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.
