We had the pleasure of sitting down with Nicky and Lonnie Allon, the passionate duo behind Nanima, to learn more about their journey. In this interview, they share the story of how Nanima came to life, the inspiration behind their unique style of Asian cuisine, and the warmth and vibrancy they’ve found being part of Brighton’s Kemptown community. From family recipes to the local support they’ve received, Nicky and Lonnie give us an insight into what makes Nanima such a special place.
What inspired you to open Nanima Asian Kitchen & Café?
Well, the short story is that Nicky and I had a valuable experience working together on a previous venture in an earlier life, running Cinephilia West – a cinema-themed gallery, café, bookstore and screening lounge in Notting Hill in 2009/10; I was responsible for the books & DVDs on sale, the framed film posters and all screening/salon events and Nicky took control of a small kitchen to offer a range of dishes that were all very popular. After moving to Brighton we were always on the lookout for suitable premises in Kemptown to work together again as a wife-and-husband team, offering great food and more. But the main reason is that Nicky is an amazing and very creative cook and can prepare all these wonderful dishes so it was a case of deciding on what to do, where, and – most importantly – when, as we have three kids that need raising too.
The stars aligned in 2019/20 and we threw everything we had and we are into this venture.
What do you like most about working in hospitality?
The best thing about being able to run a project such as Nanima – genuinely family-run, with the opportunity to establish real connections with the local community and become a credible, local, neighbourhood venue catering to regulars and visitors to the area – is that we get the chance to be hosts to guests, not producers selling commodities to customers. There’s a qualitative difference that people feel, appreciate and are very positively receptive to. It’s a privilege to be able to show generosity and kindness to our guests through Nicky’s food, our great coffee and other goodies, and the general vibe of the place. People dig that and we get great satisfaction from it too.
Describe the Nanima experience to someone who hasn’t been before.
Well, at first it can be a little confusing as it’s not at all like anywhere else. Firstly, we’re a café and a restaurant, so guests can nurse a coffee all day while on their laptops, or can meet with friends for a nice cup of tea and some awesome cake, or have a light bite – from daily-changing sandwiches and fresh oven-baked pastries to speciality items such as homemade samosas, pakoras or spring rolls – or get fully involved from the wide selection of dishes all displayed in the bains marie, either for lunch or full-on dinner, with fine wine or ice cold beer. But secondly, as mentioned above, the main thing is that guests feel welcome, invited into what is essentially a home environment, and relax into whatever their experience may be, without all the performative aspects that often exist in going to regular restaurants. Again, the response has been almost universally positive as guests evidently feel open to a more authentic dining experience, and then they can enjoy the food – and the music! – a little more.
What does the name “Nanima” mean, and how does it reflect the philosophy behind your café?
Nanima means ‘maternal grandmother’ in Hindi, Punjabi and other languages of the Indian sub-continent.
It’s what we call Nicky’s mother – she is Nanima! – as Nicky is of Punjabi-Malaysian origin. The name for this business is therefore appropriate as the entire ethos of our provision of food is that it be experienced and appreciated as dishes your mother, or grandmother, would make at home; Nicky is not a professionally trained chef but a mother who has learned from her mother and now offers these dishes, made and served with love, to anyone who wishes to partake.
Nicky, you were encouraged to bring your home cooking to a wider audience. What was the biggest challenge in transitioning from home cooking to running a café?
The only real constraint is that – as we don’t cook to order but prepare all our dishes in the kitchen on-site and then have these displayed out front – we can only offer those hot dishes that can work in that setting, namely being prepared in full and then presented in bains marie. This means that there are many dishes, such as Thai noodle dishes or various others from national cuisines, such as Malaysian Roti Chanai that I would dearly love to make, that can’t be offered in that way. Other than that, we’re good to go!
Lonnie, you manage the front-of-house at Nanima. Tell us about your role and how you create that welcoming atmosphere customers love.
Well I’m very lucky. While Nicky is slaving away in the kitchen (actually, it’s OK, you can imagine her happy!), I’m out front where I get to welcome everyone as they enter – not always the case in cafes! – and then get to explain what we do, and what we have available for lunch or dinner that day. This immediately means that people start to feel that they are indeed guests and we’re hosts, and it allows for the possibility of a real civil exchange. As we don’t have a set menu but a daily-changing selection of dishes from across Asia, I need to describe what is displayed, and talk through guests’ selections in a way that is much more pleasurable – and appreciated – than just asking ‘do you want chips with that?’; again, we find that the vast majority of our guests respond very positively to this model as it allows them to try things they wouldn’t necessarily order off a printed menu, to make recommendations as appropriate, and to talk through any dietary issues they may have. In addition to the food, we’re able to curate a welcoming environment in a relaxed setting with great music, so our guests respond to that and we get into some great chats! Real friendships have been made with many regulars, which is wonderful.
Your menu spans a variety of Asian cuisines. How do you ensure authenticity and balance between so many different styles?
The main benefit of this particular model of food preparation and presentation, ie not cooking to order when guests make their choices off a menu, is that Nicky is free to prepare everything exactly as it should be, each dish one by one, without any necessary short cuts that most restaurants have to make, such as having a masala curry base that is then added to with chicken or spinach or whatever when the orders come in; that is the greatest damage to authenticity as you just can’t make a good curry in twenty minutes so have to have a base waiting in this way. As we aim to offer a wide range of dishes – vegetarian, vegan and non-vegetarian – and from so many diverse Asian national and regional cuisines, Nicky is literally free to prepare any dish she wishes without any connection to others also on the ‘menu’.
Nanima also offers catering for events. Can you tell us more about your catering service?
Yes, this is a really important element of the whole project, and we undertake catering for at least two or three successful events each month; to date we have catered for everything from intimate dinner parties and relatively small family celebrations all the way to full-on weddings and bar mitzvahs! We have catered for private events at home as well as corporate events for local business, and have worked often with health and educational establishments in the city. The main thing to note is that everything is completely customisable to whatever the clients’ requirements are – everything from light snacks at stand-up events to sit-down dinners with starters, mains, desserts or sweets – and whatever the budgets are.
We can easily morph to any needs and so the answer to any question is ‘yes, of course, we can do that!’
How important is sustainability to your business?
This is a critically important part of what we do. We are completely plastic-free and do all we can to foster a caring and ethical approach to environmental sustainability. One main reflection of that is that there is never any waste here – everything finishes every night so we pack up and go home when that’s done. Also, in addition to the reusables that we sell we offer a 10% discount, by way of incentive, to any guests coming to collect any take away items using their own food containers or lunch boxes.
How would you describe the community around Kemptown?
There is a very real sense of community in Kemptown, specially Kemptown Village where we are, further east than what most people in the city think is Kemptown, down around St James’ Street. That obviously has its own identity there but here in the Village it’s much more relaxed and, well, village-y. This allows for a more authentic connection with regulars – so many people know one another by name and stop and say hi, or chat about the football! Here at Nanima, as we see so many people many times each week, it’s a wonderful thing to feel that you’re actually part of people’s lives – it may be just swinging by to pick up a coffee, or a sandwich, or a takeaway lunch or dinner, but we know that people certainly feel it when we’re closed for whatever reason. We were away on holiday for two weeks in August and so many of our regulars were clearly relieved on our return! But the main issue is that it ensures the highest possible standards. When businesses depend on day-trippers as their model it’s unavoidable for standards to drop as you’re not concerned about serving those same customers again as there’s another trainload right behind; as a local, neighbourhood establishment serving guests on a daily basis we depend on regulars who return because they know the quality of our offerings. Lastly, there’s a great community of traders, all caring for each others’ businesses with no competition as we want everyone to do well, for the sake of Kemptown Village! There’s a newly-formed Kemptown Village Business Alliance that we are proud members of, and everyone is committed to raising the profile of our wonderful community.
Any new menu items or events we should know about?
The main thing over the coming months is, of course, Christmas. We sell a lot of retail items as gifts – from our really wonderful lunch boxes and reusables to Nicky’s homemade traditional Punjabi pickles, and Malaysian chilli oils, and organic teas! – and there’s an increase in larger parties getting together reserving tables and bringing festive cheer. Oh, and our mince pies are the best!
Which dishes are the most popular at Nanima, and why do you think they resonate so well with your customers?
This is hard to say – we’ve been here over four-and-a-half years so we know that everything we offer from our wide repertoire is going to be enjoyed by our guests, but if I had to say one thing then that would be our Saturday Special: Nicky’s awesome Singapore Laksa! Many regulars come from far and wide for this each week and we’ve had very many laksa aficionados agree that ours is the best they’ve tasted in the UK! That’s true.
When you have a chance to dine out in Brighton or Sussex, where do you like to go for brunch or dinner, and why?
Well, although we’re all massive foodies, we don’t get much opportunity to go everywhere we’d like to. A lazy Sunday might find Nicky and I enjoying a great roast at The Rock Inn, just around the corner from us in deepest Kemptown, but if we’re out with the kids and fancy something non-Asian then we may head over to Kambi’s in Hove for some excellent Lebanese cuisine, or choose from the number of Italian or Mexican restaurants in the city whose menus cater for all the family. But if we do still need Asian food – come on, it’s the best! – then our favourites are certainly Moonstone in Hove which is the finest Sri Lankan restaurant around, or Big Bowl on Preston Street for authentic Vietnamese.
What is the best advice you can offer an aspiring restaurateur?
Oh, that’s tricky. Well, maybe obviously, the first thing to say is that they should be prepared to work really hard, really long hours, and hope that their passion carries them through.
This is conviction stuff; you have to believe 100% in what you’re doing. Secondly, I would always suggest looking for a particular angle, something that makes you and what you do different from whoever else is out there. While I’m a great believer in the saying, ‘there’s always room for one more good one’, ie if you’re good enough then yes, another Greek restaurant is fine even though it may not be breaking any boundaries, I do still think that people respond to a new idea, an exciting concept to engage with on a more abstract level as well as the simple provision of good food at good value.
However, it is all all all all all about the quality of what you serve and how you serve it; that, and hard work, and lots of luck, should see you through.
