Red Mango, Oldbury

tucks in to a good value meal in this Oldbury Indian restaurant.

Oldbury's Red Mango restaurant has quite a following. With celebrity fans including everyone from comedian and TV presenter Justin Lee Collins to Express & Star columnist Professor Carl Chinn, the eaterie on the busy Birmingham New Road has a lot to shout about.

The restaurant opened its doors in 2006, aspiring to offer a new dining experience for visitors, while providing all the old favourites for traditionalists.

Entering Red Mango, you are immediately transported from the uninspiring setting of the A4123 Birmingham New Road. The interior is painted a warm burnt orange and pot plants dotted around the room add to the effect.

The trendy bar, lit by multicoloured glass panels offers a full selection of wines, beers, spirits along with alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails.

The first thing you notice about the menu is that it is extremely reasonably priced.

Often more modern Indian restaurants up the prices to fit in with the ultra modern decor, but there is none of that here. Starters range from £2.10 to £3.10, with mains from £5.50 to £8.95.

There were a good number of staff working and all were polite and efficient.

To start I had Aloo Chop, spicy mashed potato cakes,with salad and yoghurt dressing and my dining companion had sheek kebab - minced lamb mixed with fresh herbs and spices char grilled on a skewer with salad.

Both dishes were hearty portions and tasty.

We were offered a "rest" before the next course, which was gratefully accepted. As a main my partner had a special korai - a mix of chicken tikka, lamb tikka and prawn and I opted for two vegetable side dishes, lentil dish tarka dhall, and sag paneer a cheese and spinach. These were accompanied by two chapatis.

The vegetarian dishes were nicely spiced and great value for money at £2.50 each. The portions were so generous I had an ample amount to take home with me - kindly packaged up by the waiting staff.

The meat dish was also good, although one minor gripe is that the prawns were rather small.

Despite the friendly staff and good food there were a couple of issues with the restaurant that need to be addressed.

Two of the windows in the ladies toilets were broken, with temporary repairs provided by tinfoil. There was also a gap above the sinks where a mirror had been ripped out. For a restaurant which has been so thoughtfully decorated it somewhat spoilt the effect to have toilets in such a state.

Worse, my starter arrived with the corner of a plastic bag nestled among the salad.

The waiting staff were mortified and immediately offered a new dish, but to a first time visitor it hardly gave the best impression.

Despite this, for early on a Thursday evening the place was busy, with customers of all ages tucking into meals, with a group of about 20 arriving for a party in a separate part of the main dining room as we were leaving.

A two-course meal for two with bread, two beers and a glass of wine came to £28.60

This is a good value curry house with a welcoming interior and very professional staff. With just a few tweaks, it could be great.

ADDRESS

Red Mango: 157a New Birmingham Road, Oldbury B69 1QP

Telephone: 0121 552 4756