Brighton’s Chilli Pickle moves into myhotel
The modern Indian restaurant, owned by Alun and Dawn Sperring, will now occupy the space formerly adopted by Company of Cooks’ Table concept, for which Racine’s Henry Harris is consultant chef.
The venue will be refurbished with a “rustic yet contemporary Indian” décor, while the menu, which has always utilised locally-sourced produce for its mixture of Indian street food and authentic, regional cuisine, will remain largely the same.
It is expected to relaunch in early March.
Moving home
Sperring, who launched the 50-cover Chilli Pickle brasserie in Brighton’s South Lanes four years ago, told BigHospitality that the move reflected the overwhelming popularity of the restaurant.
“We were a small restaurant but very, very successful, and on a weekly basis were turning a lot of people away,” he said.
“When you buy your first restaurant you work with the resources you have. We always wanted to start small and build it up gradually. We’ve been looking for a larger premises for a while and the myhotel space just ticked all the boxes. It’s a great location and a cool company to work with – there’s a great synergy between us.”
Myhotel opened in Brighton in 2008, when its restaurant premises was occupied by TV chef and Brighton resident Aldo Zilli. However, the chef parted ways with the group after just 12 months due to a dispute over his fish and pasta offer.
Company of Cooks subsequently moved into the space with Table and café concept Cup, but departed after a “mutual agreement” with myhotel on 19 October.
Change of luck
Sperring added that he expected Chilli Pickle to perform “better than ever” in its new 115-cover venue, despite the fall of two well-known restaurant brands in under three years.
“In our previous venue we could at least double the covers at weekends because we were always fully booked. So we have no worries that we can fill the space and we can make sure that it’s visually very enticing. And once we pull the people in we’re confident they’ll like the experience and come back.
The Chilli Pickle was this year awarded a Bib Gourmand in the 2011 UK & Ireland Michelin Guide, and was named Most Innovative Restaurant in the 2010 National Curry Awards.
The former Cup café will now become an area where the hotels breakfast will be served.
Company of Cooks is now in discussions over a number of sites to relaunch its Table concept in London.
