Zayani Indian Restaurant

Indian food has fascinated the British palate for a long time, and although the curry and lager tradition still survives, there are places like Zayani Indian that have raised the bar in the fine dining realm. This Sipson Road restaurant is a place of calm sophistication with leather banquettes, an impressive sculpted ceiling and plummy accents and its location near Heathrow gives travellers a reason to rejoice at some sign of civilisation.

If you're expecting classic Indian cooking then you won't be disappointed, but that occasional touch of innovation certainly does no harm, so keep an eye open for house specialities such as the aromatic roshan kora lamb oven roasted with garlic cloves and cooked with a homemade chilli pickle in a spicy sauce. Chicken tikka, king prawn puree and seekh kebabs make good starters followed by a mild lamb korma or prawn vindaloo.

Garlic may not be a bad choice after all as the chefs at Zayani have designed a special menu for the health conscious based on herbs and spices including garlic.