Destined for sweet success

Imli is Wardour Street's latest eaterie and it's shaping up to be a very welcome addition. Conceived by the owners of Mayfair Indian restaurant Tamarind, it features a modern, simple design with a brown and orange colour scheme and little detail or fuss.

The design may be too stark for some but the owners are trying to steer away from the stereotypical Indian restaurant. In fact, they have taken a very similar approach to that of another trendy, modern outlet, Shish, which aims to provide a fresh, innovative twist on traditional cuisine for customers with little time on their hands.

So instead of huge unwieldy portions of chicken tikka masala, mounds of rice, and great chunks of naan bread, Imli's menu offers a series of Indian tapas-style dishes for sharing, recommending three dishes per person as the equivalent of a two-course meal.

From the 'light and refreshing' menu, we sampled mushroom tikki, a mouthwatering combination of mushroom, ginger and coconut with a tomato garlic sauce; sev puri, potato-filled wheat crisps that burst in the mouth and release five different chutney flavours; and banana dosa, which were sweet, dense, miniature banana pancakes topped with cashew nuts and served with a savoury chutney.

A spicy dish of batter-fried Amritsari fish with an avocado dip from the 'new traditions' menu hit the spot and the pav bhaji, a mix of seasonal vegetables in cumin sauce served with a lightly fried pav bun, was filling and fresh.

None of the dishes are spicy enough to have you breaking into a sweat but the helpful waiters in black pyjama-style outfits recommend you keep a glass of Iassis handy. It's a traditional thick, creamy fruit and yoghurt drink that can be sweet or salty and cools the tongue between tastings.

Other innovative dishes include bhel puri (puffed rice, cucumbers and roasted peanuts with assorted chutneys), papdi chaat (wheat crisps and bean sprouts with vermicelli, sweet yoghurt and mint chutney) and fenugreek wraps (chicken with julienne vegetables in fenugreek bread with yoghurt mint sauce).

And the innovation continues with dessert. Rice pudding is spiced-up with cardamom and prunes stewed in red wine, the raspberry and black salt sorbet is fruity with a slight salty after taste and the carrot fudge, which sounds very unappetising (shredded carrots, melon seeds and raisins reduced in sweetened condensed milk) is a sweet success.

Imli also does catering and the downstairs restaurant can be hired out for parties and functions. Tel: 020 7287 4243 for details

Imli
Wardour Street, London, W1F 8WR