Kevin's chicken tikka balti

Went with a few guys from work to Spicy Bites, Swin's newest addition to the curry metre in Old Town.

The place hasn't been open very long, and their struggle to claim a corner of the market as their own is evident. White Van John and I were the first to arrive, and we looked through the menu in the window, trying to discern whether they had a drinks license yet. Within seconds, a waiter -- the only waiter -- was at the door, offering 'a free glass of wine to new customers'. At the end of the meal -- much of which was spent as the only customers -- we paid the bill and were told that everyone could have a free drink on the house.

They obviously weren't in a hurry to get the table cleared and reset.

Outside, John comments that he thought the place was a tanning salon on first look. And I can kinda see what he's talking about. It's lacking all of the traditional finery you associate with Indian restaurants. This is what 'contemporary indian cuisine' looks like.

Inside it feels like we've gone to Ikea for a curry. The fact that the small room is empty doesn't help matters. 'These are our new range of dining-room tables and chairs . . . wait a minute, what are those people doing? Is that naan bread?' We're handed square plates and the curry and rice comes served in square ceramic dishes. The side plates look ashtrays, the ashtrays look like ramekins. The walls are orange, and the latest in low hanging steel light fittings dangle from the ceiling. The floors are wooden. It all looks very nice, it just doesn't feel like an Indian restaurant.

The food is good, and those little square dishes hold a surprising amount of it. The staff are friendly, and although it seemed to take an age for them to get our drink order together (at one point we speculated whether or not they were sending someone down the road to Wrongs with a drinks tray and £20), the lack of custom meant we were well looked after.

I'd have debated going there again, but the free drinks at the end of the night swung the vote for me.

#

We headed on down to Wrongs (a bar in Old Town) ourselves later in the evening. The drink tasted suspiciously familiar.

Unfortunately no one was up for staying out late. Half of the party was driving (including the girl who's leaving do it was), and one of the rest of us had a bit of a dicky tummy.

I was back home again by 2130hrs, but it was a good evening.

Later . . .