Quilon

The first and most important thing to say about this gourmet South Indian restaurant is: try the lobster with mango and ginger. Really, even if you think you hate lobster. This is perhaps the finest Indian dish I have ever tasted, with the rich flavour of the meat matched and complemented by strong, subtly mixed spices. The rest of this south Indian gourmet meal was almost as impressive, with a focus on Keralan seafood distinguishing it from other Indian restaurants. Standout dishes included a strongly-flavoured seafood broth, the Rasam – a spiced-tomato appetiser served hot before all main courses – and a mouthwatering cracked black pepper ice-cream. The food appears less attractive than in many restaurants in this price bracket, betraying its colonial origins in dark-brown colours and no-frills presentation. Still, service is attentive and well-informed and the décor is appealingly calm and free from third world kitsch. In any case, once you’ve tasted that lobster, the look of the place will be the last thing on your mind.