The top line: The ninth restaurant from London Japanese casual dining group Taro. Located within the Ship Street townhouse that was once home to Curry Leaf Cafe, Taro Brighton is the brand’s first venture outside of the capital. The group’s owner Mr Taro launched his first Taro restaurant in Soho in 1999 but is now focused on the suburbs, operating sites in places like Catford, Walthamstow, and Finchley. He says his restaurants are inspired by Japan’s teishii-shokudo restaurants, which translates as “everyday dining room”.
On the menu: Taro offers an expansive selection of approachable and affordable dishes that cover pretty much all genres of Japanese food that are popular in the UK. Options include sushi and sashimi, salads, grilled dishes, Japanese curry, over rice dishes, ramen, and other noodle dishes. The menu has around 80 options in total not including its comprehensive selection of sushi and sashimi. Exclusive to the Brighton site are a selection of handrolls. These are listed on a separate menu and include the Brighton Roll, a combination of salmon, prawn, tuna, and yellow tail filled with asparagus, avocado and tobiko dressed with spicy mayo.
The vibe: The Taro team have overhauled what is a rather awkward ground floor and basement space removing the bar that ran down the middle of the restaurant and installing a large open kitchen in the rear. Design details include green leather banquettes, slatted wall panelling, dark wood tables and chairs and black and white photos of Taro’s other teams and sites.
And another thing: He may have now been at it for over 35 years but Mr Taro’s appetite for growth is only getting stronger. He says that Taro will soon hit double figures with at least two more sites set to open next year.
60 Ship Street, Brighton and Hove, Brighton BN1 1AE