FOR a mixture of shops, restaurants, and cafes from cultures around the world, there are few better places to go than South Harrow.

Northolt Road is a melting pot of flavour from across the globe, serving local residents with multicultural tastes.

Dosa ‘n’ Chutney opened in December last year as a South Indian and Sri Lankan restaurant take away, with chefs well skilled in the local dishes.

Manager Bala Jayakumar said business is going well since the restaurant opened and he hopes it will be a success for years to come.

He said: “People come here for our traditional foods and because we are something different.

“All our menus are from the local Sri Lankan and South Indian cultures and we don’t use any additives.”

The company which owns Dosa ‘n’ Chutney has two other restaurants in Tooting and Croydon, and Mr Jayakumar said they chose South Harrow as the location for the third because they could not see anything else like it in the area.

But there are a host of grocery and convenience stores offering products from the Caribbean, Asia, Africa and South America, as well as traditional English fare.

Mixed in with the high street stores like MK One is Shankar Superstore, which has recently been refurbished and rebranded as Shankar Cash and Carry.

The store hit the headlines last year after the previous owners were caught selling alcohol to children and their licence was revoked.

But the new owners have revamped the layout and are offering a wider variety of products to restore the shop’s respectable name.

The Harrow Times and Harrow Council is running a joint campaign to highlight the positive points of shopping locally and supporting independent businesses.

George’s Plaice is a traditional fish and chip shop at the top of Northolt Road.

Owner George said trade has begun to drop off as businesses nearby closed or made redundancies.

He said there are still a lot of people who come to the area and offered his support to the Love Harrow Shop Local Campaign to boost traders during the economic downturn.

Cllr Susan Hall, deputy leader of Harrow Council, said: “South Harrow is a busy shopping area and is extremely vibrant.

“The area stands out because of the many independent traders who work there.”