We took a chance on a smaller, café like restaurant this month, it’s always a pleasant diversion to find somewhere different and compare the possibilities with the more traditional restaurants. The establishment selected was Indian Rooster on Ashby Road in Loughborough. Parking was easy using Sainsburys car park which is almost next door where you can park for up to two hours, it’s handy to combine some shopping or topping up your fuel tank as well if planned accordingly.

The restaurant is small, but cosy with functional tables and chairs, but lacking any further embellishments, which depending upon your point of view might be totally unnecessary anyway. We were given a warm, welcome on arrival and were promptly shown to our table with our drinks order being taken and quickly delivered.

The service was attentive and efficient and always provided with a smile. We had asked for papadums and pickle trays, which arrived and our order for the meals was taken at the same time.

The menu was extensive with sharing platters and a selection of Indian street food dishes as well as curries and Biryanis. We chose a Lamb Madras, a Lamb Biryani, two Dhaba Lamb Curries and one Special Boneless Sizzler with a side of Lamb Chops, two Peshwari Naans, one Cheese and Chilli Naan, one plain Naan, one Pulao Rice and one Plain Rice to accompany the mains.

As a group, we enjoyed the vibe and ambience of the small venue, but we were left a little disappointed with the food, the papadums were stale and some of the lamb had more fat than would be expected, which spoils an otherwise good dish.

The price at £171.52 for five people with £66.47 of the bill accounting for our drinks was around what we expect to pay.