We last visited this restaurant well over eighteen months ago, and then we wrote: "Overall, the Bharat was a pleasant dining experience - a must on the itinerary of every self-respecting curryholic."

It's a big, comfortable place, at the upper end of the curry market, serving Indian food as opposed to Pakistani or Bangladeshi curries. The service is excellent, friendly and attentive. On the night we dined, the Bharat was reasonably busy.

We began with chicken pakura (£2.60), onion bhaji (£2.25), aloo chat (£2.25), and petisse (£3.10). They were all well above average, apart from the petisse - this was exceptional: balls of deep fried coriander and mint, lightly spiced and fragrant. It must be said, however, that none of the starters were very good value for money: they were expensive, and the portions small.

My main dish was tarka dall with paneer. While it was beautifully flavoured, with much coriander and a touch of chilli, it was overcooked: the dall was of the split pea variety, but was too mushy for my taste. The paneer was rather bland and tasteless, and lacked texture. The aloo brinjal, an aromatic dish of egg plant and potatoes, was also overcooked. The chicken karahi was described as, "Disappointing: The chicken was served in large chunks, but the sauce thin and lacking depth of taste. Also, it was expensive." MichaelH ordered two side dishes as a main meal, a saag paneer and a tarka dall. The dall was overcooked, as above, but the saag paneer was very good, the spinach full-bodied and flavoursome, and not at all soggy as served in some establishments.

All things considered, we were disappointed by the fare on offer at the Bharat this time round. We felt that while the curries were above average, they could be much better, and the overall meal was far too expensive. A comment must be made about the chapattis: these are a criminal rip-off at sixty pence each for a thin chapatti little bigger than a saucer.

(Dishes do not some with chapattis, etc, which must be ordered separately: chapattis 60p, plain nan £1.60.)

The Bharat is a high-class, tablecloth and knives-and-fork establishment quite a bit pricier than your average Bradford curry house. It has a well-used, a down-at-heel appearance which gives the place a homely feel. It boasts an extensive bar.

We visited this restaurant exactly a year ago to the day - and it's nice to report that the prices have remained the same.

We started with aloo chaat (£1.95), petisse (£2.75), vegetable samosa (£1.70), meat samosa (£1.80), and onion pakura (£1.90). All were of a well above average standard. The chaat was a dry curried potato dish, similar to aloo bombay, a good portion of highly spiced potatoes with a lettuce and tomato salad. The petisee were deep-fried balls of green chillies, garlic, coriander and coconut. They were excellent: sweet, hot, and then lingeringly flavoursome - though at £2.75 for three portions the size of golf balls, it must be said that they were on the expensive side.

For the main course I had vegetable kofta - vegetable balls in a very good sauce, with the kind of spiciness that creeps up on the palate so that, by the end of the dish, you know you've had a curry. The mushroom biryani was also given the thumbs up - the best biryani RobW had had in ages. The chicken tikka comprised of a small quantity of chunks of spiced chicken. The vegetable dopiaza (choice of Indian or English veg) boasted an excellent, tasty sauce (though MichaelH wasn't keen on the Indian vegetables: okra and aubergine, predominantly. All the other dishes were awarded a well above average score, with the exception of the chana masala, described as bland and mediocre by JulianF. All the dishes came with unique sauces - no one-sauce-serves-all policy here - and came in record time. The staff were super-efficient and friendly.

The only criticism I had of the meal was the fact that the chapattis cost 60p each - a bit of a rip off as they were the size of saucers and pretty thin - you need about three of the things to every 30p chapatti anywhere else.

But, overall, the Bharat was a pleasant dining experience - a must on the itinerary of every self-respecting curryholic.

(Chapattis must be ordered separately at 60p each; boiled rice £1.30, nan £1.50, popadoms 20p.)

The Bharat is a high-class, tablecloth and knives-and-fork establishment quite a bit pricier than your average Bradford curry house. It has a well-used, a down-at-heel appearance which gives the place a homely feel. It boasts an extensive bar.

We started with aloo chaat (£1.95) and petisse (£2.75). The chaat was a dry curried potato dish, similar to aloo bombay, a good portion of highly spiced potatoes with a lettuce and tomato salad. The petisee - the first time I'd come across this excellent starter - were deep-fried balls of green chillies, garlic, corriander and coconut. They were sensational, at once sweet, hot, and then lingeringly flavoursome - though at £2.75 for three portions the size of golf balls, it must be said that they were on the expensive side.

For the main course I had an Indian mixed vegetable curry with three chapattis (60p each and rather insubstantial). My dish was rich, rather mild, and somewhat overcooked. The vegetable biryani was likewise overdone and lacked body, though the rice was piquantly spiced and satisfying.

The curries on offer at the Bharat seemed typical of those served at restaurants at the upper end of the price scale: rather mild, overcooked, and perfumed. While not the best I've sampled recently, the Bharat serves distinctive Indian cuisine and is well worth investigating.

The coffee was excellent and a refill was given at no extra cost.

(Chapattis must be ordered separately at 60p each.)