Kama Sutra

The 2013 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).

This review is taken from the current (2013) edition.

Lothian Road’s Kama Sutra, part of a small family-run chain, is still a relative newcomer to the city’s dining scene. The interior is stylish with well-spaced dark wood furniture, though the pictorial artwork catches the eye more often than the imported carvings on the walls. The menu embraces traditional dishes as well as the more unusual. A starter of crab tikki is a surprising success and the hara bhara kebab (deep-fried spiced spinach and vegetable patty) is delicious. A manin course of Himalayan chicken hot pot has a sweet and sour zing to it, and vegetarians are well catered for with the beautifully balanced paneer madlaider and excellent daal tarka marke, flavoured with cumin seeds and rarely highlighted asafoetida. Breads are good too, particularly the pleasingly flaky paratha. Lovers of fiery foods can ask for their dishes ‘desi style’. This in-house codeword should trigger a knowing nod from the efficient staff and a significant increase in the spice level of your meal. Don’t say you weren’t warned …

• High point: Interesting range of well-executed dishes
• Low point: Greasy wine list cover