A NEW restaurant has launched with a tongue-in-cheek jibe at American president Donald Trump.

Halisco, in Preston Street, Brighton, serves Mexican street food – and it features Mr Trump looking over the wall he promised to build along the Mexican border during the election campaign.

It is run by best friends Ismaeel Razavi and Alex Anastasiades, who met while studying at Varndean High School in Brighton.

Ismaeel said: “It incorporates a sense of the Mexican humour of ‘when things are going badly, make light of the situation’.”

The name is the phonetic spelling of the state of Jalisco in Mexico and the logo is the blue agave, the plant tequila comes from.

Ismaeel, 30, began his cooking career aged 13, starting as an apprentice at The Grand hotel in Brighton.

He said: “I lived in Mexico for five years, mainly in Jalisco. Having spent so much time there I noticed the Mexican people have a tendency to make light of dark situations.

“I wanted to pay homage to them and their humour, which has grown on me and become a part of my personality.

“My other thought was that no matter who you are, you are looking into our restaurant to see what our food is like.”

Trump Wall was brought to life by street artist Nick Burdett. The restaurant was owned by Alex’s grandmother, who ran it for 40 years as a steakhouse.

He said: “I took over the family mantle as my grandmother felt it was time to retire. At the time Ismaeel was coming back from the Philippines where he opened a restaurant with his brother. It just felt like everything was falling into place at the right time.

“To be running a restaurant with my best mate in our home town is a dream come true.”