SPECIAL Achari Jolpai, Zardaloo lamb, Shahi Zeera Dilkosh chicken: it’s always reassuring when you go for an Indian restaurant to see a few things on the menu that you don’t already know.

It adds an air of authenticity and adventure, I suppose. If I’m going out to eat cuisine from halfway around the world, I’d like to feel a little transported.

Having said that, Viceroy Tandoori offers the dual pleasures of being transported to the Asian subcontinent while also feeling incredibly at home.

We’re given a very warm welcome as soon as we arrive and it feels very much like a family-run place: the staff are at once relaxed, courteous and proud, making little jokes but also going out of their way to be accommodating and polite.

A great example is when I ask what’s in the Goan Red Curry (£10.50). Our hostess tells me it comes with either lamb or chicken, but when I ask if I could have a fish version, she’s not only happy to oblige, it even comes delivered on a special fish-shaped platter.

That and the rest of our brightly-coloured selection of curries are rested on two of those candle-powered plate warmers, which I love.

Alongside my custom-made curry, I have the Bombay Aloo potatoes (£3.75) and a Peshwari nan (£3.25).

The curry is great: the fish has been fried off before going in the sweet and fragrant sauce, giving it a nice, crispy texture.

There’s also way too much of it for one meal – in a good way – so I end up taking half home and I can’t wait to eat it again.

The Bombay potatoes are well-boiled before going in their sauce, so they are perfectly soft, as well as being spicy and delicious. The nan is fluffy, fresh and has a sweet filling. I am impressed.

The Viceroy Tandoori, 19 London Street, Faringdon. Call 01367 241896