Restaurant review: 7 By the Lake, Kingston Foreshore

Down on the Kingston Foreshore there are two eateries, wildly different, right next to each other, which share the same numeral in their names. On one side there is 7th and Bake - a summery cafe and bakery where you can park your bike after an early morning ride and get a coffee and a chia and fruit bowl. On the other side is 7 by the Lake, a well appointed Indian restaurant complete with soft sitar music and smart black tables festooned with gold-coloured napkins. The two are, we're told, completely unrelated and the rhyming names aside, it's probably unlikely that the average punter will rock up to one looking for a berry smoothie or the other seeking a curry takeaway.

It's to 7 by the Lake that we are headed tonight. It's quiet - a spacious dining room with a big gold-and-ochre motif on one wall, like the waves of Lake Burley Griffin, and formally laid tables. According to the menu, the idea behind 7 by the Lake, which has only been open for a couple of months, is to showcase dishes from seven regions of India, from Goa to Maharashtra. There's no immediately apparent region of origin for this entree of "chicken lollypop" which arrives very soon after we order. The name makes it sound a bit like finger food for an 80s children's party but thankfully the lollypop just turns out to be fried chicken drummettes with little caps of aluminium foil over the ends. It's also quite delicious, with a good spice mix rubbed well through and a drizzle of minty yogurt over the meat.

Service is quietly solicitous - everyone who strolls in the door is greeted and shown to a table with a view, or a comfortable bench. There are plenty of queries about how everything is going. Wine is poured and kept refilled from the short, mostly serviceable wine list. If you're looking for something a little different from mango lassi there are two speciality drinks on the appetiser list. Sol kadhi is a coconut milk drink flavoured with cumin, chilli and garlic - it's deeply savoury and like a liquid curry. In the mains there's a nice enough goat laalmaas curry, filled with enough chilli to give a deep, smoky edge to the heat. Kohlapuri chicken pulls apart nicely under the fork to form a shredded chicken curry. From a competent list of breads we get a perfectly soft, fluffy naan stuffed with onion, super fresh and just right for dipping into curry. And a pair of puran poli, little wholewheat bread lined with a spicy, fruity paste, make for a sweet finish, so we don't need to go to the duo of rather predictable desserts on the menu - gulab jamun and kulfi.

It's a quick, easy finish to a competent Indian meal in pleasant surroundings that doesn't break hugely new ground in Canberra's restaurant scene.

Address: 143/41 Eastlake Parade

Phone: 61407038

Website: sevenbythelake.com

Owner: Sushant Bhole

Chef: Ramesh Gould

BYO: Yes, corkage $5.50 per person

Hours: Lunch Mon, Wed, Thurs and Fri; dinner Mon, Wed-Sun. Closed Tues.

Wheelchair access: Yes and disabled toilet

Noise: Low

Vegetarian: Plenty of options

Score: 12.5/20