Sugarvine

Given its large population originally from the Indian subcontinent, it's not surprising that Birmingham boasts a bewildering variety of Indian restaurants. For years the Balti Triangle, south of the city centre, has been synonymous with curry houses, but in the last few years a whole crop of smart new Indian restaurants has opened in the city centre, offering Indian cuisine which is far more authentic and far more diverse than in most traditional curry houses, and prepared by chefs who have trained extensively in some of the top hotels in India. What's more, these new restaurants have brought Indian cuisine much more into the mainstream when it comes to eating out.

One of the pioneers of these new wave Indian restaurants in Birmingham was Café Lazeez, in the Mailbox. Opened around five years ago, the restaurant has a spacious modern interior, with a long bar and seating area for the many people who just come in for a drink -- there is a choice of more than 60 cocktails. The cuisine at Café Lazeez is divided into traditional dishes, mainly from north India (for example lamb shanks simmered in yoghurt gravy with chosen spices, a traditional Punjabi dish), and 'evolved' cuisine, in other words cuisine which mixes traditional Indian recipes with European influences to produce dishes which are lighter and healthier than in a traditional Indian restaurant (for example Malabari Pepper Prawns or Marinated Duck Breast). There is also a good selection of vegetarian options such as, for example, Hara Chana Tikki - crispy fried galettes of spinach and chickpea lentils filled with mozzarella with tangy mint sauce and a colourful salad. The desserts, both traditional and evolved (carrot cake served with ice cream, to give one example), are a particular joy. At lunchtime Café Lazeez offers a good value buffet, much appreciated by the large numbers who work in the Mailbox.

Another city-centre restaurant which has won many accolades is Peppers, in Bishopsgate Street, just off Broad Street. In its two-year existence, Peppers has built up an excellent reputation, and the restaurant has recently launched a new menu focusing on south Indian cuisine. Customers can choose between traditional dishes and 'fusion' dishes - that is, cuisine which combines influences from different parts of India. The seafood dishes are popular, especially grilled monkfish with chilli and garlic sauce, and Malabari Crab. Vegetarian cuisine at Peppers is typified by Phaldari Kofta, fruit dumplings in rich gravy, and there is also a wide variety of mouth-watering meat dishes from the north of India, such as Chooza Makhari, tandoori-grilled tikka of chicken strips in yoghurt and tomato gravy. Peppers' new menu also features a new buffet lunch. It's an attractive place to eat, with bright, modern décor, not to mention a remarkable Michelangelo-style painted ceiling.

Not far away, on Regency Wharf, also just off Broad Street, is a converted glassworks on the canal, which houses Blue Mango, with above it Jimmy Spiceworks. The light, spacious and very stylish interior of Blue Mango (pictured on home page) is divided into a main area, with a good view of the kitchen so customers can inspect their food as it's being prepared, and a smaller lounge area to one side. The 14 chefs have on average no less than 15 years' experience each. The varied menu includes, for starters, a wide range of traditional dishes such as Seekh Kebab, and house specials such as Chicken Tikka Mirza Hasnu, chicken marinated in a garlic-flavoured yoghurt with mace and cardamom. The main courses are also a mixture of well known favourites, such as Lamb Passanda - lamb braised in a cashew nut and saffron flavoured yoghurt sauce - and mouth-watering chef's specials, such as Nihari Lamb, lamb in velvety, ginger-laced brown gravy, flavoured with sunflower seeds, mace and green cardamom, and Manglorean Fish Curry Yerra, seared fish steaks slow-cooked with raw mango and fresh coconut and spiked with tamarind pulp. There's a good choice of vegetarian dishes too. If it seems hard to choose you can always pick and choose from the recently introduced buffet. Or, if you feel like a more extensive buffet, just climb upstairs to Jimmy Spiceworks, a buffet with a lively atmosphere, which features a selection of Indian, Chinese, Thai and Italian cuisine; the Indian dishes are similar to those downstairs, including a large variety of dosa, or rice pancakes.

Just off St Paul's Square in the Jewellery Quarter is Lasan, an Indian restaurant which has won award after award; soon after its opening The Independent included it in its list of the top ten restaurants in the UK. Lasan, which celebrated its third birthday in April 2005, has a simple, modern interior. It too offers a range of dishes from all over India, for example Malabari Black Bream from south India and Lamb Rogan Josh, a traditional north Indian dish. Not far away from Lasan, in George Street, is Rajdoot Tandoori. Rajdoot has only been in its present location for three years, but the first Rajdoot restaurant first opened in London right back in 1966 - reputedly the first tandoori restaurant in the UK - and the Birmingham restaurant opened back in 1971. Instead of the minimalist, modern interior of many Indian restaurants, Rajdoot has a satisfyingly Indian theme; it is full of temple lamps, bronze statues of Hindu deities, and other Indian artifacts. The head chef, who has been at the restaurant ever since it opened, was formerly a chef for the Nepalese royal family, no less! Rajdoot, which specialises in north Indian cuisine, is one of the few restaurants which still uses a traditional clay tandoori fired with charcoal which, though more expensive than gas, makes a real difference to the food. Specialities of the house include, among the starters, Chicken Choyla, a Nepalese speciality consisting of chicken marinated in Nepalese herbs and spices, and among the main courses, fillet of lamb spiced with yoghurt and cooked in almond sauce flavoured with cardamom and cinnamon.

Itihaas (pictured above), in Newhall Street, is a newly opened restaurant which, like Rajdoot, is decorated in Indian style, but on a much more lavish scale. Itihaas is full of antique carved wooden pillars, fine marble window surrounds, stone elephants and other antiques. And to add to the Indian experience you're greeted with wafts of incense as you enter. The restaurant is on two floors, with big picture windows looking out over a peaceful canal. The cuisine at Itihaas is predominately north Indian, but with influences from Kenya as well as some Indo-Chinese fusion dishes. The starters include such mouth-watering dishes as Salmon ka Tukrah - finest Scottish salmon steaks marinated with mustard seeds, chilli, garlic and coriander, and drizzled with mustard and cooked in a tandoori oven. Main courses include Bahterey, fresh young quails marinated overnight with traditional herbs and spices such as sesame seeds, turmeric, saffron and garam marsala.

This whistlestop tour of Indian restaurants in Birmingham wouldn't be complete without at least one curry house in the Balti Triangle, so for a moment let's leave the smart city-centre eateries and whizz down to Sparkbrook to pay a quick visit to Al Frash, in Ladypool Road. Winner of numerous awards, including one from Pat Chapman's Good Curry Guide 2001/2002, Al Frash has an excellent reputation for good value Balti dishes - typical examples are shish kebab and balti lamb. It's not licensed so bring your own wine.