Asked to describe the vibe at their hip food joints, MEATliqour’s bosses Yianni Papoutsis and Scott Collins go for “loud and raucous: controlled anarchy”.

Their first venture outside the capital – in York Place, Brighton – is thus not the place to sit for hours staring longingly into a lover’s eyes in quiet solitude.

There is a striking black façade out front. Inside there are pink neon strip lights behind the bar and multi-coloured walls covered top to bottom in graphic design and street art you could stare at for hours. “All our venues are very different, drawing inspiration from both the building and the surrounding area,” explains Papoutsis.

“From the carnivalesque days of the Victorians, through the Art Deco period, Brighton has had a fairly lurid history as a seaside destination for hedonists and party-goers for more than a century now.

“This parallels nicely the history of Miami and South Beach, where I’ve spent a lot of time cruising around eating seafood and looking at neon signs. “I Love Dust – the graphic artists we’ve worked with ever since MEATliquor London – have created some remarkable imagery and we also commissioned the Brighton-based Fishtail Neon Studios to produce the signage.”

The duo have the chops to go with the chat. Papoutis was recently named by the London Evening Standard as one of the 1,000 most influential people in the city. Collins has opened 13 pubs in London and continues to run eight of them – including The Clarence in Balham which won the last ever London Evening Standard Pub Of The Year Award.

The first sign of MEAT was the MEATwagon burger van touring car parks and industrial estates across London in 2009 for impromptu “Meatings”, which ended up as Towpath Festivals, with hundreds dancing and drinking late into the night. “I was bored in my previous job and needed a hobby,” says Papoutsis, when asked why he started. “I enjoyed cooking more than anything so buying a burger van seemed obvious. There was never any master plan, just a passion for food and willingness to work hard.”

In 2010, Collins threw his money in the pot and the pair bought another wagon. When the second MEATwagon was nicked and the first one was vandalised, the duo refused to give up. “I didn't have any other options left by that point. We were back cooking on rented griddles outside in the snow behind one of Scott's pubs that very same night. A month later we opened #MEATeasy in New Cross.”

#MEATeasy, housed in a derelict Italian restaurant above an abandoned pub and manned by volunteers who loved the brand, was soon followed by the purchase of another van. The empire now includes MEATmarket in Covent Garden, MEATmission in Hoxton Market and MEATliquor, in Welbeck Street. And now Brighton.

“We both love Brighton. There’s a lot of very creative people here. Both geographically and demographically, the membrane between London and Brighton is very permeable. It’s also by the seaside...”

Which is why, for the first time, they’ve added fish to the menu. The Fried Fish Sandwich (£7.50) and the Margarita Prawn Cocktail (£7) will join favourites Dead Hippie Burger (£8) and Chilli Cheese Fries (£6.50). “The Dead Hippy is by far our most popular burger: It was invented out at Burning Man Festival in Nevada. The onion rings (£3.50) and the buffalo wings (£6.50) are also big favourites. I’d advise washing that lot down with a Donkey Punch (£7.50) from the cocktail list.”

A longish cocktail list include New Cross Negroni (£7.50), MEATjito (£8) and Full English Martini (£8), Bombay gin with vermouth and served with egg and bacon, apparently.

There are still queues most nights at MEATliquor in London, adds Papoutsis, two years after its opening. He admits running up that sort of love is no easy feat.

“It’s fun and it’s affordable. A lot of dedication goes into the food, the drinks, the service and the environment and I think it really shows through. “We don’t do gimmicky dishes: our food is honest to what it should be. It is American food adapted to the British palate.” As for the many vegetarians who might feel left out?

“We serve a mean Halloumi and mushroom burger (£7) and the deep-fried pickles (£3.50) are to die for... Anyway, it’s not like Brighton’s lacking vegetarian options!”

  • MEATliquor, York Place, Brighton, 01273 917710
  • Open Wednesday to Sunday, noon to 11.30pm (kitchen closes at 10.30pm)