A fine dining Indian restaurant is, to me, a bit of an anomaly – I am more of a curry-house-at-the-end-of-a-Saturday-night kind of person.

But swap the tepid white wine and drunken fellow diners for neatly arranged wine glasses and pristine decor – and they’re pretty much the same.

Or are they?

Too often have I been in a so-called fine dining restaurant only to feel aggrieved at paying over the odds for a madras being masqueraded as a Masterchef masterpiece.

But Rajeev’s in Hamsey Green lives up to the fine food tag – no pre-cooked chicken in a sauce here.

The menu is varied, and reasonably priced, and the lime pickle – a staple for any poppadom – was heavenly.

To start – a lamb dish (lamb gilafi kebab) that was juicy and full of flavour, and a monkfish and salmon (fish amritsari) in a gram flour batter did not disappoint.

Your Local Guardian:

Lamb gilafi kebab

Mains – Hot south chicken curry, surprisingly fresh and it makes so much difference when the meat is moist and plentiful.

Also, a lamb dish (Laal Maans) – my guest was adamant there would be at least one chewy piece of meat, but she was wrong. The sauce in particular was deep with flavour.

To finish was a refreshing mango and passion fruit dessert – no Punky’s ice cream here.

I still enjoy the curry house where mango chutney stains on the table cloth are essential and a madras is a bhuna is a rogan josh by any other name – but when it’s time to impress, Rajeev’s ticks all the boxes.

Fine dining indeed.

December 18 – Live Bollywood Music Dinner & Dance - three-course meal - £25pp
December 25 – Christmas Day Roast Lunch - four-course meal with glass of Champagne - £40pp
December 31 – New Year’s Eve live music dinner and dance - four-course meal with glass of Champagne at midnight - £45pp
All through December – Christmas Party menu - three-course meal - £18.95pp

Your Local Guardian: