Eastern Eye, The

This is certainly the grandest, and probably the best, Indian restaurant in Bath. In a massively gracious room that would do credit to a Livery Company, Eastern Eye serves Indian delicacies from Bengal and Northern India. Although they do not always tell the whole tale such is the range of Awards given to Eastern Eye that there can be no doubt about its credibility and expertise.

For a start the range of dishes is truly amazing, so much so that for the confused there is a standard set meal on offer at £18, plus service. Whilst it may, in certain circumstances be safer to remain with the familiar many will prefer to plumb the infinite shades of the new, the feared and the imponderable. All dishes hail from Bengal and include an impressive list of the much loved balti, starting with vegetable balti and topping out with a fine king prawn massalla balti.

There are those who believe that starters are an unnecessary part of an Indian meal, but for those who don't share this philosophy a generous array of stimulative treats are there to please. To take but one the chicken hariyali is marinated with traditional Nepali herbs and spices before being cooked over the tandoori oven.

Tandoori dishes are dry, come with salad and are made to order - truly boutique eating. The tandoori mixed thali carrries a selection of tandoori chicken, chicken chandan, lamb sula and sheek kebab. Amongst the seven or so specials move very carefully, but do not lightly ignore the chicken or lamb nowabdar from Northern India, a mild dish with a delicately spiced sauce made from roasted cashew nuts and fennel seeds before being combined with a spiced butter sauce, cream and peeled tomatoes.

All the well regarded curry dishes are there, lamb rogan josh, chicken or lamb dhansak, a sweet and sour curry cooked with lentils and spices, and plain basic lamb or chicken curry the strength of which can be tuned to any notch on the scale for a modest 40p extra leaving you to wonder what an extra £1.20s worth might achieve. If the favourite dish of the Brits is indeed chicken tikka massala from Kashmir it is perhaps closely pursued by a meat or chicken jalfrezi, a hot spicy dish powered by fresh chilli, tomato and green peppers

For £85.00 four people can dine nobly off king prawn butterfly, chicken chandan, specially prepared lamb and chicken dishes, noor mahal special biriany with nuts and dried fruit, mixed vegetables, nans, popadoms, chutney, dessert and coffee.

If anyone is in any doubt about the rapport between cooking from the sub-continent and wines from pretty well anywhere let them come to The Eastern Eye for a short course in rapprochement, with wines that would comfortably grace the list of the above average British restaurant and are singularly well annotated.

There is a well laid out Website which will give the wider picture with just one click.