Sheek and ye shall find

LOCATION is everything with restaurants -- too hidden and you miss it, too obvious and it may be too busy to fit you in.

The Amir at Ladybridge, Bolton, however, has got a terrific location. It's smack in the middle of a large, popular residential estate, with a ready-made clientele.

We had booked ahead for a Saturday evening, which is advisable because it was constantly busy with couples and families, plus there is a steady takeaway trade.

The Amir is a large, purpose-built building close to the shops, built mostly on one level, which makes it ideal for wheelchair customers or trolley-bound children, although the small bar area is up a couple of steps.

We sat there for a short time perusing the extensive menu. The Amir has all the dishes you would expect from a good Indian restaurant, plus a few interesting new ones.

Around 20 starters demanded our concentration, so we ended up with four different choices although most were within the £2-£4 range.

Our selection included Meat Samosa, Ginga Tandoori, Prawn Puri and Sheek Kebab, but first we had (foolishly, as it turned out) gone for two poppadums apiece and the usual reita, mango chutney, onions and lime pickle pre-starter.

These were very nice, warm poppadums and plenty of the accompaniments which we happily devoured. And when our starters arrived, we were still feeling hungry.

Each dish turned out to be a generous portion, with the Ginga Tandoori a tasty prawn mix, the Sheek Tandoori involved plenty of succulent meat pieces, and the large Samosa equally satisfying.

My Prawn Puri involved plenty of prawns in a thick, spicy sauce on a batter base. All the starters came with a small salad and plates were quickly cleared.

The main courses posed equally difficult choices. There were around 10 different types of dishes to be had in the fish, flesh or fowl categories, plus Balti dishes which I love.

I opted for Chicken Tikka Balti (£7.95), one daughter went for Chicken Tikka (£7.15) and the other for Chicken Tikka Passanda (£7.75). Just to complete the top meat choice, my husband had a Chicken Vindaloo (£6).

The chicken for all of us was melt-in-the-mouth and we were all pleased with our choices -- especially my Balti which was a sizzling iron dish of aromatic chicken with onion, red and green peppers and sauce. But by this time, we were starting to flag slightly and could not do the main courses justice.

The pilau rice portions (£1.75) came separately and we had two Keema Naan -- the spicy meat-filled unleavened bread -- which were very well cooked.

But the amount of food was just far too much for the remaining appetites and we had to ask our waiter to box up what was left to take home because there was still so much of it!

In spite of feeling totally stuffed, our two daughters somehow managed to make room for the sweets. There were plenty of choices, around the £2.50 to £3.50 mark.

Lucy went for a piece of crumbly pecan pie which came with cream and was absolutely delicious, while Claire quickly demolished a pot of cooling ice cream.

The bill for the evening was £74.35, which was totally acceptable for such a pleasant dining out experience.

Service at The Amir must rank among the best anywhere. The staff are quick to notice if you need drinks, asked each time if we were ready for the next course -- almost unheard of. They were attentive, helpful and friendly without being in your face. Other pluses at the Amir include no-smoking areas and plenty of space between tables to add to what was, for us and obviously many others, an enjoyable evening out.

Angela Kelly

Star Rating XXXX

Quality of Food XXXX

Menu XXXX

Value for Money XXXX

Atmosphere HHHH

How to get there ....

Take Chorley New Road towards Horwich. At the Beaumont Road junction turn left and then left at the second set of traffic lights. Go right into Armadale Road and follow it around the estate until the shops and car park are visible on the left after a deep bend. If you park on the car park, you can see The Amir just behind it.