Luigikhans, Newcastle

358 Westgate Rd, 

Newcastle upon Tyne

NE4 6NU

0191 272 4937

luigikhans.co.uk

You'd be excused for being puzzled by the name, but if you'd leapt to the conclusion that this was some kind of fusion of Indian and Italian cuisine then you wouldn't be far wrong. At least, that was the original idea.

Luigikhans used to be a restaurant which offered a unique (as far as I can tell) fusion of Italian and Indian food, with these two entirely separate and unrelated food traditions often served on the same plate (curry with black olives, anyone...?). Unsurprisingly, this turned out to be just a step too far for most diners so now Luigikhans, while keeping its unusual name, has settled on a wholly Punjabi menu, and seems to be thriving.

The restaurant is housed on the ground floor of the Ryokan Hotel, a grade 2-listed stub of what must once have been a rather grand early Victorian terrace on Westgate Road just a short walk from the city centre. What in more recent years was the old and delapitated Balmoral Hotel has now been expensively restored and its exterior exudes something of its former grandeur.

The interior doesn't disappoint, neither. There's a kind of shabby chic thing going on, with a striking combination of rustic simplicity and exotic glamour – elegant chocolate brown sofas, dark painted brick walls, tables without tablecloths, mirrors and gilded picture frames (but without the pictures). There are faint Indian touches here and there but overall this looks like an upscale restaurant serving... well, almost any kind of cuisine. We really liked it.

This isn't just a feast for the eyes though, the menu has plenty to offer too. Our highly attentive waiters brought us a tray of poppadoms and five pickles while we began perusing the starters and main courses. We also spotted a drinks menu with a good selection of mocktails – in fact, more than half of the cocktail menu was alcohol free which is no doubt appreciated by the local Asian community – and my dining partner who immediately ordered the Bombay Lemonade.. I chose a bottle of Cobra Zero as I was driving.

We eventually settled on the Paneer Tikka which was dry and spicy and had a delicious smokiness, and Lahori Papri Chaat, spice infused potato and chickpeas, garnished with yogurt topped with crunchy wheat crisps with a hot sweet chutney. This turned out to be one of those chilled yoghurty starters that you don't see on menus too often and it was a revelation – cold, sweet, soft, crunchy, unusual but absolutely delicious.

The main course menu is fairly comprehensive, with 7 so-called classic curries including Dopiaza, Rogan Josh and Korma, plus a Balti dish and a Vegetable Biryani, and then a separate vegetarian menu with a further 11 dishes. We opted for the Aloo Chana from the vegetarian menu accompanied by a vegetable pillau while I went old-school revisited the classic menu to select the Vegetable Dansak, again with a vegetable pillau. We also ordered our usual Tarka Dahl and a plain nan, though had there been more of us then we could have chosen the family nan which is roughly the size of a single duvet... OK, I exaggerate, but only a little.

We found both dishes to be spicy but with a depth of flavour that was in no way impaired by the heat of the chillis. In fact, both were remarkably flavoursome with exquisite, succulent sauces that called out for fingerfuls of freshly-baked nan bread.

This is Punjabi food at its best. We found the Aloo Channa had a superb slightly earthy taste, with large chunks of firm potato and chick peas in a light, fresh and delectable sauce. The Vegetable Dansak was mouthwateringly sweet and sour, full of vegetables, dense but but not dry. Spoonfuls of the beautifully mellow and garlicky Tarka Dahl and the piping hot, fresh and buttery nan bread accompanied the meal perfectly, helping us to make short work of both the curries and the dahl itself.

Portion size was generous and we probably only needed the one dish of rice, especially as we had nan bread on the side. All of the vegetarian main courses were priced at £7.95 apart from the biryani which was a few pence more, with starters being priced at around £4. That's pretty reasonable given the quality of the surroundings, the service and the food on offer.

This was not my first visit to Luigikhans but it was the first time I'd actually taken the trouble to look around me and study the food in greater depth. I certainly wasn't disappointed. Everything about this restaurant is right. The décor is right. The ambience is right. It feels modern, comfortable and contemporary yet the menu retains a simple, slightly traditional and homely feel. The standard of cooking is, on this visit, obviously extremely high. The service is faultless, too.