The Shish Mahal is a small, unpretentious restaurant serving average curries at a bit above average prices. Don't be mislead by the claim on the take-away menu: "Asian cuisine at its finest." Of the two curry houses next door to each other, the fare on offer at the Sheesh is far better than the appalling swill served at the Westgate - but that isn't saying much.

The starters were rather good. The onion bhajis (80p) were unique in that they were individual lengths of onion deep fried in an excellent crispy batter. The vegetable pakoras (90p) were okay, but a bit puddingy. The aloo tikki, flat, burger-shaped fried potato were very good, beautifully spiced with coriander.

I ordered chana and spinach - it wasn't on the menu, but they were willing to make it up. It was a bit of a disappointment, vapid and watery, with not much at all to recommend it. Likewise the other spinach dishes, (potato and spinach, and dall and spinach), were bland, weak and watery. Does the chef know that tinned spinach needs draining before cooking? The keema rogan josh was a disappointment, too: although it was a good portion, the flavour of the minced meat and spices was totally overpowered by the taste of tomato puree.

We finished with poor coffee at 60p a cup. We were served by two waiters, one pleasant enough and the other obviously seriously displeased at having to work on a Friday night.

All in all, we can't see the attraction of the Sheesh Mahal when other curry houses nearby - the Bombay Brassiere and those along Lumb Lane - provide far better fare.

(All main meals are served with either three chapattis or rice.)

The Sheesh Mahal is a small, unpretentious curry house near the excellent New Bee Hive pub (recommended for fine real ales.) We reviewed this restaurant last September, but there's been a small price rise since then so we thought we'd better return to check it out.

We kicked off with onion bhaji (80p), vegetable pakora (90p) and chicken pakora (£1.70). We also ordered aloo tikka (£1.75), but it never arrived. The onion bhaji was mild and greasy, more like onion rings, and opinion was split as to the quality. We were all of a mind, though, about the veg pakora - they were hard, tasteless, and almost inedible.

We sampled a good variety of main dishes. My vegetarian garlic was slightly above average, a good mix of vegetables with a distinctive oily taste that is the hallmark of this restaurant. However, the veg mathi lacked flavour and consisted of too many large pieces of vegetables and not enough curry sauce. The bhindi curry was disappointing, too mild and liquid. On the other hand, the dall was very satisfying, a modest dish of well-spiced pulses that earned the best marks of all the main courses. The spinach and chana came a respectable second.

The Sheesh Mahal was one of the many slightly above average curry houses that abound in the city, but unfortunately has let its standards slip. While there are establishments in the area that serve finer examples of the dish, (the Sultan and K2 spring to mind) we wouldn't put the avid curry connoisseur off from trying the fare on offer at the Sheesh.

We finished with excellent mango lassi (lasyee in the menu) at £3.20 a jug, and poor coffee (60p).

(All dishes come with either rice or three chapattis.)

This is a pleasant, unpretentious restaurant serving a good selection of curries at the cheaper end of the scale. It's comfortable and atmospheric without going over the top in terms of ethnic effects - the eastern music is an unobtrusive background accompaniment rather than a blaring distraction, as is the case in some establishments.

There were only three of us that night and we began with onion bahji (70p), and veg pakora (90p), starters. The onion bhaji came in individual battered strips, fresh and spicy hot, while the pakora was of the shredded vegetable variety in a rather heavy, doughy mixture. We were impressed by the generous portions.

The service was excellent, the starters arriving in two or three minutes and the main course in under ten. I was very happy with my dall mushroom: the sauce was thick and rich, the mushrooms plentiful, and the dish had a fine, cumulative spiciness. The tame meat-eater enjoyed his chicken mehti, but the veg korma, while perfectly acceptable, was a little hot and had a strange treacly taste. We finished off the meal with very good milky coffee - but the fact that barfi was not available was a minus point.

Overall, a good restaurant serving above-average curries. We suspect that, as the appreciation of the dish is often a case of familiarity, the Shish Mahal will have its champions.

The Shish Mahal doesn't have an alcohol licence, so if you want a drink bring your own.

(All dishes come with either rice or three chapattis.)