Dining out: How a curry house should be at Hamadan Indian restaurant in Longridge

What with the gentrification of Indian cuisine into shiny, chandelier-filled, establishments charging top dollar for a bhaji or equally expensive gaffs posing as 'street food', and the death knell of lockdown to many a business, the real deal have become almost as rare as unicorns and must be supported at once

It is genuinely refreshing to find an Indian restaurant that still feels authentic, is genuinely affordable and has absolutely no naan breads dangling off metal trees, a trend which dries them out immediately. Hamadan is one such establishment.

Situated on Inglewhite Road in Longridge, this restaurant boasts no overly fancy signage and doesn't look like much from the outside - you would be forgiven for walking straight past.

Fortunately, this is because the focus in this small, family, restaurant is on the food and not the fancy wallpaper; I felt like I was back in the 90s when I took in the traditional 'British Indian' decor which I was quite nostalgically happy with

I clearly wasn't the only one pleased to be back at a table with friends and wine and menu options as the restaurant was busy with groups on tables, many taking advantage of the generous set menu which was even available at peak time on a Saturday night

A unicorn indeed.

As we pored over the the menu and sipped our wine (house white, naturally) it was becoming clear why Hamadan boasts a 4.0 on Tripadvisor (It's also the top Indian in Longridge and the 8th best of 16 restaurants in Longridge for the web-purists.)

The menu is pleasingly extensive with lots of specials.

In the name of research (I volunteered as tribute) we didn't take up the bargain meal deal, instead choosing off the menu recklessly with a pledge not to order 'our usual'.

An exception was made for poppadoms (90p each), we ordered both the spicy and the plain variety of poppadom and I highly recommend the spiced.

The chutneys, £2.50 for four) were delicious and fresh.

For starters we opted for the so-called Mix Tandoori and the Mix Starter respectively, the former containing chicken tikka, lamb tikka and sheek kebab and the latter samosa, onion bhaji, pus chicken lamb and sheek.

Both were delicious, at £4 each, though we were already starting to feel the impact of greed-ordering and filling up rapidly.

Our main courses were both chicken, mine a chicken saagwala (spinach, spice and green herbs) with pilau rice (£9.50) while my friend chose off the chef's special section.

Her Hamadan Exotica £9.90), chosen partly because of the fantastic name, was a tikka chicken flavoured with medium spice, green and red peppers, onion and sweet mango chilli sauce.

And of course we chose a nan, if just to prove that served on a plate, they can indeed be moist.

Hamadan hit the spot – just like the old days.