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EATING
OUT
Thai
lounge chic
Mary-Lou
Harding gapes at Grape
In a
city heaving with eateries offering fare from all corners
of the gastronomic globe, ensuring a new restaurant in Brighton
stands out from the crowd is a tricky business to say the
least.
Grape,
situated nearer the station end of Trafalgar Street, is
a marriage of unusually matched obsessions: the delicate
cuisine of Thailand and classic European and American furniture
of the 20th century.
Grape
opened as a restaurant cum interiors showroom last October
after the daughter from a family-run Rottingdean Thai restaurant
decided to go into business with the owner of a classic
furniture boutique.
The
result is a peculiar experience. Diners can sit on classic
Eames or Stark repro chairs enjoying fragrant Thai flavours
while imagining recreating the scene with their new furniture
purchases at home.
My companion
and I chose to share a larger starter of sweet potatoes
in batter accompanied by a serving of peanut cucumber
salad sauce (Muntord, £4.20) which was equally
light and sufficiently appetising as a starter for two.
This followed a liquid opener of an expertly prepared Vanilla
Daquiri cocktail (£5.00) for my companion and
a refreshing non-alcoholic fruit blend Raspberry Cranberg
(£3.00) for yours truly. As we both had opted for
white meat main dishes, we selected an Australian Chardonnay
(Houghton, Western Australia, £14.95) from the small
but varied wine list, which was a perfect accompaniment
to the strong flavours of our main courses.
My companion
opted for a Thai fried noodle dish served with chicken
and vegetables in a yellow bean sauce (Guey teow
pud see ew, £5.90) which she found tender and
flavoursome. I took the waitresses recommendation and opted
for the crispy fried cod served with rice and coconut
curry sauce (Pla tord, £7.40), which was
perfectly cooked and beautifully presented.
After
such a spread, a dessert does seem a little indulgent, so
we opted for the lightest offering on the menu and shared
a Rambutan (£2.00) - lychees stuffed with pineapple
and served in syrup, which was a refreshing antidote to
the preceding chillis and spice.
Essential
Information
Food: Varied, innovative and authetic, reasonably
priced with plenty of choice for the vegetarian and the
vegan.
Service: Attentive, quick, friendly and helpful
Atmosphere: With its emphasis on interior design
for retail, Grape is certainly unusual and memorable for
its Eames et al collection as well as its food.
Grape
45-46 Trafalgar Street
Brighton
Tel: 01273 601894
copyright New Insight 2002
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