Off to a jittery start

Sree Visakham is a new-ish restaurant on the East Sheen sector of the Upper Richmond Road, a stretch of highway that has accumulated enough different restaurants to tantalise even a jaded palate.

There are several steady Indian restaurants, Italian eateries and pizza parlours, Redmond's - which serves rather good French food (and is a cut above its neighbours) - and now this newcomer, a 'South Indian Kerala Restaurant'.

Opening a restaurant is a gut-wrenching, soul-tearing thing to do. What if nobody likes the venue? What if the prices are too high? Maybe the decor will be a turn off? Or the food too fancy?

All of these worries, and more, come into play with Sree Visakham. The decor is red, with red walls and red carpet, - and while this may be terrific at night, it is somewhat disconcerting at lunchtime. Service is friendly and attentive but they really must get over their nerves.

The menu is enormous - as well as some splendid Keralan dishes there's a full list of 'high-street-curryhouse-favourites', the belt and braces approach that stems from a lack of confidence. The standard of cooking (at least of the Keralan dishes) is high, so why bother with Anglo-style ersatz dishes like chicken vindaloo or prawn Madras?

You get the feeling that proprietors are terrified of stepping out of line. Surely the good people of Sheen are discerning enough to be happy with a menu that doesn't include every last comfort-blanket curry?

I urge you to pitch up, ignore the crimson paint and get stuck in to the decent South Indian dishes - they are well-spiced and gently priced. For a starter try the giant paper dosa - a crisp pancake, hot and huge, it is very good.

Or there's the adai - a nutty tasting, but equally satisfying, mixed lentil pancake. The cashew nut pakoda is like a superior savoury cashew nut brittle. There's a terrific rasam --a hot pepper soup.

From the mains, there are appams, which are lacy pancakes that you can have with meat Malabar --a rich curry. Chilli lamb is a splendid dry curry, and the Kerala fish curry is kingfish cooked in a sauce dominated by coconut.

As you would expect when the cooking hails from the South of India, vegetarian dishes are very good indeed. Kalan is a curry of white pumpkin made agreeably sharp with a dose of yoghurt, or there's that old favourite, beetroot thoran - very dry and bringing out the earthiness of the beetroot.