The Indian Lounge, 26 Swinegate, York

1:32pm Saturday 26th April 2008

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I was watching a television news item last week and apparently it is an old wives' tales that a curry will fend off an attack of the lurgy.

Personally I take such scientific research with a pinch of salt, or should that be saffron? Whatever, I was harbouring a sniffle and a cough when I visited The Indian Lounge in Swinegate and was looking forward to having my ailments purged by some exotically spiced delights.

York curry aficionados may know The Indian Lounge's owner and manager Rubel Choudhury who was at Kings Ransom for 14 years. Rubel's new venture opened five weeks ago. It's where Vanilla Black, the vegetarian restaurant, used to be. Billed as "a superior Indian dining experience", it is perhaps pitched more at the pre-theatre crowd than the post-pub rabble.

At first glance, the inside could be any modern restaurant. It is all neutral colours, dimmed ceiling lights, veneer flooring and cream linen table cloths but a flat-screen TV at the back of the room was showing Bollywood movies. The Redhead was glad to be facing the window instead and I would have been happier if the TV had been tuned to Indian Premier League cricket, or indeed not there at all.

We hadn't bothered to book a table, confident that the restaurant wouldn't be at capacity, as we were going early doors on a Tuesday evening. Our hunch was correct, there was only one other diner when we arrived, and we had the full attention of the friendly and courteous staff who would all pass GCSE Smiling with an A-Star grade.

We ordered a bottle of sparkling mineral water (£3.25), poppadoms (55p each) and a pickle tray (£1.60), as we mulled over the huge range of dishes on offer, which includes a good selection of vegetarian dishes, so all is not lost if you were a fan of Vanilla Black.

I headed to Australia on the wine list and picked Jim Barry the Lodge Hill' Shiraz 2005 (£19.95). The berry fruit and black pepper flavours of this Aussie red worked really well with the spicy food.

The Redhead opted for a veggie starter, paneer mint tikka (£2.95), and was surprised how chunky it was having expected something a little lighter. It was nicely flavoured but too substantial for her appetite. Instead she clapped her eyes on my crab puree (£3.95), a much more manageable starter-sized portion of succulent, spicy crabmeat on a pancake-shaped Indian bread.

I kept to the fish theme for my main, macchi tawa (£8.95), chunks of really fresh-tasting cod, complemented by a long list of herbs and spices. The Redhead picked an old favourite, chicken tikka massala (£7.95), which she described as tender and beautifully flavoured, though the sauce was a little too thick. As with the first course she decided in hindsight that she would have rather had mine!

Sides aren't included in the price of the main meal, be warned that this can add quite a bit to the bill. We decided to share pilau rice (£2), a peshwari naan (£2.05), a chapati (85p) and saag aloo (£2.85) as accompaniments.

One hot towel later and we both yearned for something palate cleansing from the dessert menu. I had kulfi (£1.95) a mango-flavoured ice-cream/sorbet and the Redhead chose a similarly textured and chilled coconut supreme (£2.85), both of which were pleasant enough but I would have preferred a fresh fruit dish, had one been available.

The bill came to just above £60 but if you chose to substitute draught beer (£3.30 a pint) in place of the wine, the damage would be considerably less.

I can still taste a myriad of spices as I write this, three hours after eating, and the irksome little virus seems cured.

Maybe the old wives (whoever they are) were right after all and it is the scientists that have got it wrong? So next time you feel a bug coming on I can recommend a few courses of treatment in The Indian Lounge.

• The Indian Lounge, 26 Swinegate, York. Tel 01904 639918.

• Mike visited on Tuesday, April 22, 2008