What: A small restaurant close to the Brighton-Hove border that explores spice by way of a short, weekly-changing menu of small plates. In a sub 1,000 sq ft site that was once a takeaway, Palmito has around 20-covers and has been designed to have the feel of a rustic street market.
Who: Chefs Kanthi Thamma and Diego Ricaurte. The pair met at highly-rated Brighton Indian restaurant The Chilli Pickle. Thamma - originally from India - went on to oversee the food at Curry Leaf Cafe and Easy Tiger while Ricaurte - who hails from Ecuador - worked at a number of top-end places in the UK and Greece before returning to Brighton to work with Thamma at Easy Tiger. Well-known within the Brighton & Hove food scene, Thamma and Ricaurte have been running pop-ups under the Palmito brand for the last year or so.
The vibe: The restaurant has clearly been opened on a shoestring but is nonetheless an attractive space with its naked plaster walls, exposed brickwork and eye-catching neon sign. The pair cook side-by-side in the kitchen and serve many of the dishes themselves.
The food: Thamma and Ricaurte’s strikingly original menu charts the journey spices have taken from the Sub Continent to Latin America via Europe. The result is an eclectic menu that pretty much defies categorisation. While some dishes have their origins in India and the Americas, others are completely original creations. Highlights include Middle White pork chicharron with hominy corn and salsa; clams with sea beetroot, tomato and black pepper broth; chicken, coconut and poppy seed xacuti with chard and buttered flat bread; and salt marsh lamb barbecoa tacos that come with a pot of the meat’s braising liquor for dipping. Ingredients are high-quality and generally quite local, with seafood supplied by Fish and vegetables coming from Barcombe Nurseries. Prices are approachable, with smaller plates priced between £6 and £12 and larger plates priced between £15 and £20.
To drink: Palmito offers a short list of exclusively European wines with an emphasis on Portugal and Spain alongside a tight selection of largely local beers and a trio of aperitif cocktails. The digestives section is short but eclectic, featuring one rum, a top quality mezcal and a Mirto di Sardegna - a Sardinian spirit made with myrtle berries that’s rarely found outside the island.
And another thing: Affordable yet serving very original food, Palmito looks likely to go down well in the city. Thamma and Ricaurte prove you don’t necessarily need a big budget to create an impact.