Bombay Bicycle Club Cambrian Road, Newport

In the interests of truth in journalism, it was late on a Friday night and we were a few drinks over the line when we arrived at the Bombay Bicycle Club.

After all, the majority of the clientele are city-centre revellers looking to line their stomachs during a big-night out, so it behoved us to review the restaurant on its own terms.

Despite the bustle inside, our first course - a shared Tandoori Maharajah - arrived with admirable alacrity and considerable style, served sizzling hot at the table.

Fresh, spicy and tender, it was a great curtain-raiser that actually slightly eclipsed my main course, a Chicken Bhuna with pilau rice.

It's not that there was anything wrong with it, but it was certainly unspectacular, and as close to bland as a curry can ever get.

The peshwari nan I shared with my companion was also standard - slightly heavy, though fresh enough.

But her Chicken Tikka Masala with mushroom Pilau rice rose well above the mediocre, characteristically punchy and unusually spicy without being sickly-sweet.

Though we thought it an oversight in a Tom Jones-themed restaurant not to have his latest album, we swung through the meal in no time at all.

A bowl of kulfi ice-cream, which was perhaps a mistake, went down smoothly enough.

And even with drinks, the total came to less than £35 for two for an enjoyable meal which won the ultimate Friday-night accolade - it gave us the energy to go and carry on the evening somewhere else.