First a word of advice to the owners of the Jaipur Spice restaurant recently opened off Haxby Road, York: get your menus reprinted sharpish!

Nothing wrong with the contents, the spelling or the description of the food. It's just that someone had the bright idea to use black and white type on gold and dark red backgrounds. In the cold, clear, bright light of day, they look splendid: in the cosy, dimly-lit interior of the latest 'super Indian' they are impossible to read.

That led to an embarrassing mistake when we visited the new restaurant, which is to get a sister establishment at Easingwold shortly, situated in a building I know so well. The barn-like establishment once masqueraded as the Oval Ball, bar-cum-restaurant-cum-nightspot back in the days when I covered the fortunes of York Rugby League Club.

When I read that the owners of the Jaipur Spice were to turn it into an upmarket Indian restaurant and I shook my head in wonder.

But hats off to the lads - they've down a great job. They've lowered the ceiling, made a large pond in the entrance lobby and created a rickety 'Billygoat Gruff' bridge to the dining area and swamped the place in coloured glass - very art deco and nice and chic.

But art deco coloured glass means subdued lighting, hence the problems with reading the menu. And as I did a more than passable imitation of Mr Magoo, my problems were compounded when our waiter/management person came to take the order. He was polite, helpful and very big.

Once he hove into view at our table, the lights went out and I had to order in the dark. That's why my wife ended up with a chicken masalla instead of the golda chingri massala (king prawns) she had ordered.

Never mind, she ate the dish, it was very good, the staff were very apologetic and we got complimentary liqueurs at the end of the evening. Honour was satisfied all round.

All-in-all, our food was good, although my starter of Goan golda baza (king prawns deep fried in spices, spinach and breadcrumbs) didn't quite have the kick I expected from a Goan dish. Carol's fish kebabs were excellent and my rajastani ghost (lamb in a yogurt and tamarind sauce) was delicious.

We enjoyed our meal with a plate of mushroom pilau, a fluffy plain naan and a deliciously different mixed vegetable bhagi - tasty food and plenty of it.

The best was saved until last: the Indian sweets. Carol tucked into carrot halva (a sweet cake), I enjoyed rashmalon (a sort of creamy curd mixture). Delicious. With a couple of pints and two halves of lager plus coffees, our bill came to a few pence over £37 - not unreasonable for this standard of Indian restaurant.

Whether the York area can take two new 'super' Indians remains to be seen, but the Jaipur Spice has certainly made a fine first impression.

The decor is good and the food promising. Just get rid of those menus.

Restaurant: The Jaipur Spice restaurant,

Address: 103 Haxby Road, York.

Telephone: Tel: (01904) 673550.

Reviewed: September 04 1999

Food: Tasty and plentiful

Value: Reasonable

Service: Attentive - a little too so at times

Ambience: Impressively smart and cosy