GIVEN there are decent curry houses in York, we drove the 18 miles to Shiptonthorpe wondering whether the Ve Raj restaurant would be worth such an out-of-town excursion.

Okay, 18 miles is not the end of the world but it does entail a hefty taxi fare or, horror of horrors, a booze-free evening for that finder of the short straw, the designated driver.

We arrived at Ve Raj a little after 8pm on a Thursday, when we half expected to be the only diners in there. We weren't.

The swish, modern looking and spotlessly clean establishment was about a fifth full, with 20 people already there, all in one of Ve Raj's two main dining rooms, while there was a steady turnover of custom for the 90 minutes we were there.

Louise and I were immediately escorted to a table for four, next to a window which looked out on to the junction of the A19, and were handed menus.

The selection was mightily impressive.

The were 35 wines, including champagne, to choose from, while the food menu was extensive to say the least.

Along with 13 old favourites, there were 16 special balti dishes, nine vegetarian and no fewer than 19 chef specialities, plus a selection of karahi, tandoori and fish selection dishes.

There were also four house specialities, such as a whole stuffed lamb, for which diners must give 24 to 48 hours' notice. Even without tasting anything from Ve Raj, I reckoned these in particular would probably make me want to come back, given it was something different.

In fact, there was a lot on the menu that was something different. Indeed, the restaurant which opened last Christmas describes itself as traditional Indian-Bangladeshi cuisine with a twist, and rightly so.

But would the quality of the meal match the length of the "ooh, that looks interesting" list?

Our first order was for two pints of Kingfisher (£2.80) and four popadoms (45p each), which came with the usual pickle tray (60p per person). Well, I say "usual" but the meticulously chopped onion with coriander was probably the best I've seen.

From the catalogue of 26 starters, I chose Goan Crabs (£3.50) which came cooked with garlic in medium herbs and spices served on a puree. The crab was minced crabsticks mixed in with the sauce, and it was very good, with a strong seafood taste dominating the pleasant spices.

Louise tried the fried whole pepper stuffed with spiced veg and served with salad (£2.95). It had a mild but aromatic flavour.

Given there were so many balti options, I figured Ve Raj must be good at them and, for my main meal, tried Gost El Laziz (£8.95), which is lamb chops marinated and cooked in a tandoori oven and then cooked in a balti style with onions, peppers, tomatoes, garlic, ginger and coriander.

I cocked up with my choice on three counts.

Firstly, I ordered a garlic naan bread to go with it (£2.50), without realising the Balti already comes with a plain naan. That made for a whole lot of naan, especially as Louise had already asked for a peshwari (£2.50) too.

Secondly, when asked if I wanted the meal medium or spicy, I said, "Ooh, spicy," without the safety addendum, "but not too spicy". The food did not come absolutely blazing hot and it was possible to make out the tasty flavour, but I was pretty much at my spice tolerance limit.

The meat itself was tender, but herein lies my third mistake I'm not that big a fan of lamb chops in curries, given the chore of getting to the meat. I had even checked the meat did indeed come on the bone, but ordered them nonetheless. I'm still not sure exactly why.

Louise had Rupchanda from the fish selection (£9.95), apparently a favourite from the South East region of Bangladesh, and wisely opted to have it medium strength.

The fish itself, a whole fish with crispy skin from the griddle, was quite bland and the sauce was average. Not bad, but not exciting either. Oh, and her peshwari naan was too salty.

We also cocked up with our rice selection. We were both intrigued with the lemon rice (£2.50) and figured it would go well with Lou's fish, but neither of us were big fans.

It was all pretty filling probably due to all that naan so we were too full for a dessert. I contented myself with a Drambuie (£2.50) to kill the heat in my mouth, while Lou had an Irish coffee (£2.95), which took the bill to £47.35.

The service throughout was utterly excellent attentive, efficient and pleasant in equal measure giving the diner a good impression.

But was it all worth the 36-mile round trip? It was hard to say. We wouldn't choose the same meals again but there was probably enough on the menu to entice us back and give something else a go.

For curry-loving Shiptonthorpe locals, on the other hand, it is a bit of a bonus that Ve Raj should have opened there.

Peter and Louise visited Ve Raj on June 29, 2006 Ve Ray, York Road, Shiptonthorpe, York 01430 873351