In fact had you not been there for some time you might struggle to imagine this was the same restaurant.

Tired decor has been replaced by freshly painted walls, clean lines give way to sculptured recesses defined by ambient light.

Ageing carpet has been rolled away in favour of lighter, brighter laminate. Roll blinds and dried flowers brighten up window sills. All in all a warming and welcoming atmosphere. The best aperitif possible.

This was a Saturday night and if the nation is tightening its collective purse strings, as we so often hear, then the news has not yet reached Elland.

The place was bouncing and with a party of 30 due later in the evening we were lucky to be seated.

Brothers Irfan and Amar Hussain took over the Indian restaurant from their father and have been responsible for the modernisation. And they have not finished.

They intend to open during the day from the summer and have planning permission for the next stage in its evolution giving it a spacious waiting area and new position for the bar.

Somewhere to wait in anticipation for food to be prepared or to flop and relax with a digestif or a cup of coffee afterwards.

The first thing that strikes you is the restaurant's extensive menu. It covers all the usual players you might expect in an Asian restaurant, korma, biryani, bhuna. It also has some intriguing dishes that you will not find elsewhere.

These are dishes Irfan, who is one of two chefs, has fashioned.

I did not know that when I dined but anyone with the slightest leaning towards this kind of food would have immediately been drawn in that direction. Interestingly my wife went off piste too, so to speak, with her main course.

I chose lamb chops for starters, a little on the dry side for my liking but the explosion of spices they had been marinated in more than made up for that. Still I was envious of my wife's more conservative choice of fish tikka. Chunks of haddock marinated in a variety of spices and yoghurt. It is easy to overcook fish, I know I'm a fisherman and have caught and cooked for the table more times than I can remember. This was spot on.

We chose two dishes we had never heard of before for mains. Mine was chicken jeera, the sauce, a subtle blend of tomato, capsicum and Irfan's secret spice mix.

Vicky chose chicken punjabi which, as the menu said, was a dry stir fry. Dry it certainly was and I was happier with my order. We added a portion of bengan allo, aubergine and potato, a tandoori roti and a portion of mushroom pilau rice. All complimented by the odd pint of Lal Toofan. The food bill was a very reasonable £15 each.

If there was criticism it would be the size of the portions. But what was left was not wasted and will make a tasty supper treat sometime.

Fact file
Name: Sanam's
Address: Elizabeth Street, Elland.
Phone: 01422 378006.
Food 4/5
Atmosphere 3/5
Service 5/5
Value 4/5