CURRY SCENE, PENZANCE

There are five Indian restaurants in Penzance (unless you know differently!). Starting at the eastern railway/bus station end of town is Little India at 3 Albert Street. Looks fairly ordinary from the outside, but offers a comprehensive menu. Moving to the town centre is Curry Corner at the top of the historic Chapel Street. More of a take-away than a restaurant as such, but you can eat inside as a few high chairs by a counter are provided for this purpose. I liked the look of this as it appeared a good down-to-earth curryhouse. Large jars containing a variety of spices line the window, and the cooking range is along one wall so you can watch the food being prepared. Even in the morning when they are closed you can watch the chefs preparing large saucepans of various curries. It's enough to make your mouth water, and the only reason I didn't eat there is that my choice was much nearer to where I was staying. They open between 12 and 2 in the daytime and offer a lunchtime 'lunchbox' for £3.95, which comprises a starter of onion bhaji or samosa, one main dish and one side dish. Sounds good value to me.

Further down Chapel Street is the Ganges, a pleasant looking restaurant conveniently situated opposite a couple of the town's older pubs. The menu offered a number of different and interesting sounding dishes. Moving along to the western side of town is the Taj Mahal, tucked away on the corner of Daniel Place. It is linked to the restaurant of the same name in St Austell and is fairly new (or recently refurbished, as I believe the first restaurant in Penzance was called Taj Mahal) with modern style wooden flooring and seating.

Lastly, but not least is the one I ate in - The Baba - at the very western end of the promenade in the Wherrytown district. Linked to the restaurant of the same name in Truro it offers a fairly standard menu.