IndianSt. James's Street

Bayleaf

Unglamorous decor, seriously good curry

6.3/10

Local score

No. 96 of 300 places to eat on r/brighton, from 19 locals across 16 threads.

94% would send a mate. Still recommended in 2026.

Consistently recommended Kemptown curry house — highlights include the lamb dhansak, veggie curries and biryani, with several calling it a 'proper Indian restaurant experience' and better than flashier rivals like Chilli Pickle. It looks tacky and a bit dusty inside despite a 5-star hygiene rating, and one person had a rough takeaway experience, but that's the exception against a strong run of praise.

Go for
A proper curry house experience, takeaway included
Heads up
Decor is tacky and a bit dusty inside

What locals say

Rightly keeps getting recommended. Hove Tandoori is a classic traditional British curry house with banging food. Chili Pickle is certainly decent but doesn't scratch that classic curry house itch as it's a bit more fancy and a little more pricey as a result. I actually found Bayleaf on Saint James' Street to be surprisingly decent, despite the fact it looks very ordinary from the outside. Worth a visit if you're that end of town. Vel has been mentioned and really is superb however it's currently closed and there's no suggestion as to when it will reopen sadly. Similarly Manjus on…
u/Krizzlin, 20226 upvotes“What's the best Indian restaurant in Brighton?”
I wouldn't call Bayleaf fancy. In fact it looks pretty tacky from the front. But as is so often the case with curry houses, looks can be deceiving, and it's actually very decent. Looks and feels a lot nicer inside and the food is very good.
u/Krizzlin, 20234 upvotes“Curry recommendations in Brighton”
Bayleaf in Kemptown actually do some delicious veggie curries. The decor leaves a lot to be desired and it's quite dusty inside but they got a 5* hygiene rating recently and I would defo recommend. As someone who knows their curries, it's beaten all others I've tried in Brighton (though I haven't tried them all!).
u/Cultural_Leek1685, 20234 upvotes“The Curry question”
…express! used to get bhindis but its a bit too oily, honestly bayleaf was the worst takeaway curry i've ever…
u/langsta1, 20251 upvotes“Curry time”

Ranked from 21,200 r/brighton comments. Summaries are written by AI from what locals said; quotes are word for word. Not affiliated with Reddit. Back to the guide