The Chilli Pickle — Restaurant in Great Britain

I have been coming to this restaurant since 2010 and it was good for one main reason. It served decent food consistently and it was unlike many other Brighton restaurants…. Clean and well kept!! Its a shame they used to make some more authentic dishes such as Idli and Dosa and decent fish curries. These dishes have gone. As a local Indian, people will love it I’m sure.

For me its a bit “local Indian” still. Flavours are good but too tame in place they shouldn’t be. Biriyani just isn’t Biriyani but who would k ow I guess!? People probably like it alot. Mixing rice together in loads of cardamon must be a new thing to convince English folk that is the flavour of Biriyani. Just plain wrong.

We pre booked and chose our mains 4 days before. Our mains took a very long time to arrive which is repeated in other reviews here so be weiry. We then were left with the dishes for far too long and the trainee waiter was given a table of 11. Whilst the Supervisor gave instruction rather than ask what has happened. We were asked to leave the table with no further service despite finishing mains ages before and asking for just one dessert menu. The menu never came.

The service side needs to be sorted out but I do understand its a trainee or seemed so but give the trainee a 2pax table and a 4 pax not an 11 !

Its an institution in Brighton and a good place to go nonetheless. Just don’t get too carried away Chilli Pickle! Bring some authenticity in again and get service sorted with staff that...

If you like authentic Indian food, do NOT eat here. The restaurant is not owned by Indian or South Asian people and it really shows. 5 of us ate here and most dishes were disappointing. Some of the food was nice, but the flavour is so far off Indian dishes. The Tamil chicken was flavorless and spice less, the aubergine curry was tasty but no spice at all (which is usually a v spicy dish), the chapatti was so dry it could have been a nacho. Food was expensive for quite small portions and annoying parts of the menu which didn’t serve the guests - no thali in the evening on weekends and if you want the set menu every single person on the table has to order it and the same thing (so if you have a mix of vegetarians and meat eaters, you can’t mix and match). The staff however were all lovely and the venue is wheelchair accessible. My suggestion to the restaurant would be to either hire Indian chefs to advise on the menu, or to use the profits from this restaurant to invest in small south Asian restaurants or businesses in the area. It is disappointing that people are making money off a culture they know nothing about and are doing nothing to help or be part of the South Asian community. For future diners, before you spend your money here, please think about one of the other smaller, more authentic Indian restaurants in Brighton who would be happy to have you and provide far...

The food and service at The Chilli Pickle were excellent. Prices were reasonable, and the quality was top-notch. I’ve ordered delivery many times, but this was my first time dining in and the pani puri and butter chicken were outstanding.

Our server was extremely friendly and made us feel very welcome. The restaurant has a cozy and inviting atmosphere, but it did feel very stuffy and cramped. With the warmer weather, better ventilation or AC would have made things more comfortable - unfortunately the AC was off the entire time we were there.

One downside was being seated near the entrance opposite the bar. People waiting for tables stood too close for comfort, they might as well have joined our table. One guest’s long hair even brushed over our garlic naan ( that’s how close they were ) which we've had to leave untouched. We did ask to be sat elsewhere when we first arrived as I knew it would get cramped by the entrance, but unfortunately, that was the only table available for walk-ins. It would be much better if the layout allowed more space between seated diners and those waiting, as having a stranger’s hair brush over our food was quite off-putting. Unfortunately, due to this experience, I’ve given 3-stars

Overall, I can't fault the food and service - it was outstanding. But the dine-in experience could be improved with better airflow and seating...