Akash, Brighton

Despite its grand, red Mughal-esque shop front, the Akash is real-no-mucking-about-great-value curry house. As it should be when you’re in need of some spice at the end of the night.

The excellent, and extensive menu, has all the classics in the various guises (chicken, lamb, prawn, king prawn and tikka variations) as well as tandoori, balti, Ceylon and Malayan dishes as well as a few Englsih dishes (remember when all curry houses had Fried Chicken and Chips, £5.95, and Prawn Omlette, £5.95, on the menu for the friend in the group who ‘didn’t like hot food’?).

And while the house specialities (Chicken Tikka Green Masalla, Lamb Chat Masalla) are all around the £7.95 mark, there is value galore in among the classics (perfect amount of fresh tomato in the Rougan Josh, £4.65). Now, let’s be honest, at £3.95 for a Lamb Curry and £1.50 for rice, what’s the point of cooking yourself?

Prices are kept down by the cuts of meat so breast lovers should note the little footnote (65p extra for breast of chicken). But who says no to a bit of thigh every so often?

Akash, 26 Preston Street, Brighton. Tel: 01273 324 494 or 01273 820 213. Open: Mon–Sat noon-3pm, 6pm-midnight, Sun noon-midnight.

Akash snapshot

Food ① ② ③

Decor ① ②

Value ① ② ③ ④

Atmosphere (late on Sunday night) ① ②

Service and friendliness ① ② ③

River Spice, Brighton

Empty restaurants tend to turn people off, yet in this busy street of smart bars and eating places (a fair few curry houses), River Spice was buzzing so it must have something going for it.

I’m always a sucker for a fresh-smelling sizzling dish. It’s the theatre. So when a very tasty tandoori (no false colour added) arrived at the next table, I was hooked.

‘That’s the Mixed Grill’, (£10.95) the passing waiter told me when pressed, although he looked a little uncertain. But when the Mixed Grill (Tandoori Chicken, Chicken Tikka, Lamb Tikka and Seekh Kebab) arrived the sizzle had mysteriously disapeared (in all senses).

It wasn’t the same dish the neighbouring table was enjoying (more likely it was Chicken Shashlik, £7.50) and it wasn’t sizzling. Look, if it’s theatre you’re after at the table then it’s theatre you should get.

Still, the replacement Punch and Judy show looked okay. Er… sadly not. A Mixed Grill of (really) tough lamb and over-cooked chicken; just why was this place busy? Had the chef who won the 2010 Curry Chef of the Year Award from Brighton & Hove City Council moved on? The saving grace of the dish was the beautifully spiced Seekh Kebab. Very tasty.

The Chicken Tikka Chilli Masala (£7.50) redeemd things to some degree with its eye-watering chilli kick, although if you skirted the fresh chillis, the sauce was surprisingly tomato-based bland.

Maybe I just had the hump at this stage. Which was not helped by the Papadum Tax either. A whopping £3.60 for four paps indeed, thanks to 60p per papadum and £1.20 for the chutneys. I kid you not.

River Spice, 17 Preston Street, Brighton, BN1 2HN. Tel: 01273 739 183. Open: lunch daily except Friday, and daily 6pm-11pm.

River Spice snapshot

Food ①

Decor ① ② ③

Value ① ②

Atmosphere (Saturday night) ① ② ③

Service and friendliness ① ② ③