PONTYPOOL Indian Cuisine is a quiet, unassuming gem of a restaurant situated on Town Bridge, next to the Afon Llwyd river.

The restaurant might well be called The Balti in the Basement, as you have to descend a flight of steps to reach the dining area, which is below street level and affords great views out over the river.

However, the food is far from basement. When my friend and I dined we were impressed at the quality and quantity of the dishes.

For starters we both chose the mixed kebab, a delicious plateful of variously spiced meats which, for the Balti beginner, would be an ideal dish to help decide which meat would be best to have for main course.

For my main course I opted for a balti chicken tikka masala, a creamier yet slightly more spicy version of Britain's favourite dish. This was complimented nicely by a of portion egg-fried rice, of which the egg was a main ingredient rather than an afterthought as it can be with many Indian meals.

My friend enjoyed one of the many house specials, the anar koli bahar, which is chicken cooked in a special tomato, butter and spice sauce. The dish came highly recommended from the chef, and my friend proclaimed that it was so good, he would recommend it too.

You can't enjoy an Indian meal without the traditional sundries, so we accompanied the spicy feast with naan breads and papadams, washed down with wonderfully cooling (and strong) bottles of Indian lager.

The limited selection and availability of desserts was my only reservation about the restaurant but, having said that, the food was so good I don't think we would have managed afters anyway.

Including the Lal Toofan lager and sundries the meal came to a reasonable £30.85 for two - good value for such filling fayre. Darren Evans