Manju's

Tucked away on Trafalgar Street in North Laine, Manju's has nothing to do with the flock wallpaper and beer-fuelled vindaloo showdowns that "Indian restaurant" usually conjures up. This is 100% vegetarian Gujarati cooking, home recipes handed down through generations and overseen by the restaurant's 86-year-old matriarch, Manju herself, built on the idea that vegetarian food in Gujarat is as much a way of life as a cuisine. Expect delicate, fragrant dishes rather than heavy curry-house staples, and a menu designed to genuinely surprise anyone who thinks they already know what Indian food tastes like.

Service is famously warm and personal, regulars talk about the family taking time to explain dishes and share the restaurant's story, and the kitchen is confident enough in what it does to offer a straightforward guarantee: if you're not happy with a dish and flag it during the meal, they'll refund it. For anyone chasing an Indian meal that isn't a rerun of the usual formula, this is one of the more distinctive tables in Brighton.