Sri Lankan better-than-café

The Palm Palace may be short on palms, and it is not palatial by any manner of means, but the food is great.

This is the only Sri Lankan restaurant among the restaurant turmoil that is Southall, and the menu features a great many delicious and interesting dishes.

As is so often the case with Sri Lankan food, the 'drier' dishes are particularly appealing, and there is a good deal of uncompromising chilli heat.

The dining room is plain but comfortable, service is friendly and attentive.

For a starter, try the mutton rolls - long pancake rolls filled with meat and potatoes.

Or there's the fish cutlets, which are in fact spherical fishcakes very much in the same style as those you find in smart West End eateries, but better spiced and a tenth of the price.

Move on to a 'devilled' dish: mutton, chicken or, best of all, squid - these dishes combine spices with richness very well.

There was a time when every curry house in the land featured Ceylon chicken, but here you'll find a short list of real 'Ceylon' curries, including mutton: they're good, if straightforward.

Try the chicken 65 - the name is said to refer to the age of the chicken in days: any younger and it would fall apart during cooking; any older it would be tough.

The hoppers (Sri Lankan pancakes) are good fun: string hopper, egg hopper, milk hopper.

Try a simple vegetable dish as well.

Sag aloo brings fresh spinach and thoughtfully seasoned well-cooked potato.

Palm Palace
South Road, Southall, UB1 1RD