This restaurant was established in 1989 and the entrance is into a comfortable and cosy reception area where a fire (gas imitation but effective) blazes in the old fashioned hearth and a steady stream of people await by the bar for their take-away. Always a good sign. Another good sign was that the restaurant always seems to do a good trade, as it did when we visited when it was packed on a Wednesday evening in January. From overhearing the conversations with the waiters, many of the customers are regulars.

The restaurant seats 54 in total, mostly (about 40) in the main dining room, with the remainder in a smaller room beyond. The building has a Tudor appearance with a decor of plain white pebbledash style walls between dark timbers and wall lights giving a cosy ambience. The menu has all the usuals but also lists some interesting variations

We started with our usual benchmark of Onion Bhajias (3 round style) which were served with a startlingly bilious-green raita. The bhajias were pleasantly crisp and spicy but had a faint flavour of the cooking oil behind the spicing, indicating that the oil was not quite hot enough when cooked and had absorbed slightly into the bhajia. However, it was only thing to quibble about all evening, and only a slight tang at that so they were eaten without qualm. I had the ‘Green Mass’, which the waiter said was a fish 'as like a sardine’. When it arrived it was a well cooked stuffed green pepper (capsicum)! However, it was stuffed with minced fish and spiced.  It made a substantial starter and was extremely tasty with a strong fish flavour very much like sardine. In fact, it could have been sardine for all you could tell.

Our main courses of Chicken Tikka Dhansak (listed under ‘Pharcey’ (sic) Dishes!) and Chicken Dupiaza were both excellent. Both served in a korai (which are hot, so be warned) and with the finishing touch of being generously topped with fresh coriander. The Dhansak was cooked to a thick sauce with a wonderful flavour combining the lentil and spices, with the hotness becoming stronger the more you ate (always a good pointer to the cooking, rather than chillies added at the end). The Dupiaza was equally good with the slightly sweetish taste of the two levels of cooked onion. The accompanying Mixed Vegetable Bhajee (not on the menu, but they do it) was absolutely delicious - sizeable pieces of a good variety of vegetables, including okra, extremely tastily spiced and cooked to perfection rather than the overcooked slightly mushy versions frequently served in many other restaurants. The Peshwari Nan was also superb, being freshly cooked, hot and so light that it almost melted in the mouth.

Prices and portions about average and the service was excellent. Several waiters in smart waistcoats, with the restaurant logo on them, were constantly but unobtrusively about, ever alert and attentive but not being overbearing. They were all very friendly, and every one had an engaging personality and smile. No wonder they retain their regulars - it was good.

Malcolm Wilkins - January 2003