Although some 20 miles (and many curry houses) away from where I live this used to be a favourite of mine in the late 80s as the food was better than most. However, with the increasing number of restaurants to chose from and general improvement in standards the visits gradually became less frequent. I was therefore pleased to visit again in May when my wife suggested we re-visit for old times sake. I can happily report that it is still under the same ownership and with the same chef (as it has been for 16 years) and the food was a good as I remember it.

A 58-seater in standard high street curry house layout of tables either side of the central aisle. However, the seating is comfortable with partitions between every two tables, and the decor pleasant with some greenery around the partitions and fresh flowers on the tables.

The menu contains one or two different offerings amongst all the usual dishes, and the food got off to a good start as an impressive eight choices of pickles were served with the popadoms. Our starters of Chicken Chat and Onion Bhaji were good. The Chat was slightly salty but very tangy and substantial - bigger than it appeared at first sight. The two large Bhajias were light and contained plenty of onion mixed with fenugreek seeds inside a crisp outside.

The main dishes were even better. My wife’s Lamb Kate was very tender pieces of lamb cooked with onion and ginger in a thick, extremely tasty sauce. A relatively mild dish but with plenty of underlying flavour from spices which permeated the lamb. Equally tasty was my Chicken Tikka Morrisa, which was a hot dish in which previously cooked pieces of chicken tikka had been re-cooked in the hot, spicy sauce during preparation. This gave the chicken a deep, smoky flavour right through and was delicious. The flavour of the chillies was deeply ingrained in the sauce so that the hotness came out and increased during the meal. A dish to put sweat on the brow gradually rather than immediately anaesthetising the taste buds! Fresh coriander had been liberally sprinkled on the main dishes. Mixed Vegetable Bhaji was equally good, with a good variety of vegetable nicely cooked without being overdone, and subtly spiced. Standard Pillau Rice but Peshwari Nan well above the average being light and fluffy, and packed with fruit filling. Hot towels, quartered oranges and Twilight mints finished off an excellent meal.

Service friendly and efficient and prices about average, although a 10% service charge is added to the bill. Portions generous - so much so that we couldn’t finish it all and the waiter kindly packed the remains in containers for us to take with us.

A first class meal with the food quality, taste and preparation well above the average high street curry house. Not in the ‘Good Curry Guide’ but certainly deserves to be.

Malcolm Wilkins - May 2002