Shish, the pioneering London restaurant group that fuses recipes and cooking techniques from countires found across the historic Silk Road, has launched a series of seasonal menus that focus on the key regions of the ancient silk road trade route. The regional menus, which will run alongside the Shish classic menu, exemplify the principal culinary directive of the Shish - a contemporary approach to the tradional cuisine of the ancient Silk Route which unites cultures to offer a new take on eating and living. The Mediterranean menu draws on influences from Spain, Morocco, Italy, Greece and Turkey and will include both hot and cold mezze, alongside three customised variations on the 'skewer', or shish, the signature dish of the restaurants.

Sample dishes from the Mediterranean menu include spicy beef 'cigares' served with yogurt - ground beef with chilli and cumin, wrapped in pastry and deep-fried and served with yogurt, salt cod, chickpea, tomato and parsley salad - dressed with lemon and olive oil and chicken, prune and olive (chicken thigh marinated in agen prune, black olive, capers, onions, parsley and olive oil).

Over the coming year, Shish will explore the cuisine unique to each area of The Silk Route and will produce seasonal menus for regions including the Far East, Middle East and the intriguing culinary culture of Central Asia. Under the guidance of founder David Azouri, who has developed the concept with food historian and chef Israel Aharoni and executive chef Steve Bush (formerly head chef at Acclaim! and The Baltic Exchange) the Shish kitchen prepares all its food daily and uses produce sourced from suppliers who have undergone the strictest quality control.

The decor of Shish affords a contemporary environment for one of the world's oldest methods of cooking. A 50ft counter seats diners and allows a panoramic view of the chefs at work, who prepare their fare in an open plan kitchen. The Shish sites also contain a dedicated bar area, where The Silk Route concept is maintained.

Highlights of this unique menu include the Mulberry Sling (Gin, passion fruit syrup, rose petal syrup, lemon juice, mint and mulberry jam) and the Holy Shish (Blackberries, mint, grass vodka, blackberry liquor, sugar, fresh lime, fresh apple juice)