London & South East Premier Hospitality

A new home for Indian Summer

Written by Roma Publications

Indian Summer, Brighton

Indian Summer has relocated to a larger venue in order to provide diners from across Brighton with a stunning environment to enjoy the restaurant’s authentic, traditional Indian recipes.

The venue initially opened in 2001 serving up regional Indian dishes with a European flair in a bid to put ‘real’ Indian cuisine back on the map.

Restaurant owner Minesh Ajnihotri said the move of location was primarily due to the current premises not being big enough. Since opening, the restaurant has had to turn away hundreds of potential customers due to the lack of space and so the need to expand has been at the forefront of Minesh’s mind for a while.

Speaking to Premier Hospitality, Minesh commented:

“We are currently based at 69 East Street in Brighton and next door has always been a problem site for different owners and traders. It is a huge site, with space for 100 covers, and so has always appealed – in January this year it came up for sale so we bought it and are set to re-launch our new look next week.

Indian Summer, Brighton

“When I originally opened my philosophy was to start up a real Indian restaurant, as opposed to a high street curry house. My business partner and I got together and created a venue with a good ambience, good service and good food putting real Indian food back on the map. All of the dishes are freshly cooked from individual, family recipes.”

Since 2001 the firm have evolved and so were keen to expand their offer in a larger venue. The new venue follows a European design theme with simple clean lines and interesting features. Unique Build Limited worked with Minesh as the main contractor on the scheme to revamp the space; initially the new building was set to be redecorated but at closer inspection Minesh and his team realised the space needed much more attention.

Whilst work has been ongoing in the new venue the old restaurant has remained open, meaning two premises running simultaneously which has been a challenge. Four years ago the team refurbished the old venue incorporating a new design concept complete with wooden wallpaper, Indian kite lights, chandeliers, large mirrors and bespoke wallpaper.

The new venue boasts artwork and wallpaper depicting authentic Indian scenes. Amongst the images are a view from a Rajasthan window and a smoky scene of a father and son team working together in their café in India.

The new venue has a lighter colour palette than the old restaurant comprising more greens and greys, with just one purple wall. Crushed purple velvet fabrics act as a feature at the bar space as do two large banquette seats, which are complimented by the dark wood tables and crisp linen table cloths. Indian lanterns and chandeliers add a sense of elegance to the space.

Indian Summer, Brighton

Minesh added:

“Opening this new venue means we can start serving the customers we have been turning away for quite a while. On a personal note it is great to do this; this venue provides us with a bigger stadium to serve better food, launch a tipping service, as well as introduce a carbon free operation.

“This place gives us a lot more scope and potential to do what we haven’t been able to do previously because of space restrictions.”

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Roma Publications