FRIDAY nights in North Street make Dante’s nine circles look like a cakewalk.

It’s the sort of strip of real estate that always catches you unaware.

You pull a late shift at work, get dragged out for a quick pint with colleagues. But as the sun sets over Brighton and you begin the journey home, that innocuous high street is transformed into a launch pad for depravity.

Scrums of boozed-up Burger Kingers and high-heeled hens stalk the streets.

It’s crucial on this dash for home that you have a safe refuge for escape. And last Friday night, sanctuary came in the form of Sabai Thai.

Nestled in Princes Place, the restaurant is wedged between a loading bay, an endless stream of chain Italians and the nesting place of some of Brighton’s most vicious seagulls.

And perhaps it’s the geography, or maybe just the long shadow cast by Brighton’s more high-profile restaurant openings. But for whatever reason Sabai has always slipped off The Gourmand’s radar.

But if you can fight your way past the queue of Deliveroo drivers – step inside and you’ll discover a bit of a hidden gem.

Sabai translates loosely as comfortable and relaxed – and that’s exactly how you feel on entering.

All wood panelling and tinkling water features, it’s a cool, dark and welcome hideaway.

And most importantly, it’s rammed full of customers leaning over big steaming plates.

The menu is enormous: the drinks menu alone features 15 white wines and a cocktail list that reads like the line-up at a full moon party.

A pleasant enough Chilean sauvignon blanc comes in £4.25, while a bog standard Singha beer will set you back £3.75.

London has its fair share of hyped Thai restaurant offerings, with the likes of Mango Tree and Som Saa.

But the trend is yet to filter South – so for anyone less comfortable with the cuisine, starters and appetisers will be the most familiar territory.

Spring rolls and satay sticks fly out of the kitchen at a rapid rate.

We opt for the dumplings, plump little parcels stuffed with chicken, shrimp and Thai herbs and doused in a salty sweet soy and garlic sauce.

Delicate wok-fried prawns follow, drenched in a lime and coriander sauce and scattered with a confetti of coriander and chilli.

It’s heavy on the tang of sweet and sour and the more cloying of the dishes.

For main we go for the gang pet, a luxurious red chicken curry.

The pillowy softness of coconut cream is offset beautifully by the crunch of al dente vegetable.

The chicken is poached and tender but feels more like an afterthought to the rich, heady sauce.

The whole thing is soaked up quickly by two portions of rice – one sticky Thai and another coconut.

The servings aren’t massive so if you’re hungry don’t be stingy about ordering extra rice.

The pad med ma muang stir fry of chicken and cashew nuts comes with a wallop of garlic, dried chilli and onion.

The sticky oyster sauce base is plate lickingly good.

Again the meat plays second fiddle to the crunch of fresh vibrant vegetables and silky, salty sauces.

If there’s one complaint, it’s that the vegetables all feel incredibly uniform with the same line-up of peppers, carrots and courgettes appearing across the plates. But it’s a minor quibble.

The puddings list is almost as hefty as the drinks menu, offering up the likes of deep fried ice creams and bananas, through to sweet sticky rice and chocolate fudge cake.

But we are stuffed and call for the bill instead.

After all, it’s time to head back out and brave the masses. Yet riding high on a kick of oyster and soy, the journey home suddenly doesn’t seem so bad.

It’s safe to say a pit stop at Sabai Thai could become a new Friday night tradition.

  • The Gourmand pays for all his meals.

Sabai Thai, Princes Place, North Street

Food: ★★★★

Atmosphere: ★★★★

Service: ★★★★

MENU TASTER

Sauvignon blanc, Volandas, Central Valley, Chile 175ml: £4.25

Singha, Thailand: £3.75

Wok-fried prawns: £6.50

Ka nom jeeb (steamed dumplings): £6.95

Gang pet (red curry) with chicken: £8.50

Pad med ma muang chicken stir fry: £8.50,

Kao ka ti (coconut rice): £3.50

Kao niew (Thai steamed sticky rice): £2.95