Tandoori Nights opened just over a year ago, and we paid the restaurant a visit last April. Then we wrote: "All in all, we found Tandoori Nights well below average. While the atmosphere and ambience was fine, and the starters above average, the main dishes failed to inspire, and on this showing it will be a while before we return."

A year on we did return, due mainly to the fact that they were offering a "Millennium Buffet" - all you can eat for £4.95.

We began with dall tikka, onion bhaji, and vegetable pakora. With the exception of the tikka, they were above average, though a trifle lukewarm. The tikka was dull and uninspiring.

The vegetarian dishes on offer were dall, aloo gobi, and aloo Palak. The dall was the best of the three - though again lukewarm; the spinach dish was spicy, but the potatoes were cut too large and some were underdone. The aloo gobi was poor, very bland and oily.

Among the meat dishes we sampled murgh jalfrezi, murgh korma, and murgh balti. Except for the korma, they were all rather spicy, and were rated above average - though IanW commented that they contained, "...perhaps with too much ghee for my liking. It was a pity that they were slightly cool, but that's normal for buffets."

We thought the fare on offer slightly above average - an improvement on our last visit here. We'd recommend that the serious curry fan give the buffet night a go.

We ordered chapattis separately, and these were 30p each, and bumped the price of the meal up to £7 a head (along with better-than-average coffee.)

(A personal gripe: I did not get my chapatis in my take-away!)

(Chapatis and naan bread, do not come with the buffet, and must be ordered separately. Chapattis 30p, naan 90p and upwards.)

Tandoori Nights is a new restaurant serving a wide variety of curries and a good section of specialities. It's a bit more upmarket than the restaurants we've been reviewing lately - chapattis do not come with the dishes, and the tables have table-clothes and knives and forks - though not as expensive as places like the Shah Jehan or the Bombay Basserie.

We kicked off with the starters aloo tikka (£1.40), chicken pakora (£2.00), vegetable pakora (£1.40), and onion bhaji (£1.40). The onion bhaji was very good, crisp, succulent and nicely spiced, and the chicken pakora was also well-liked. Though some people found the aloo tikka (done with mashed potato, not sliced and fried) too perfumed with coriander, I found it pleasantly different. The veg pakora was only average, with big slices of rather tasteless mushroom.

Compared to the starters, the main courses were a disappointment. I found my balti aloo mutter slightly above average, the peas being sweet and tasty but the potatoes cut too large and therefore not absorbing the flavour of the curry. The balti bengan mirch, while acceptable to our curry-starved Scottish reviewer, was on the watery side, and rather tasteless. The chicken dahi was described as "horrible" by JohnF - the chicken wasn't thoroughly cooked and the sauce was too greasy. The vegetable biryani was not at all appetising; it lacked a good range of vegetables - mostly aubergine and peas - and the curry sauce was only average. MichaelH found his aloo chana reasonable, though a bit plain - and not as spicy as expected. The vegetable masala was aubergine dominated and lacked any distinct flavour.

The mango lassi was pleasant enough, but a bit thin. All in all, we found Tandoori Nights well below average. While the atmosphere and ambience was fine, and the starters above average, the main dishes failed to inspire, and on this showing it will be a while before we return.

(Chapattis, naan bread, and rice do not come with the meals, and must be ordered separately. Chapattis 30p, naan 90p and upwards, pilau rice 90p.)