Viva Brighton Issue #69 November 2018

FOOD
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Irma’s Kitchen
Caribbean curry in Kemp Town
Last year I was invited by a lady called Natalie to
try out her home cooking. She was of Guyanese
heritage, and had got a group of ‘tasters’ together
to get some feedback. I went along and was served
up dish after dish of scrumptious Caribbean fare.
The result of this planning was a café you’ve very
possibly passed on St James’s Street, called ‘Irma’s
Kitchen’, Irma being Nathalie’s nom de cuisine.
Next time you’re round there, make sure it’s
lunchtime, and that you walk through the door.
Or breakfast time, for that matter. Natalie has
made Irma’s Kitchen an interesting hybrid, where
you can get a full English, if you don’t fancy
a Guyanese speciality. I’m here with my wife
Rowena, and we very much go for the latter. She
chooses a Guyana Curry Beef (£7.10), I choose
a Spicy Creole Cajun Chicken & Rice (£7.20).
Just after
we order, a
three-generation
Caribbean group sits at the last available
table: we take this as a good sign.
Natalie is apologetic that we might have to wait a
bit for our food - everything’s made pretty much
from scratch, she says, and the place is jammed.
She points to a picture on the wall saying ‘Irma
says: good food takes time’; I don’t care, especially
when I learn they do pints of Stella.
Twenty minutes later, my dish arrives, with fried
platanos, a salad and a spicy sauce. Turns out it’s
tell-all-your-mates-about-the-place delicious,
fruitily spicy, and well, well worth the wait.
Alex Leith
85 St James’s St, irmaskitchen.co.uk
Photo by Alex Leith
speciality coffee vendors
Here today, for your enjoyment
White & Black Drinks, hot or iced - Hot Chocolates
Butterscotch Milsches - Loose Leaf Teas - Natural Sodas
Retail packs and ground coffee to take away
Our food is plant based
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