British India

British India – led by co-owner and manager Arun Dachepalli – exists to bring a fresher, healthier form of Indian food to Plympton. Using in-house spice blends and conventional cooking practices, the modern-Indian restaurant champions street-food favourites.

The menu is stacked with vegetarian and vegan dishes, more than half of which are also gluten-free. As the name suggests, there’s also a strong British influence: the herdsmen’s pie, say, with goat curry, peas, mashed potato, caramelised onion, curry leaf and chaat masala; and the broken samosa – fried pastry, potato and peas heaped with crispy puffed rice and cucumber salsa.

Of the larger dishes, a stand-out is the fragrant Persian lamb cooked slowly in red chilli, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom, with cranberry and pomegranate molasses. Then there are two butter chickens to choose from. One dish is sweet, smooth and familiar (the British version), while the other is nutty and mellow – made without sugar for true depth and spice.

This spirit of reinvention extends to the sides: from a chutney made with mint, pineapple, pickled onion and dates, to pistachio-and-cranberry-stuffed kulcha – a flatbread that’s thinner and less fluffy than naan, made from maida (refined white flour) rather than wheat flour.

From a takeaway nook to the boxy bar, the venue’s layout mirrors that of many suburban food joints. The fit-out is simple and clean. Dark timber dominates, especially in low light, with floral wallpaper bringing colour and contrast.