Chemmeen

Chemmeen is a cut above the usual high-street Indian restaurant. Indian wooden furniture, wildlife paintings and plants have been carefully arranged to create a suggestion of Kerala, India's lushest state. White walls, big windows and immaculate linen add to the smartness of the place; smart yet not at all stuffy.

Instrumental background music plays as the knowledgeable all-Indian staff take care of the predominantly Hampstead crowd of all ages. Chemmeen (meaning king prawns!) specialises in fish dishes - Kerala, after all, is a coastal state - and the house masala of prawns cooked in a spicy gravy is just delicious. The house chicken curry, mopped up with paratha is excellent too; strongly flavoured but not too fiery. Dishes are made fresh to order.