A NEW restaurant has opened in Andover specialising in authentic spiced Indian cuisine.

Spice Route Restaurant has been set up as an independent family-run business by the owners of the award-winning Spices and Spirits in Basingstoke.

Nitin Patil, who owns the restaurant in the High Street as a joint venture with his wife Anushree and business partners Prafful Nagrare and Chaitali Nagrare, said: “It’s the first authentic Indian restaurant specialising in the refinement of spiced Indian cuisine.”

The restaurant is led by a team of highly skilled and experienced chefs focusing on authentic Indian cuisine with subtle and complex flavours.

Mr Patil said: “The specially designed menu is crafted with care. It promises to delight our guests with the best of Indian cuisine, capturing delicious and unforgettable flavours of southern and northern regions of India.”

Spice Route’s menu focuses on using fresh, high-quality ingredients, seasoned with home-ground species.

Each meal is complemented with homemade pickles and preserves as well as a range of signature drinks and desserts.

Mr Patil said: “We wanted to grow and the idea came up to look for another place and we saw a chance to expand because there is a local need. The place came up and we signed a contract and it’s doing well. It’s similar to what we offer in Basingstoke with good cocktails and good coffees with the food full of flavour fine dining.”

The restaurant has had a soft opening before its official launch on June 11.

Mr Patil said the restaurant has had a good response so far from the community and said it can also accommodate parties for up to 70 upstairs.

He added: “We are excited. We used to get clients saying they want something in Andover because it’s a long way for them to come to Basingstoke.”