Littlehampton's newest restaurant brings tastes from Hungary and Romania - 'This is unique'

The Menu is now open for business in East Street after replacing The Fish Factory, which closed at the end of February.

Hungarian nationals Steve Kundi and Zsuzsi Polyak opened the new restaurant alongside head chef Balint Beledi, after previously working behind the scenes with restauranter Andy Sparsis.

Steve said: “We are very proud to announce that, after working for over 15 years in the hospitality industry, we finally managed to open our own little restaurant in Littlehampton, which is a beautiful, lovely sea town.

“I took over with my partners on February 26. It was a very long journey and very hard to get to this point.

"The people are amazing. Everyone is so nice with us since we’ve been here. We have done a complete refurbishment and have a big variety of food.”

There is an incredible range of options available, such as beef wellington, pastas, curries, fish and burgers.

“Everything is produced in our kitchen, homemade, daily,” Steve said. “We also brought a few hidden dishes from Hungary and Romania.

"We have some amazing desserts, including Zsuzsi’s special, which you should definitely try.

“This restaurant is unique. It’s very different from anything else around and hard to find something like this.

"We are very happy to be part of this little community. Littlehampton has some beautiful restaurants around and we are hoping to have some more opportunities to try different dishes from around the world.”

The new restaurant was opened officially to the public on Thursday, May 18.

Andy Sparsis, who has taken up the role of landlord, said: “We have to keep things fresh and have to know when it’s time to pass things on. They signed a contact with us and have reinvented it.

“Steve came to England 17 years ago. He has only ever worked for me in this country. He has worked really hard as a general manager and main chef.

"It’s such a nice story that they can run the business for themselves. The beef wellington was famous and they have put that back on the menu.

"We really wish them the best. We are really proud of them and what they’ve managed to achieve.”

SussexWorld review

Senior reporter Sam Morton tried the chicken curry and the chocolate cheesecake. Here’s what he thought:

“Due to the huge amount of choice, it was a very tough decision to pick one meal.

"As curry is one of my favourite dishes, that eventually drew me in and the one I had at The Menu is up there with the best I’ve ever tasted.

"It was a creamy Indian-style curry and the flavours were just amazing, with just the right amount of spice for my liking. I also liked how it was served, in a stoneware dish to preserve the heat.

"It was complimented beautifully by plain rice and a naan bread and I washed it all down with a coke zero.

“Some curries can sit on your stomach, leaving no room for pudding but I had enough space left for a delightful chocolate cheesecake, with a delicious topping of raspberry compote.

“It was definitely perfect for a chocoholic like me but there was a strawberry-flavoured one available as well as an array of other homemade desserts.

"I can’t wait to return to The Menu to try some more of the food on offer. I’d also like to note how lovely the venue looks inside after the refurbishment. It’s a lovely and cozy setting for a relaxed meal with family and friends for any occasion.”

The Menu is open five days a week – from Wednesday to Sunday, between 12pm and 10pm. To find out more, visit https://themenu.restaurant/.

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