Lime Squeezy is a likeable Asian restaurant with a well-travelled menu

This likeable, relatively new Sussex restaurant has sites in both Chichester and Brighton.

We visited the bright and breezy Brighton branch in Jubilee Square, in the not inconsiderable premises vacated by Pizza Express.

On a late August afternoon we nestled onto window-side stools and enjoyed the watery sunshine in an understated and extremely light two-storey venue which has plenty of space within its white walls.

Lime Squeezy bills itself as a Southeast Asia fusion and has a menu which reads like a backpacker’s dream with Nasi Gorengs, side by side Pad Thai’s and Rendangs.

But like every good traveller, it doesn’t stop there and the first indication of the pan-Asian menu came with our choice of bao buns – Korean barbecue.

These fluffy little fellas were packed with saucy, spicy chicken (surprisingly spicy), crunchy slaw and Japanese mayo.

Next up was the pork yumpling - Not quite sure what the difference is between a yumpling and a dumpling?Perhaps size? Because these bubbas were BIG.

Steamed dumplings that were literally bursting at the seams with sweet savoury pork mixed with diced water chestnuts, topped with crispy garlic, and reminiscent of an afternoon's dim sum (but almost twice the size).Generous starter number two came in the form of Nori Squid with a Wasabi dip.The marvellous molluscs were perfectly cooked without even a suggestion of chew about them, with a batter was crispy and chunky and not a million miles from Panko-breadcrumb style, and were just asking to be plunged into the wasabi dip, which itself was all the better for addition of salty shards of Japanese seaweed.

There was money-saving sharing option of enjoying plates of gyoza, crispy rolls and meaty skewers etc, an option which seemed popular with younger diners, but younger we’re certainly not and instead pressed on in slower middle-aged fashion with some bigger dishes.

A plate of golden pork belly looked just as good as it sounded and was served with Massaman curry sauce, rice and a tangy side salad with some superb pickled vegetables.

And a comforting, bowl of laska made for a satisfying slightly spicy slurping of noodles, prawns, chicken and veg.

Pudding came in the form of a refreshing East Asian Yuzu citrus sorbet, and a vividly coloured Japanese Mochi – mixed balls of ice cream wrapped in a pounded sweet rice dough. The latter was a somewhat curious texture on a western sweet, but any lingering doubts were dismissed by the quality of the ice cream, particularly the mango flavour.

Lime Squeezy in BN1 has every chance of being a long-lasting success.

It’s particular welcome given the relative paucity of Thai kitchens in Brighton’s pubs in 2022.

The location couldn’t be better and the wide-ranging menu covers an awful lot of Asia and a lot of personal favourites under one roof.

To find out more go to

https://limesqueezy.co.uk/

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