AN AUTHENTIC American eatery is to open in Fulham High Street next week, with its ambitious local owner promising to shatter the myth that Stateside cooking is all stodge and grease.

Lowcountry opens at the site of a former pub at the junction with New King's Road on Thursday (17), with Fulham-based restaurateur Mark Sands, 34, aiming to bring food of am American type never before seen in SW6.

Out are the mountainous portions of cholestrol-building fried food from the deep freeze and in are locally-sourced fresh dishes based on cooking from the American south, such as cracked crabs, shrimp and grits, seafood gumbo, slow-cooked beef brisket and cheese and meats smoked in the back garden.

Mr Sands, who was born and brought up in Florida by his English parents before moving to Fulham 14 years ago, said: "I'm fed up of eating the same old junk which isn't really a true reflection of the States, the deep-fried, huge portions of frozen food which just isn't good enough. I want to bring real American food to Fulham and I think people will love it."

The site, which has a massive garden, will have a big open plan kitchen with surrounding bar so people can get up close to the chefs, while a huge tank will be on display housing live fish for cooking.

But Mr Sands is keen to emphasise the venue is not a restaurant but a bar and 'eating house', where people can come to drink, snack and watch sport on request in the adjacent bar.

The father-of-two, married to finance director Philipa, says families will be more than welcome. "We're going to have a good, healthy children's menu and stuff like face painting to keep them entertained. If you have children you should still be able to go to a welcoming place to get good food.

"Above all it's going to be a relaxed place where if you want some beers and a great burger with in-house smoked cheese for under a tenner or a proper meal, you can do it."

With businesses in Fulham seemingly closing every week, it is a perilous time to open a new restaurant, especially at a site that has housed several failed pubs in recent years, but Mr Sands is confident he can make Lowcountry work.

"I know what's missing, I know the area, I know what adults want. I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel, I just want people to have good, authentic food and drink at a good price."

www.lowcountry.co.uk