K&S Reign, Streatham

A snake is something I'd never expected to see in a restaurant, but there is, as they say, a first for everything. Luckily this one was in a tank rather than on the menu, though I still think this qualifies as pushing a theme a bit too far.

K&S Reign has a not-entirely grammatical slogan "Let world's fusion be the flavour", and decor it describes as "organic quirky surroundings". There is a jungle theme - hence the snake - so you can expect plants, lots of wood, and a "Nature calls" sign on the toilets.

The theme continues to the menu, where spring rolls are reborn as "veg forest rolls", chips are "bamboo chips" (though as the menu explains, they are still made of potatoes), and so on. An array of flags on the menu are supposed to denote the country of origin of each dish, though mainly it made me realise how many world flags I am unable to identify. I had "chickpea array", which was basically hummus with a few olives and pitta bread, while the other half had "sardine oasis" - a salad of chopped sardines with onion and coriander, which he thought was lovely.

Next came "Footprints" and "Happy herbivore", which translate into English as sliced lamb with West African spices, tomatoes, raisins and couscous, and a tortilla wrap filled with various grilled vegetables and salad. The lamb was quite good, if slightly oily - fruity in flavour. He suffered portion envy at seeing my tortilla, which was perhaps the biggest wrap I have ever seen. It also came with "jungle droppings" - possibly another example of pushing a theme too far - which were luckily nothing worse than chick peas fried with some onion and spices. I thought they could have done with a bit less cooking, but the wrap was very tasty.

There's certainly no denying the value, with most mains just £6.95, or £8.95 for grilled tilapia or beef fillet. You even get complimentary monkey nuts, which you help yourself to, along with cutlery and sauces. I don't mind informality, and the prices are certainly keen, but I did wonder why they don't just put knives and forks on the tables.

Drinks are reasonable too: £13 for a bottle of wine (no description given - a couple more choices might be nice) or £3.50 for various bottled lagers.

K&S Reign has only been open a few months, and may still be finding its feet. It was by no means the best meal I've had this month, but it was pleasant, well-priced, and certainly something different. I may even forgive them the snake.

K&S Reign
540 Streatham High Road
London
SW16 3QF
0208 679 8970