Since opening their doors in 1983, Gars has become one of Brighton’s best-loved Chinese restaurants. From their doors on Prince Albert Street in The Lanes, they provide traditional Chinese cuisine with a contemporary twist; big on flavour, authenticity and style. With nearly thirty years of serving delicious food, Gars must be doing something rather right – Discover went along to try for ourselves. We had to start with some classic Chinese appetisers that we all know and love – first up was some chicken skewers; beautiful big moist pieces of chicken perfect for dipping into the rich, peanut satay sauce. The spring rolls were an absolute delight – a light, crispy batter encasing the delicate insides of finely chopped vegetables and light rice noodles. The spare ribs were a real traditional treat – delicious pork meat covered in sticky barbecue sauce that we licked off our fingers. Next, we tried a trio of appetisers. This was soft shell crab, baby squid and spare ribs in salt, pepper, chilli and spring onion. This was so delicious – salty with a pleasant kick. We were picking up the little bits of spring onion and vegetable covered in the salt and pepper dressing, it was so good. Really moreish and excellent picking food. Gars has a great reputation for their dumplings so naturally, we had to sample some of these next. The Har Gow dumplings were beautiful little balls of goodness – chopped prawn and bamboo shoots encased in a tasty translucent pastry. And the Siu Mai dumplings were just as good – we tried the pork and prawn version, wrapped in a delicate wun tun pastry. Both dumplings were complimented perfectly by the soy and chilli dipping sauces that accompanied them. Next, we moved onto the main events – first, sizzling fillet steak in a black pepper and soy sauce. It really did come sizzling to the table on a hot plate – this was mouthwatering steak cooked to perfection (and our specification), coated in a tasty, rich sauce. This is some classic Chinese cuisine at its best. We also tried the sea bass with ginger and spring onion – this was a fresh, delicate dish, perfect for the sunny summer evening in which we were dining at Gars. The fish was in a lovely light sauce, accompanied by delicate pieces of cucumber. Next was a delicious tofu dish – tofu with cashew nuts in a yellow bean sauce. The protein was nicely cooked (no soggy tofu here!) in a tasty, thick sauce. The crunch of the cashew nuts worked perfectly with the soft insides of the tofu. To accompany the medley of delicious main dishes, we had the vegetable fried rice and pak choi in garlic. The rice was fluffy and interwoven with delicately chopped pieces of vegetable – the colours were very pretty. It was delicious soaked with the various sauces from the beef, fish and tofu. The pak choi in particular was marvellous – perfectly cooked and covered in garlicky goodness. The staff at Gars were welcoming and attentive; they worked hard to ensure that our evening ran smoothly and the great food kept coming! They also offer a lunch Dim Sum menu that’s available Sunday – Tuesday, 12pm until 5pm. Their wine and beer menu is varied and extensive, and they also offer some tasty desserts that we intend to go back to try. See you there!
