I used to go to Veeraswamy as a child – not least because it was one of the few Indian restaurants in the country. In those days the setting was lavish and sumptuous, based on a traditional Indian home from colonial times. The lavish decor has gone and the restaurant is smaller than I remember (I think it actually has been made smaller).

We started with the Mulligatawny Soup, a dish I remember having here years ago. It was certainly good. We then had Kerala Quail and Murgh Hazrat Mahal (a Chicken Tikka variant) as starters; these too were good.

Unfortunately the standard was not maintained for the main courses. A Murgh Lasooni was OK, but over-priced at £26. The real let down was the Roast Dick Vindaloo. Isn’t vindaloo supposed to be a hot dish? Not here it isn’t. As bland as the blandest korma. And priced at £30 it was a complete rook.

The service at Veeraswamy was friendly, but in a totally unpersonal, corporate way. The main problem is the prices. With house wine at £39 a bottle, the overall bill came to well over twice what I would normally pay in a very good Indian restaurant. Disappointing.