The Ambala is a small restaurant a little over a mile from the city centre. It's recently undergone a bit of a face-lift and now boasts an up-market tiled interior and a couple of TVs - plus an increased tariff. Unfortunately, the fare seems to have changed for the worse.

We kicked off with a selection of fine starters: vegetable pakora (£1.00), vegetable samosa (£1.00), aloo tikka (60p), and mixed kebab (£3.00). The veg pakora, aloo tikka, and samosa were excellent, freshly-made and distinctly flavoured, good portions making for good value for money.

The main dishes were disappointing, however. My millie julie (described on the menu as a 'mixed dish') principally consisted of spinach and chick peas and was way too salty. The portion was generous, but halfway through I felt my appetite waning - something of a first for me. The daal tharka was also poor: the daal was cooked to an unappetising mush that tasted of nothing other than ghee. The murgh chana failed to please, too, again on the salty side, as was the gosht palak. The best of the lot was the murgh palak, which was plentiful which chicken, but with a pinch too much salt. The fish kebab and vegetable kebab were below standard, the veg kebab nothing more than a pitta bread stuffed with lettuce, tomato and a token vegetable pakora.

Another minus point, the rice and bread accompaniments were extra: roti 50p, chapatti 40p, paratha £1.00, tandoori nan 90p, garlic nan £1.20, keema nan £1.50, piluo rice £1.50.

The restaurant serves a good range of Asian sweets, which wee didn't sample.

All in all, a pretty disappointing curry experience. We might have caught the Ambala on a bad night, and we will try it again in aid of fairness... but not for a while.

(Rice and bread accompaniments are extra: roti 50p, chapatti 40p, paratha £1.00, tandoori nan 90p, garlic nan £1.20, keema nan £1.50, piluo rice £1.50.)