Those of you who didn't follow our recommendations to try the Noshi Kabana while it was briefly in business missed out on a treat. A couple of months ago we rated it in the guide as being "...right up there among the finest Asian restaurants in the city." Sadly it changed hands a month ago, and Khan's is nowhere near as good.

We kicked off with chicken pakora (£1.95), vegetable samosas (£1.20), and masalla mirch (60p). The pakora was small but tasty. The samosas were very good, the pastry thin and crisp, the filling succulent. The masalla (their spelling) mirch was... well, let's say that hot would be an understatement. They were devilishly deceptive. The first couple of mouthfuls went down well, and then the heat kicked in. Be careful - for the serious spice addict only. You've been warned.

It must be said that the service was pretty slow. We waited around forty minutes for our main courses (and our take-aways, which we asked to be ready for ten-thirty, were still being prepared at five to eleven.) I had a matar paneer, and the mess that was served up was pretty appalling. Paneer is a soft, deep fried spongy Asian cheese, with a subtle flavour that lends a nice contrast both in texture and taste to traditional curry dishes. It isn't a slab of English cheddar cheese melted into the curry as if it were a pizza - and yet that's what I was presented with. The resulting dish was a mess, with the taste, and gooey texture, of the cheddar dominating the curry. The tarka dall was very mediocre, and tasted overwhelmingly of ghee. The chana was a little above average, rich and plentiful, but nothing to write home about. The keema matar had a tang to it, but this soon wore off by the end of the dish. Finally, the choosa machan (a euphemism for chicken tikka masala) was reasonable.

All in all we were disappointed with Khan's. It was a pale imitation of the Noshi Kabana, and in all honesty we cannot recommend this restaurant to the serious curry addict.

(Chapattis, etc, are not included in the price of the curries: chapattis 25p, garlic nan £1.60, plain nan £1.10, roti 50p, boiled rice £1.20.)