Fantastic meal made up for poor service; SUKI'S BAR AND INDIAN RESTAURANT, Darlaston.

Byline: ANUJI VARMA

THIS old pub has been transformed into a contemporary Indian restaurant which boasts great food at reasonable prices.

I visited Suki's with my husband Pete on an early weekday and we were glad to see the special set menu offered three courses for just pounds 8.95 and ran between Sunday and Wednesday.

The prices for the a la carte menu were cheap, make no mistake about that, but how could we resist stuffing our faces for under a tenner? There were four starters and four mains to choose from. The third course was either vanilla ice cream or coffee.

I began with the vegetable samosa, which was stuffed with potatoes as well as the veggies..

They were wrapped up in a delicate filo pastry instead of the usual thicker pastry, which made this a light and tasty choice.

The stuffing was nicely spiced and perfectly cooked.

Pete went for a Chicken Tikka, which were bite-size pieces of the poultry marinated in Suki's very own secret recipe. My hubby thought the chicken pieces were tender but could have done with more of a kick..

Both dishes were served with a generous helping of side salad and a mint yoghurt dressing.

For my main course I decided to go for the Chicken Tikka Massala. This was pieces of the meat in a bright red, yet creamy sauce and I asked the waiter for extra chilli to give it a bit more of a zap.

I thought the sauce was nice and the chicken tender. Yet there was far too much red colouring for my liking.

Pete said his Chicken Balti was perfect. There was just the right amount of spice and he said it was as good as a homemade curry.

We both chose naan breads to accompany our curries and they were light and fluffy, with just the right amount of crispyness..

The restaurant is run by Suki Patel, known for his pub The Vine in West Bromwich.

The venue is his latest project and shows his food is well thought of because despite being set in quite an industrial area, the restaurant was busy for a weekday evening.

I was slightly disappointed with the service, as the waiters seemed a little disinterested and even rude. At one point we were made to lay our own cutlery before the main course arrived.

But other than that there wasn't much to complain about.

I'd certainly head there again for a reasonably priced but tasty curry.

TOTAL BILL: pounds 30 including drinks and poppadoms.

ANUJI VARMA