Koh-i-noor, Newcastle: Alan Cookman restaurant review

ACCORDING to legend, whoever owns the Koh-i-noor rules the world.

This relates to ownership of the famous diamond, however, and not of the restaurant in Liverpool Road, Newcastle.

I found no evidence at all that the proprietors entertain ambitions in the global domination department.

Owning the restaurant and not the crown jewel itself also absolves them of the Koh-i-noor curse, which states that he who possesses the diamond "will know all the world's misfortunes."

It was quiet on the evening of our visit, but the management and staff scarcely seemed to be personally burdened with all of humanity's woes.

The 105-carat Koh-i-noor diamond was given to Queen Victoria when she was proclaimed Empress of India in 1877, and 95 years later the fabulous stone gave its name to what has become one of the area's most highly regarded ethnic restaurants.

Koh-i-noor is certainly among the oldest established of North Staffordshire's Indian restaurants, although strictly speaking it specialises in cuisine that is "Bangladeshi & Beyond."

That means that the customer is offered specialities from the entire region, so the menu positively sizzles with tantalising dishes from faraway places.

Unfortunately, when the number of dishes tops 100, it plays havoc with the decision making process, and it doesn't take much to bring out my indecisive side.

The temptation in these cases is either to choose a tried and trusted favourite or resort to one of the house set meals, which are usually good value as well as reflecting the chef's personal preferences.

Both options are a cop-out, though, and I prefer to ask the staff to recommend a particularly tasty dish or choose a speciality that sounds as if it might suit.

So, although it was ominously billed as "hot," I ordered Bengal chicken (£7.50) "fried in onion, green pepper, tomato , cinnamon, bay leaves" with a whole boiled egg.

The thick, rich and spicy sauce was indeed hot, but not excessively hot, and the chicken was lean, moist and tender. I congratulated myself on picking a winner.

Herself had opted for something called Murgh Khum Bhar (£7.50), a milder supreme of chicken stuffed with wild mushrooms and onions, marinated with yoghurt cream, chargrilled and served with a mushroom and cashew nut sauce.

She said it was so superb that after this chicken supreme others would be just chicken ordinary.

We enjoyed our mains so much that the nan bread (£2.15) was left almost untouched, although it was not a classic nan, rather dry and overcooked, if the truth be known.

I'd kicked off with a poppadom and selection of dips and chutneys (£2), notably that delicious Indian pickle that starts off like a slight tingling on the tongue and then, when you're not looking, hits you like napalm in the mouth and throat.

For starter I had lamb tikka (£2.95), tender pieces of piquant lamb served with a salad, while Herself chose the house onion bhaji (£2.85), grand specimens of which I was kindly vouchsafed a tasty morsel or two.

Apart from some attractive woodcuts of traditional scenes, the decor seemed more simple than I remembered it from five years ago, although the bright green lighting effect remains.

Although we were one of only two couples dining early doors on a warm, sunny evening, I noticed that takeaway traffic was quite brisk.

The meal came to a fraction over £40, but we ate more than we really needed to, and if we'd been a bit more frugal the bill could have been halved.

Which tells me that after 37 years, eating "Bangladeshi & Beyond" is still an economical option as well as an enormously satisfying one.

You can see the real Koh-i-noor in the Tower Of London but you won't get Murgh Khum Bhar there, with or without boiled rice and nan bread.