A RESTAURANT advertising itself as ‘Hampshire’s first and only authentic South Indian vegetarian restaurant’ was always going to get my custom as a vegan.

But my meat-eating boyfriend wasn’t sure how he’d get on without a chicken biryani or prawn madras.

He began to change his mind as soon as we stepped through the door of the recently opened Indian Melody.

It is beautifully decorated in a colonial style. A chat with the owner, Ram Brarrathann revealed that nearly all the furniture, including the exquisite carved bar, grandfather clock and chairs, came from his own family and much of it is over a century old.

One of the most striking things on entering the restaurant is its open kitchen. Everything is cooked fresh to order, with no canned or frozen food used. Local vegetables are used where possible and others are imported from India.

Diners who want to keep an eye on the progress of their dinner can do so but I’m happy to report that unlike the noise in certain TV kitchens, I couldn’t hear anything emanating from the chefs.

My boyfriend’s doubts about not eating meat for the evening were further eroded when he saw the incredible selection of dishes on offer – many of which we’d never even heard of before.

There are some 170 items on the menu, besides drinks, including an impressive 27 starters.

For starters we went for medhu vadi – described as doughnuts on the menu but I would probably say patties – and vegetable bonda, a concoction of vegetables with ginger and garlic in batter. They came with a delicious selection of dips – a coconut based one, a thick lentil paste and one that was similar to a vegetable and lentil broth.

Both starters and the dips were delicious, particularly the vegetable bonda which was quite spicy.

For our mains we diverted from the usual rice and main and tried dosa –Indian pancakes.

We had masala dosa, which were stuffed with potatoes and vegetables. The pancakes were huge but were very light and extremely tasty. I also had an aubergine curry. This tasted really fresh and almost sweet and lacked the greasiness of some Indian food.

My boyfriend had paneer korma. He hadn’t tried curried cheese before and it was a big hit.

As well as some accomplished chefs, Indian Melody also boasts a skilled mixologist. It would have been a shame to pass up the opportunity to have a cocktail so I washed my meal down with two rum-based ones – a cherry and a fruit flavoured one.

You can order a drink at the bar without eating at the restaurant and it would be well worth stopping in for a drink even if you’re not hungry.

For dessert Ram recommended payasam – a sort of rice pudding with sugar, almonds and raisins. It usually contains ghee but as everything is made to order, adapting it for a vegan wasn’t a problem.

The sweet and spicy dessert was warming but not too heavy.

Fantastic food, beautiful surroundings and first class service – not to mention a couple of cocktails – made it a lovely evening with a surprisingly reasonable price tag – our food bill for three delicious and filling courses came to less than £37.

As a vegan I was in restaurant heaven with so many delicious options to choose from and despite being a meat-eater in a vegetarian restaurant, so was my boyfriend.

As I overheard another diner say ‘I’ll have to come back to explore more of the menu” – and soon!

Indian Melody, 25 High Street, Southampton. 023 8063 8998.

www.indianmelody.net