Solyluna drives the way

There couldn't be a stranger spot for London's first Venezuelan restaurant: on a grim dual carriageway link between Camden and the West End, with council blocks and Tottenham Court Road's furniture shop overspill as neighbours.

Solyluna was practically empty, but it's a shame - the mainly traditional food is genuinely different and, more importantly, very good.

Slightly sweet corn pancakes, stuffed with mozzarella and served with fresh avocado slices, were wonderfully squidgey: real comfort food.

My cuajado a la cumanesa, billed as 'an exotic stew of shredded fish with red peppers, sweet chilli and fresh garlic, served with mature egg-fried plantain', turned out to be a good omelette.

A main course of asado negro a la antanona was a powerful blast of flavour: thick slices of good beef, roasted with caramel and sugar cane, were served covered in a thick, rich, black sauce. Superb.

My companion's Caribbean chicken curry was also spot-on: piles of meaty chunks cooked in coconut milk that tasted light, but also revealed all its tropical flavours.

Dessert was decadent and incredibly moreish: a concoction called 'tres leches' - sponge cake soaked in three types of milk, topped with a fragile layer of meringue.

A lot of effort has clearly gone into Solyluna and it's definitely worth the trip.

Solyluna
NW1 3EL