mint Tom Collins, which was absolutely delicious. To start we had Thai Prawn Crackers with sweet chilli sauce to share. These prawn crackers were nothing like the synthetic-y tasting ones you've probably received with a Chinese takeaway, crunchy with real flavours and sweet chilli sauces that had just the right amount of spice.
Henry had Crispy Chilli Squid; crispy squid with salt, black pepper and fresh red chilli & I had the Spring Roll Duo; Duck spring rolls and crab and spinach spring rolls, served with hoisin sauce and sweet chilli sauce. Both were incredibly tasty and bursting with flavour! Henry always picks Crispy Squid if it's on a menu, so him saying that this was the best he'd ever had is certainly saying something. The Spring Rolls were complimented so well by both of the sauces and the presentation of the dish made it a little bit more special.
For our main courses, Henry had Steak Jim Jeao; Sirloin steak with a salad and sticky rice & Jin Jeao - a spicy chilli dip from the North East of Thailand. The steak was cooked perfectly, he throughly enjoyed the meal and devoured the lot.
The North-East Feast; Half a grilled chicken marinated in coconut milk and Thai Herbs, spicy papaya salad and sticky rice. Served with a tamarind dipping sauce and a special chilli dip. The chicken was full of flavour and not dry in the slightest, the sticky rice was perfect and presently so sweetly in the woven pot. The tastiest part was the papaya salad, it was a flavour explosion - fresh limes, fresh chillies, fresh garlic teamed perfectly with the flavour papaya and peanuts. 'Feast' was not far wrong, I couldn't finish it all and had to rope Henry in to help. Not that he was complaining, he loved it too.
Full to bursting, we ended the night with a Chilli Mojito, citrusy and minty with a subtle hint of chilli in its after taste. Not wanting to miss out we shared a dessert between us too. Thai pancakes with coffee ice cream. It was lovely to have a Thai dessert, I think in many restaurants the dessert menu is normally pretty standard and you know what to expect, but Cafe Chilli stayed true to its roots and I'm glad they did. It was unlike any dessert I'd had before, syrupy flaky pancakes with a scoop coffee ice cream.
With a lovely friendly atmosphere, helpful staff and owners and the best Thai food I've ever had, I will definitely be recommending Cafe Chilli to family and friends and I can't to visit again soon!
*Disclaimer: I was asked to review Cafe Chilli, all opinions are my own.
4 comments
Any chance I get to sneak in a date night with the Mr, I will. We'd planned to go to the cinema with his family that evening, so we popped out for some drinks and nibbles before. We went to the new Jamie's Italian in Tunbridge Wells, with the Brighton restaurant being my favourite place ever and this one being slightly different, I was eager to try it out.
Now I've got my beautiful Olympus Pen & a rather stunning 45mm lens, I'm excited to branch out into some more outfits posts. We were in a bit of a rush, but we snapped a few before we headed inside.
These new Snakeskin Grey Heeled Peep-toe Boots from Boohoo are my new favourites. After spotting them on the site months ago, but not purchasing due to the price, when I recently noticed they were only £15 in the sale, I couldn't really say no, right?
Paired With:
Black High-Waisted Skinny Jeans - Bershka
Khaki T Shirt (similar) - Missguided
Leather Jacket - All Saints
Tan Bag (similar) - Oasis
Necklace - Bought as a present
It was a rather thrown together outfit, but I was dying to wear the new shoes. Secretly I just wanted to be suuuper comfy in the cinema.
We had high hopes for Trattoria and it certainly lived up to expectations! We just went for drinks and a starter as we didn't have too long. Henry & I have our favourites, so we delighted to see them on the slightly smaller menu here. Henry went for a beer and as I have a Gold Card, I actually got two Peach Bellini's on the house! They were delicious and looked beautiful, as always. We also got two little tasters, arancini balls, delicious!
Henry opted for the Crispy Squid & Courgette with smashed garlic mayo, chopped chili, parsley & lemon. I had an Antipasti Board, very similar to the meat planks at Jamie's Italian. A selection of cured meats, marinated seasonal vegetables, mozzarella, pecorino cheese, olives and pickles. I love meals like that, it's like a mini picnic with all sorts of different flavours and textures.
I would definitely recommend Trattoria if you're in the Tunbridge Wells area looking for a nice place for a meal. It's so affordable and absolutely delicious!
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