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Indian Summer has been on my wish list for too long but last night felt right. After a day of cloud and gloom and cold, we booked a table for 19.30 and head out into the darkness of Brighton to seek out the comforting warmth of spices and heat.

On stepping through the door it feels like you’ve found a secret treasure, a gem that only a special few know about. It was a Thursday and it’s January so it was quiet, but not eerily so, there was the faint sound of a familiar song playing in the background as we took our seats at a beautifully draped booth style table just behind the welcome desk and as our coats were whisked away we were handed the menus to look through.

The wine list here is thorough and has some delicious yet very reasonably priced wines. We opted for Terres Secrètes, Mâcon-Villages Blanc 2016 at £30 a bottle. A dry and crisp white wine with citrus and subtle stone fruit notes.

We were offered a selection of papads (poppadoms) and pickles, which we obviously accepted. These were no ordinary poppadoms and were certainly no ordinary pickles. The poppadoms were delicious, crisp and homemade, some seeded, some not, I could honestly have just eaten these all night long.

The pickles were out of this world good, 4 in total, yoghurt topped with pomegranate jewels, a sticky sweet tamarind sauce, a spicy tomato and pepper dip and those must have wafer thin purple half moons of red onion with just a squeeze of lime. Never again will I accept sub-par pickles.

The menu here is as special as the setting, a tiny bound book containing images and stories of the owner, manager and chefs. Every dish is clearly labelled for allergens and dietary requirements, with a key being present on each page.

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We opted for the Mackerel Fry for the boy (gluten free & dairy free option) and the Masala Dosa (vegan & gluten free) to start, followed by the Tandoori Black Bream again for the boy (gluten free & dairy free option) and Shakahari Paneer. It was the first time I’d ever tried a dosa (again, been on the wish list for too long), it was crisp and perfectly brown with the softest spiced potato & vegetables contained inside – would 100% recommend and have again and again… and again!

Unfortunately I felt the Shakahari Paneer dish was lacking. The paneer although marinaded in tandoori spices just didn’t excite me and the potato cake was dry and underwhelming. The star of this dish had to be the chana gobi, a creamy and delicious chickpea and cauliflower curry, which was mild but hit the spot.

We finished the evening with the Indian Petit Four, 2 espressos and a brandy (for the boy). If we were to eat here again I’d definitely skip the petit four and probably join the boy with an extra boozy finish.

I have to say that the only negative for me (and the boy) were the hovering Power Rangers, yes you read that right. All throughout the evening delivery drivers would turn up, with their motorcycle helmets still on, to collect orders from the bar. There isn’t a dedicated area for them to wait whilst the food is being prepared and so you end up with drivers hovering behind your table all evening long. I could almost expect/put up with this if I was ordering a £5 sandwich from a takeaway cafe but when you’re paying over £100 for a meal you really don’t want the constant distraction of hovering Power Rangers. It’s feedback I provided whilst we were at the restaurant, so I wonder if this might be taken into consideration by the restaurant owner/manager.

Despite this I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Indian Summer as the staff are knowledgable, friendly and really really good at what they do. The atmosphere is warm and welcoming, like a being hugged by the afternoon sun. And the food is certainly worth going back for, whether you’re vegan, vegetarian, or otherwise, there is most definitely something you’ve never tried before, full of flavour and just absolutely delicious!