I’ve always liked the Popular which seems a ‘street cred’ sort of place well used by late night taxi drivers...in itself usually a bit of a recommendation.

With complimentary poppadoms we were brought a selection of dips and I rashly asked for their ‘under the counter’ crushed green chilli dip which left my mouth feeling like it had been attacked with a flame thrower. As we awaited the starters, I was sat opposite a wall mounted TV which was featuring somebody with a bad case of eczema on ‘Embarassing Diseases’ just as I was flaking off a piece of poppadum. The waiter sensing my slight discomfort obligingly used his remote to turn over channels…now that’s what I call customer care!

Our starter was a shared Mixed Grill which had tikkas and a kebab served up sizzling although the star of the show was an excellently flavoured and tender tandoori chicken.

For mains, I resisted the temptation of a pioneering Kidney Balti and instead went for Balti Chicken Bhuna which was, as advertised, slightly dry. Meanwhile my wife’s Balti Chicken Dhansak was just right in terms of consistency. Both were brimful of chicken but were disappointingly too salty. In fairness this was the first time that this had happened in several visits. The Cheese and Tomato Naan was excellent but even with a couple of After Eight mints it couldn’t erase that taste of salt. Next time lads…go easy on the Saxa!

ANDY MUNRO