REVIEW - The Little Blue Smokehouse at Seven Stars pub, Ship Street, Brighton

It is hard to believe there was no such thing as pulled pork five years ago.

You can’t move for the stuff now. Go to any rusty white van and they sell you oil slicked mystery meat slapped in chilled white bread.

Or there are the vac-packed portions in supermarkets, more like cheap tuna swimming in KFC barbecue sauce.

Of course, pulled pork may have existed for longer, but there certainly wasn't much of it in Brighton.

That all changed with the arrival of Barbecue Shack in the World’s End pub.

Slow and smoked were the watchwords, with pork shoulder, beef brisket and the like all getting the American Southern-style pit treatment.

Wafted with sweet smoke, aromatic spice and a patient approach (18 hours, 24 hours - how long have you got?) the result was a revelation in flavour, elevating disregarded cheap cuts into something heavenly.

There's been a glut of varying quality since, but standing apart was the Little Blue Smokehouse, a regular at Street Diner, the Friday street food market at Brighthelm Gardens. It's the the one which confidently sells out every week as neighbours wonder at their secret with dismay.

Started as a hobby a few years ago, Little Blue Smokehouse goes in for lots of smoking and slow cooking, slawing and curing, pickling and brining.

After picking up a national award, it has been poached by the bang on trend Indigo pub group, the latest in a series in-pub collaborations including La Choza at the Hare and Hounds and Curry Leaf Cafe at The Temple Bar.

Indigo has given the tired pub its own trademark look - think bare bricks, street art trimmings, wrought iron and cage booths.

Like Meat Liquor and the new BrewDog bar it is all very young and hip. The latest D’Angelo record vibes in the background. And as is de rigeur for any self-respecting cool bar, there is a colourful choice of real ale and craft beer - Camden, Burning Skies and Beavertown all on tap.

So far, so laden with the hallmarks hipster gentrification. Yet it's hard to believe anyone will miss the old pub, its popularity more down to city centre footfall than any mag?c formula.

Nor will it alienate the plus 40, clean-shaven Corona drinkers.

As pub residents, the Smokehouse’s still do their trademark brisket, pulled pork and pastrami sandwiches, but have introduced a selection of mains, small plates, a comfort/hangover menu and even a special chip selection.

Their signature smokiness and gut-punch bold flavours have a familiar presence, while some dishes are elevated above and beyond their humble street food roots and informal style.

The chargrilled rib of belly was as robust as a truncheon and smothered in a rich umami sauce as thick as melted chocolate.

Eating it was as pleasing as its good looks and it was a remarkable specimen compared to some of the sickly sweet scrawny ribs served up elsewhere.

The simple slaw and searingly tart pickle gave tried and tested acidity to the rich protein.

A main of duck and egg was the standout dish. A confited leg, subtly smoked with soft flesh breaking away, came on a sturdily seasoned potato hash. A soft fried egg egg gave it like an ultra indulgence, while kimchee, a Korean hot and sour fermented cabbage, gave an unexpected smack to the palette, tempering the richness.

A fully realised dish which could hold its own against more esteemed company.

But not everything was a winner.

The pig's head fritters, croquettes of braised herb-flecked flesh, came with piccalilli, which had been inexplicably turned into a textureless tangy puree, whizzing away piccalilli's best quality - the crunch.

A salad of cucumber ribbons, charred iceberg lettuce, buttermilk dressing and crispy onions was a refreshing break from the meat feast but ultimately a little limp and lacking vitality.

And the squid was crucially without the promised crispiness, though the nduja, a spicy spreadable Italian sausage, woke up the bowl, which was also bedded with sensuous buttery soft cannellini beans.

Though militantly carnivore-focussed there were some intriguing untried veggie and fish options, including a smoked and pickled beetroot salad, with burrata, apple leather, horseradish vinaigrette; and hot smoked salmon, smoked trout scotch egg, with smoked haddock chowder.

The meal was essentially very good, accessible pub food, with some wildly creative edges.

It is probably at its best when feeling greedy, beery or hungover.

It ruthlessly chased elusive depths of flavour and umami sweetspots, the results showing impressive craft, technique, patience and practice.

A blindingly obvious question often ignored by chefs is whether diners will want to eat a whole plateful of the?

And despite a couple of missteps this food cries out to be messily devoured.

The craze for American South cookery may be rather overdone but the Smokehouse have taken it off in their own direction.

Perhaps the large menu could benefit from some refinement, focus and bedding in, but by these standards it is only going to get better.

Food ****

Atmosphere ****

Service ****

Menu at a glance 

Sourdough, BBQ butter and BBQ gravy dripping £1.75

Crispy squid, Nduja, smoked white beans £5.25

Smoked confit duck hash, kimchi and fried egg - £10.95

Buttermilk fried chicken, Buffalo sauce, bacon, blue cheese, leaves, garlic mayo, brioche roll £6.95

Bowl of mac & cheese, bacon crumble £6.00

Kimchi cheese fries £5.50

Jalapeno cheddar cornbread £1.95