THE arrival of big-name London chains into little old Brighton has led to many a furrow brow and look of consternation over morning lattes.

It’s a direction not everyone is thrilled with mostly due to the city’s fierce spirit of independence, a place where you can get lost for hours and barely see a high street name.

It is exactly this independent-mindedness which has put off many attempting to crack Brighton in the past, though this is starting to change.

It all started with MEATliquor nearly three years ago, bringing its deliciously dirty burgers to a neon-clad club-like restaurant complete with banging music.

Aggressively expanding Mexican chain Wahaca came more recently, to the understandable dismay of Brighton’s own established street food independent La Choza.

And taking prime position in the North Laine is Franco Manca, a big bucks-backed venture that kick-started the artisan pizza trend.

Probably most tantalising of all though, is Polpo, the Venetian-style bar-cafe group, which was an instant hit in Soho when it opened in 2009, and has since gone on to open four more in London.

Founded by former Caprice director Russell Norman, he gave it the good talk about coming to Brighton, wistfully remembering soggy chips on the pier on childhood holidays with his grandmother.

Some two years were spent searching for the right site and it’s hard to argue with this long view when taking in the New Road restaurant.

There’s an initial bar, stacked with Campari, young wine and limoncello, leading on to a narrow corridor, which opens out into a impressive dining area made more spacious by the large skylight.

Modelled on a baracca, the type of humble wine bar found in Venice that serves small plates of food, the branch is a calculated type of shabby, though feels perfectly natural - and is right at home on theatre-laden New Road.

There’s a confident, relaxed attitude from the staff to match the space, for a well drilled, seamless service.

It’s one of a spectrum of elements which makes this new breed of chain restaurant devastatingly superior to the Stradas and Bella Italias that came before it.

The food and drink also blows away the competition, starting with the apertivos, which Polpo has played its own part in popularising.

They’ve got the now ubiquitous aperol spritz and the hip negroni, the gin-Campari-vermouth combo which is bitter, bracing and brilliant.

Probably best of all though is the negroni sbagliato, meaning ‘mistaken negroni’, conceived when a barman accidentally substituted gin for Prosecco, making for a lighter, spritzier pre-dinner cocktail.

You can kick things off with cicchetti, appetisers which include green olives, stuffed with anchovies and battered and deep fried, which explode with salty astringency in the mouth.

On the specials there was crostini with anchovy, smoked mozzarella and banging pesto to really soften up the saliva glands.

The rest of the menu is split into straightforward segments – pizette, meatballs, fish, meat and vegetables and salads – which are mostly small plates costing between £6-£9.

While the cicchetti wakes you up, the rest if more understated, though no less delicious, and when taken as a sharing selection makes for its own harmonious feast greater then the sum of its parts.

The crab and chilli linguine does not land punches but is more of a soothing massage, the sauce playing a strong but supporting role for the pasta.

A cod dish is also restrained but quietly brilliant, supple just-cooked cheeks with earthy puy lentils and salsa verde. There can’t be many better ways to this favourite – with the possible exception of fish and chips.

The fritto misto was a rough and ready selection of chunky shell-on prawns, squiggly squid and other bits, lightly battered. It was little under seasoned, and it’s not clear if that’s the style, though it’s easily adjusted at the table.

Known for their meatballs – so much so Norman has launched a specialist spin-off The Bowler - they come in classic beef and pork, spicy pork and fennel, or lamb and pistachio. A far cry from Ikea’s they stay true to the meatball’s straightforward, blue collar roots.

For a break from the carbs and protein, there is a fresh and floral zucchini, parmesan and basil salad.

For desert the tiramisu is great – lubricated and rich with a big bang of coffee. But for a lighter touch the affogato is a must try for the many appealing contrasts of the espresso-vanilla ice cream as they meet and mingle.

It’s understandable why some worry about the arrival of big names, but Polpo is not one of the bad guys. Brighton’s independent spirit will live on, and high quality places like Polpo will only push up standards.