No need for fusion

RV2 doesn't sound like an Indian restaurant, does it? Nor does it look, smell or indeed taste like one. That's because this is yet another experiment in food fusion, mixing south Indian dishes with European ingredients.

Why? Indian food presents so many opportunities that extra virgin olive oil hardly seems a necessity, and it can't be a coincidence that the best dishes we tried - the gratis poppadoms, the whole baby chicken marinated in garlic and chilli and grilled in the traditional clay oven, the okra and potato - were easily the most authentic.

My friend's jumbo tiger prawns were big all right, but their chilli and mango essence was faint, while my shank of lamb cooked with vine tomatoes and herbs seemed too unsure of its origins to baa with conviction.

We were too full for dessert: portions are very generous, which is good as prices are pretty high, especially on the wine list (our meal, with a bottle of Chablis plus 12.5 per cent service, came to £125 without any sweets).

So it's only right that the service is sufficiently good to make the bare, shiny decor, with sparkly ceiling and water tanks supporting the bar, seem less cold than it might, but I'd still take a lick of flock wallpaper and a layer of tikka any day.

RV2
69-73 Shaftesbury Avenue, W1D 6EX