'SPECIAL Achari Jolpai', 'Zardaloo Lamb', 'Shahi Zeera Dilkosh Chicken': it's always reassuring when you go for an Indian to see a few things on the menu that you don't already know.
It adds an air of authenticity and adventure, I suppose: if I'm going out to eat cuisine from halfway around the world, I'd like to feel a little transported.
Having said that, Viceroy Tandoor offers the dual pleasures of being transported to the Asian subcontinent whilst also feeling incredibly at home.
The top review for this place on Trip Advisor says 'It feels like you are entering someone's house and the welcome feels just like that too,' and that's completely right.
We're given a very warm welcome as soon as we arrive, and it feels very much like a family-run place: the staff are at once relaxed, courteous and proud – making little jokes but also going out of their way to be accommodating and polite.
A great example is when I ask what's in the Goan Red Curry (£10.50): our hostess tells me it comes with either lamb or chicken, but when I ask if I could have a fish version she's not only happy to oblige – it even comes delivered on a special fish-shaped platter.
That and the rest of our brightly-coloured selection of curries are rested on two of those candle-powered plate warmers, which I love.
Alongside my custom-made curry I have the Bombay Aloo potatoes (£3.75) and a Peshwari nan (£3.25).
The curry is great: they've got real pieces of fish (I would guess tilapia, but I didn't ask) and it's been fried off before going in the sweet and fragrant sauce, giving it a nice crispy texture.
There's also way too much of it for one meal – in a good way – so I end up taking half home and I can't wait to eat it again!
The Bombay potatoes are well-boiled before going in their sauce so their perfectly soft as well as being spicy and delicious; the nan is fluffy, fresh and has a sweet filling.
It's not just me who is impressed: one of my friends, who says she has never had an Indian dish she has liked other than chicken Tikka Massala, tries the chicken Tikka Methi Karahi (£9.95) and is impressed.
The Viceroy boasts on its website that it is 'quickly developing a reputation in Faringdon as the restaurant for the true taste of Indian cookery at its best', and says 'if you and your friends wish to have a good night out... the Viceroy must be you first choice'. Based on our night out, I've no reason to disagree.
The Viceroy Tandoor, 19 London Street, Faringdon 01367 241896
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