Lucky Khao is part of a small, local, casual dining group in Brighton. It’s on the ‘less than ritzy’ Saint James’ Street and occupies a venue which is Red Roaster (a great coffee shop and cafe) during the daytime. Lucky Khao bills itself as a “Northern Thai BBQ using locally sourced produce” and it’s gained many accolades since opening in early 2019.  Just six weeks after major abdominal surgery, I decided to go to Lucky Khao to test if my innards could yet withstand hot spicy food!  I was tempted to go after getting an email (I’m on their mailing list) which promoted a special deal for November of 4 dishes for £20.

The restaurant was about half full when we arrived at 18:30 (they keep tables for ‘walk-ups’). I was expecting to enter into a cosy Thai space, with barbecue aromas in the air. But there were no aromas (the kitchen has good extractor fans), the room was quite chilly, and the venue is more ‘modern cafe’ than ‘Northern Thai’.

The menu for the special deal was quite short, but so too was the standard a la carte.  Their menu of craft beers was significantly longer, with good detail on the flavour notes of each one. I chose a beer infused with lemongrass.

Food began with a plate of gem lettuce leaves and various plants including onion flowers and chillis. We made our own lettuce wraps and dressed them with a chilli sauce and a fiery hairy aubergine chutney. This was an interesting and livening version of an ‘amuse bouche’ 7/10

My first main plate was a crab salad on betel leaves, which were similarly eaten by hand, like a wrap. Once again this had a fiery kick, but also fresh citrus and aromatic flavours. Delicious, but quite light. 7/10

Mr A started with some sweet glazed barbecued pork neck skewers, which were really good.

My next plate was skewers of barbecued wagyu heart topped with herbs, chillis and shallots. This too was very good, though it didn’t have the smokiness of Mr A’s pork starter. The heart was so soft. 7/10

For my main course I had chosen a smoked pumpkin curry. The sauce was a cacophony of different aromas and flavours, all layered together with great skill and balance. 8/10

My curry was served with plain rice and a side plate of wok-fried greens (pax choi, green beans, peanuts and shallots) which were flavoursome and al dente.  7.5/10

I thoroughly enjoyed my dinner at Lucky Khao!  The food was very good and very different and superior to what you would find in a regular Thai restaurant in the UK. The use of less common cuts of meat is worth praise. But the stand-out reason to eat here are the fabulous, well-balanced flavours.  One of my friends thought the dishes were too spicy (hot), but I didn’t find that.  However, what I did find was that the plates were cold, and so too was our food after a very short time.  Overall I think Lucky Khao is a very good addition to Brighton’s casual dining scene and I wish it well. 8/10