I am a sucker when it comes to choosing unusual items on a restaurant menu.

So when I visited the latest addition to Croydon's brilliant food scene I was spoiled for choice when it came to picking things I have never eaten before.

Caprice specialises in Mediterranean and Balkan cuisine in the freshly renovated site where the Argentinean steak house used to be.

They have opened out the front of the restaurant to create a modern, cosy restaurant.

To the uninitiated the Balkans is an area of Eastern Europe around Bulgaria and this restaurant prides itself on bringing its dishes to the people of Croydon.

Alongside a Mediterranean menu containing classic dishes from Italy and Greece is the Balkan section which is already proving a hit as you would be hard pressed to find some of the recipes anywhere else in the borough.

I settled in to my Bulgarian feast with a couple of the more exotic choices - chicken gizzards village style (£5.20) and beef tripe sautéed in butter (£5.60).

The chicken dish was extremely tasty as the gizzards (in reality the stomach of a chicken) are meaty and come fried with onions and mushrooms. The tripe - the lining of a cow's stomach - was spongy and richly flavoured with butter. It is a dish that divides diners with many who would never try it and others who adore it. I am not a fan but tripe lovers are already making a bee line for this restaurants speciality dish. Other items include chicken hearts, beef tongue and liver making this Croydon's premier offal restaurant.

Now clearly these dishes aren't going to be to everyone's tastes so my companion went for a huge shepherds salad containing tomatoes, cucumbers, red pepper, ham, olives, mushrooms, cheese and egg (£3.80). Other highlights include a mixed plate of Balkan sausage (£15), some speciality soups as well as calamari (£5), king scallops (£7.85) and warm goats cheese (£4.50).

The experienced chef is a master at cooking the more typical Med dishes as well as the Balkan specials giving everything an authentic taste.

For main course I was encouraged to try the house special. an enormous platter of meat served Balkan style on a ceramic plate. At £14.95 for two it is a bargain as I was assured the mixture of chicken, pork and beef fillet with vegetables was enormous.

After my double starters, I opted instead for their mixed grill of kepache (meat roll), kufte (meat ball), karnache (sausage ring) and pork chop with chips and lutenica (tomato sauce) (£12.50). The meats were perfectly seasoned and cooked and was a carnivore's delight.

My companion went for the classic chicken supreme (£11.95) served on pasta with a mushroom cream sauce which again was well cooked.

The menu choices are already proving popular with locals and regulars are returning for a taste of the Bulgarian wines on offer.

With the unique dishes, enormous portions and cheap prices (three courses set menu at dinner for £11.95) I am sure this will become another of Croydon's top restaurants.

Caprice. 108a High Street, Croydon, Surrey, CR0 1ND, Tel.: 0208 127 4808.

www.croydoncaprice.co.uk