Out of Africa

Chakalaka' - even the name has something of the Lion King about it. And then there's the exterior paint job. It is not often you come across a restaurant where the frontage is decked out in black and white zebra stripes. This may be effective camouflage on the veldt, but it tends to stand out on the Upper Richmond Road.

Chakalaka is a new South African restaurant and everything about it confirms Brit preconceptions. The staff are cheerful and upfront, portions are brutal, meat matters.

The owners are obviously in a bit of a cleft stick: on the one hand, the menu reads authentically - kudu, springbok, ostrich, butterfish, kingclip - but that all means air freight, which in turn pushes up the prices. Starters can run up to £7.50 and mains top out near £17. This is strong stuff for a friendly and otherwise unpretentious neighbourhood restaurant in Putney.

The starters range from spiced butternut soup to Boerewors with the eponymous chakalaka - the farmer's sausage has a suitably rough cut filling and a high meat content, but the chakalaka (billed as a 'spicy tomato and onion salsa') has no oomph, it's very short on spice.

There is also a 'venison pate' which is a quenelle of soft meat paste, oddly vague in flavour and served with what is called a quince jelly. The most interesting (and expensive) starter is the Kudu carpaccio. It comes dressed with olive oil and Parmesan - the slivers of rich, dark, almost chewy fillet are delicious.

There is a long list of main courses ranging from Karoo lamb cutlets, to bobotie (a SA take on fruity curry made with minced lamb), or low veldt guineafowl and foil-baked Cape hake. The more exotic dishes are the most fun - pan-fried kudu steak comes to table as a medallion of ultra-lean meat wrapped in streaky bacon and served with onion rings and slow-roast cherry tomatoes. The meat is rich and very tender.

The springbok loin is even better - this comes with a sweet potato mash, red onion marmalade and green beans. The venison equivalent of fillet steak is sliced and ends up butter soft.

The kingclip (a meaty fish) was off and replaced by a large hunk of butterfish. This is a less successful dish than the antelope steaks, due to slapdash cooking - one end of the fish steak cooked perfectly, one underdone, but everything swamped in an unsubtle cream, mushroom and prawn sauce.

But if the fish dish is clunky, something on the dessert menu screams for attention almost as loudly as Chakalaka's stripey exterior - 'deep fried chocolate, vanilla nut ice-cream balls'. The very description is a challenge and when it comes to table this is a very dangerous pud indeed. Take a lump of ice cream, make it into a parcel using rather thick and certainly stodgy, 'almost filo' pastry, deep fry and serve.

Chakalaka is a cheerful place, even if the menu is a little on the pricey side. Staff are friendly and the wine list features several interesting and up-and-coming South African wines, as well as the estimable Castle lager beer.