THE Boom, in Southampton's thriving Oxford Street, is the perfect restaurant for picky eaters or anyone who needs a calculator who work out the bill.

As someone who is always being accused of wasting food, I had to check out The Boom's novel mix-and-match approach to eating out.

The restaurant is small, but makes the best of the available space, so you get all the benefits of an intimate atmosphere but without feeling that you might end up getting an unexpected sniff of a stranger's armpit.

In keeping with the restaurant's vaguely New Age ethos, the cooking takes place in an open kitchen just around the corner from the seating area, so you can easily keep an eye on how your food's coming along - although it's probably not a good idea to stand peering over the chef's shoulder.

The Boom's ethos is simple but effective. Instead of the usual combination of starter and main course, you are offered a choice of set meals containing a bit of everything that's on the menu that week. It's five courses in one, basically - so if you find you're not too keen on one dish, you know you've only got a few minutes to wait before the next one turns up.

The two set meals are The Big Boom and The Vegetarian Boom (there's also, for anyone reluctant to try this approach, Boom Bites - a mixture of starters and main courses). You can, if you like, choose a combination of both menus.

Our group of three went for one Big Boom and two Vegetarian Booms. The Big Boom includes a whole camembert, melted and seasoned with fresh garlic and chilli and served with warm bread, butterfish grilled with fresh lemon and large "wild catch" king prawn, strips of duck breast marinated in orange and fresh thyme served with green beans and broccoli, chicken breast marinated in spicy maple, and medallions of pork tenderloin marinated in lime and coconut and served with butter-fried potatoes.

The Vegetarian Boom, which I had, also starts with the camembert, which is perfect for sharing with your friends. Next up were the mushrooms sauted with fresh herbs and butter, dressed with a chive vinaigrette and served with a seasonal salad - nice, but a bit on the lemony side for my liking. The spinach, leek and cheddar sausage was delicious, though, and came with green beans and broccoli, steamed to perfection. The dry-fried organic halloumi - a Greek sheep's cheese - was a chewy, salty, textural delight. The meal was rounded off with a butternut squash roasted with rosemary with spicy tomato salsa, served with butter-fried potatoes.

At £12.95, the Boom menus are excellent value. I certainly couldn't have eaten another thing after mine.

For a dining experience that's a little out of the ordinary, The Boom can't be beaten.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, a boom is a wooden boat used by Arab traders, who spent their long voyages cooking on open barbecues. You see - educational too.

Reservations: 023 8022 5227.