The Cafe Lifestyle
Recently named one of the top ten places to drink in the city by the Guardian Newspaper, and a silver award winner in the ‘Best Newcomer’ category of the 2014 Brighton & Hove Food and Drink Awards, Curry Leaf Cafe serves up South Indian street food and craft beer from a relaxed, colourful dining space in the heart of Brighton's bustling Lanes. Curry Leaf Cafe is the brainchild of former food critic and journalist Euan Sey and chef Kanthi Kiran Thamma, who first met when Euan put an ad on Gumtree for a flatmate in early 2013. Kanthi’s career in food started at the Taj Hotel in Goa, and after a variety of catering roles in Southern India, Switzerland and the USA, he moved to the UK in 2007, eventually becoming Food Champion at Jamie Oliver’s Recipease in Brighton – experiences that left him with a profound respect for quality seasonal ingredients.
“Forget fine dining – it’s fun dining we’re about”
Curry Leaf Cafe is exactly that – a cafe, not a restaurant – and has the price list to match. It makes no compromises when it comes to quality however. Its wide range of loose-leaf teas is organic and come directly from small farms in India, where Head Chef Kanthi Thamma grew up. All other ingredients are locally sourced where possible, and around half the menu is vegetarian. A wide selection of vegan, gluten- and dairy-free dishes is also offered throughout the day.
All budgets and appetites are catered for at Curry Leaf Cafe – from those looking for a quick coffee or a snack, to people in search of a four-course, restaurant-quality meal. Its range of quick and healthy lunches include soups, warm salads, dosas and open tandoor naan wraps, as well as traditional Thali platters. The dinner menu, meanwhile, focuses on crisp, fresh-tasting street food and delicious curries, rounded off with a selection of refreshing spiced desserts and infused ice creams.
Uniquely, from 10:30am to 3:30pm on Sundays diners can experience Curry Leaf Cafe’s spiced Indian brunch, which includes the cafe's celebrated 'full Indian' fryup, spiced omelettes, savoury lentil doughnuts, dosai, thalis and traditional slow-cooked biriyani dishes. A collection-only takeaway service is also available Sunday to Friday.
