I HAVE been for a couple of meals out in the last week (all in the name of journalism, of course) and to be honest, I’ve been a bit disappointed.

Nothing to do with the quality of the food I hasten to add, but just generally unenthused by not being able to have my first (or second) choice from the menu or dishes not quite hitting the spot for me.

I’m pleased to say that unlucky streak came to an end during a visit to Taj Mahal, in West Swindon, on Tuesday night.

When we arrived at the bright and airy restaurant it was pretty quiet and we were quickly shown to a table. We started to peruse the menu while happily munching on some poppadoms.

All of the dishes you expect to see in an Indian restaurant are there - madras (from £4.50), bhuna (from £4.50), jalfraizi (from £5.95) and biriani (from £6.95) - along with a few that you might not have come across before.

So it’s definitely worth putting your usual favourites to one side and seeing if something new tickles your fancy.

That said, my boyfriend and I both opted for dishes that we have enjoyed plenty of times. I chose lamb rogan josh (£4.90) and he picked ordered chicken tikka dupiaza (£6.90).

I ordered some pilau rice (£1.95) to go with mine, while my boyfriend decided to follow the menu’s recommendation and have his dish with a paratha (a type of bread, £1.95) rather than rice. We also had a plain naan bread (£1.75).

Being particularly ravenous that night, we also decided to order starters. This is something I’ve never done in a curry house before, so everything was new to me. I finally decided on chicken pakora (£2.75) while the boyfriend picked a mixed kebab (£3.95).

There was no pressure to make your choices quickly and the friendly staff were more than happy to answer our questions about different dishes.

The starters were on the table in front of us within minutes and were delicious.

The chicken pakora was beautifully tender pieces of meat encased in crispy batter that melted in the mouth. It was a generous portion too.

I was incredibly jealous of the mixed kebab as it looked and smelled fantastic. It obviously tasted good too (I wasn’t quick enough to try any) as it was wolfed down.

It wasn’t long before the main meals arrived, and even if they had taken hours it would have been worth the wait.

The dupiaza was well-spiced and incredibly tasty and the rogan josh was full of chunky pieces of meat that melted in the mouth.

The paratha, which looked like an oversized chapati, was a great accompaniment to the dish and mopped up the sauce perfectly.

Including a couple of soft drinks each, our bill came to £31.70 and it is definitely a place that I would go to again.