We are fortunate to have a great choice of excellent Indian restaurants in our area and the residents of Old Coulsdon have a real gem in their midst with The Curry Leaf.

Proud winners of Chef of the Year 2012, the excellent food and friendly atmosphere draws customers from near and far. When my friend Jill and I dined there recently Ali Uddin, the owner, said that their Wednesday Banquet Nights and Sunday Lunch Buffets are especially popular with the customers.

The Banquet nights offer a four course meal for £13.50 per person and the Sunday Lunch Buffets offer 'Eat as much as you like' for £8.95 for adults and £4.95 for children.

We dined there on a busy Saturday night when it was full of customers. Despite being busy, we had no trouble having a conversation and we were soon happily chatting away over a bottle of Pinot Grigio and deciding to what to choose from the menu.

To start with Jill chose the Leaf Special Grill, a mixed platter of Sheek Kabab, Chicken Tikka and Lamb Tikka and I chose the Vegetable Pakora. My Pakora was crispy on the outside with lovely, soft vegetables on the inside and I was very pleased with my choice.

Jill gave me a taster of the meat in her starter which was tender and spicy.

For our main courses Jill chose Butter Lamb (£7.20) with side dishes of Peshwari Nan and Onion Bhaji.

I decided to have a Biriyani curry for a change, and opted for the Prawn Biriyani which came with rice and a separate vegetable curry, all for £9.70 offering excellent value. I could not finish it because it was so filling!

Jill was very impressed with her Butter Lamb and mopped up the creamy butter sauce with her Peshwari Nan with great relish.

Ali said they are happy to cater for private parties if they are given plenty of notice.

One of his customers recently held his 50th birthday party there. Ali helped with all the planning and the party went with a swing!

For more information about holding a private function at The Curry Leaf or to book a table call 01737 558899/556644.