CURRY is consistently among the nation's favourite dishes, with North-East diners being no exception.

With so many Indian restaurants on offer, it's easy for diners to settle for convenience over quality, never venturing further than the closest and cheapest curry house.

But a visit to Tandoori Night, located just off the market place in Richmond, confirmed my belief that a genuinely good restaurant is worth travelling for.

Tucked away on the second floor of a shop in Castle Hill, the inside of the restaurant is bigger than expected, and able to accommodate up to 90 people.

Even on a snowy weekday night the place was busy, not only with tables filled by couples, families, and several large parties, but also with people stopping in to collect takeaway orders throughout the evening.

The size and layout of the tables meant that despite it being busy, parties were able to sit far enough away from each other so as not to be intrusive. The decor is a pleasant mix of Eastern and Western design, with a gentle colour scheme, and the rooms are well-lit without being harsh.

Tandoori Night also gets my lasting approval for effectively separating the smoking and non-smoking sections - an area in which I am continually let down by restaurants. Being firmly opposed to people smoking while I am eating, I appreciate what a rare occurrence it is to find a restaurant that caters for both, but is still able to provide a section that is genuinely free of smoke.

What I had originally intended to be a meal for two to celebrate a friend's thirtieth birthday had snowballed until I arrived at the restaurant on Wednesday with the birthday girl and eight additional party-goers.

The evening had already got off to an auspicious start after I phoned up earlier on that same day to ask if I could change the time and number of our large group booking. Even at such short notice, this unreasonable request was greeted with the utmost courtesy and sure enough, we trooped in from the cold to find a table with the right number of places ready for us.

The menu is nothing if not extensive, with more than 100 dishes on offer, including a huge range of starters, curries to suit all tastes, and a selection of English meals. The restaurant is also billed as offering the largest vegetarian Indian menu in the North, with more than 20 main courses and almost as many starters and side dishes.

The restaurant doesn't serve alcohol, but welcomes diners to bring their own, which the staff will open without charging corkage. It also offers the usual selection of soft drinks and coffees.

I started my meal with an order of onion bhaji (£1.55) which I shared with other members of the party who ordered starters of vegetable and meat samosas (£1.65) and plates of popadoms (35p each). The starters were quick to arrive and well received, but the generous helpings meant I was already quite full by the time my vegetable bhuna (£3.30) and pilau rice (£1.25) arrived.

The bhuna was not too spicy but still full of flavour, and my dining companion to my left was very pleased with his chicken tikka massala (£4.75) which he said was well presented, with a full flavour and good quality meat.

As a party we ordered several plain and garlic nan breads (£1.15) to accompany the meal, and when they arrived we were astonished to find they were each roughly twice as big as a dinner plate. We had been warned by the waiter that they were big enough to share, but having eyes bigger than our stomachs we ordered too many and much of it was left.

A dessert menu was available but we instead rounded off the meal with cups of coffee and tea.

The restaurant has been open since 1999 and is run by Enus Miah, with six permanent staff and several part- time helpers. The chef, known as Rahman, has worked in restaurants for more than 40 years.

The restaurant has a comfortable atmosphere, with attentive and helpful staff. It does not accept credit cards, which may catch out a lot of diners, but there are several cash point machines nearby. The layout works well, but it is possible that on very busy occasions the tables could be slightly too close for the full 90 people to dine comfortably together.

However, the food and service were both excellent, with Mr Miah on hand throughout the evening to help with orders and check diners are happy with their meals. Booking is not essential but reservations are taken and can be left on the restaurant's answering machine during the day.

The restaurant is welcoming in every sense, and staff are happy to accommodate every request if possible. Diners are welcome to enjoy a quick meal or linger for hours over coffee, which is very easy to do in such pleasant surroundings.