AFTER recently moving to Southampton and with some curry loving friends in tow we set out to find a bite to eat.

Fuelled by a few pints on an empty stomach it wasn’t long before we stumbled across Shirley’s Jewel in the Crown Indian Restaurant thanks largely to its unmissable neon signage outside.

Absolutely ravenous the three of us sat down in a window seat while we scanned the menu for some tasty dishes.

While waiting for our dinner to arrive we were lavished with plenty of poppadoms and ordered three beers for good measure.It was around 9.30pm on a Saturday night so the restaurant wasn’t packed but there was a jovial atmosphere with a couple of groups celebrating birthdays and pairs of diners dotted around the restaurant.

The food itself was delicious and was brought out in good time. We ordered the Chicken Tikka Risala, a Lamb Jalfrezi, two portions of rice, a few Keema nan breads and a bottle of wine.The Chicken Tikka Risala was my favourite but the lamb was also delicious.

Not being the world’s greatest authority on Indian food my friends said that it was worth a second visit next time they come to visit.This was a special accolade coming from my friend ‘hungry’ Rob who is well known for finding faults with restaurants over the years.The waiters went out of their way to help us and spent a good ten minutes after the meal explaining where we should go next in the city centre.

But the best part of the meal was the bill. It was only £34 for the three of us including drinks.

Granted we shared two main meals between three of us but that had been more than enough to quell even the hunger of ‘Hungry’ Rob.

Truly a Jewel in Shirley’s crown.