The Chilli Pickle is one of Brighton's best Indian restaurants

Nestled in Jubilee Square, Brighton, it was one I had walked past many a time and been recommended almost as much, but for some unexplained reason I had never been.

Its twinkly star lights and rustic Indian décor are instantly inviting and once we smelled the food from the foyer, I knew we were in for a treat.

The cosy interior was instantly welcoming (Image: The Argus)

We were seated in a cosy corner with views of the large restaurant and the square outside – it was packed out, even on a Wednesday night.

The menu was large and varied, but not overwhelmingly so and we decided to push the boat out and try something that we were intrigued by for our starter.

Gol Gappa, the menu said, are “mini flavour bombs, India’s favourite snack – our way”. I am usually a fan of Googling the menu before going out to eat and looking at pictures to see what the food is like but in the comfort of Chilli Pickle I felt emboldened to try something new.

The starter was great fun (Image: The Argus)

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What arrived were breaded spheres, dips and dressings and the tools to fill them up – it is quite hard to explain and you might just need to look at the picture.

If you don’t like getting your hands dirty, it won’t be for you, but we loved cracking open the spheres, filing them with chickpeas, tamarind and green chutney and letting them release the flavours when you take a bite.

The earthy flavour of the chickpeas, paired with the rich tamarind and tangy chutney was delightful and I thoroughly enjoyed every mouthful.

For my main I chose the paneer sizzler which was baked in a punchy masala sauce with a green chili dip and pineapple, onions and pepper served on a sizzling hot plate.

The mains (Image: The Argus)

The paneer was delicious – spicy and flavoursome without being too hot, well cooked and succulent without being at all rubbery. It paired well with some pilau rice and garlic naan.

The only thing I didn’t like was the sauce leftover on the hot plate which was a little too greasy.

My guest’s butter chicken was “next level", he said. Rich and creamy yet punchy thanks to a healthy dose of spice.

The garlic and coriander naan to mop up the butter chicken sauce was divine. 

It is just a shame you can’t order the sauce as a soup. 

That was all washed down with a draught pint of Kingfisher which is one of my favourite lagers and just goes so well with a curry. 

The exterior of The Chilli Pickle

For the purpose of a full review, we would have loved to have had dessert, but we were genuinely too stuffed to even share one.

The homemade chai sounded like a delicious, warming after dinner drink and I am sure I’ll be back to try the mango kulfi lollipop.

The starter was £6.50, mains were around £15 each and rice and naans a further £4 each.

We paid £63 including a 12.5 per cent service charge.