With a focus on Southern Indian cuisine, Kappad offers a fresh take on the food we would typically order from an Indian restaurant.

Excited to try something new, my fiancé Andrew and I wandered down the High Street on a dark February evening. 

Stepping into the restaurant we received the warmest welcome from staff who guided us through the menu.

Taking inspiration from traditional cooking in the Kerala region, Kappad aims to introduce High Wycombe to authentic southern Indian dishes.

To start I chose the kasappuram platter, a mixed selection of grilled prawns, fish fillet, mussels and batter fried squid (£6.80). For fish lovers, it’s a must try. 

The whole dish married beautifully, crispy squid and mussels with soft delicious fish and sweet prawns. I particularly enjoyed the spicy sauce that accompanied the dish. 

The restaurant is named after a beautiful beach, and the menu has plenty of seafood options. Andrew decided on the thakarppan aadu (£5.99). 

The chicken dish had so much flavour thanks to a tangy sauce, with sautéed onions and peppers, the mild spices make it a good choice for anyone unable to handle hotter dishes.

For mains we chose a selection of dishes to share. With Kerala cuisine being new to us both we asked our server for advice. 

He was incredibly helpful and took the time to explain to us lots of different dishes and the many flavours on offer. 
We decided on two curry dishes, a kottayam meen curry (£9.79) and a Kappad lamb curry (£10.29) which we accompanied with curried potato (£4.49), boiled rice (£2.19) and chappathi (£2.19). 

We were also treated to a selection of different breads including a dosa which is a speciality at Kappad, an appam (£2.49) and a kallappam (£2.49). 

A dosa is a crisp pancake made from a fermented batter and very popular in southern India. The appam and kallappam are the opposite and are softer breads with the appam being extremely light and fluffy.

The kottayam meen curry is a boneless fish curry cooked in a traditional sauce with red chilli and tamarind. 

Huge chunks of soft white fish in a creamy sauce with a hint of chilli, the dish was perfect for dipping the appam. The lamb curry was milder than the fish curry, and in a thick sauce with spinach. 

The tender lamb was mouth-watering. Soft basmati rice and the flavoursome curried potatoes where the perfect accompaniments to our curry dishes.

To finish off the evening we shared a mango kulfi (£4.29).

With so much more to learn about Kerala cuisine, we can’t wait to return and sample more of the menu.