A gang of white posh spotty youths drinking wine illegally argue over service charge divvies in a corner of the room. Change is being counted out as I look over and reach for and knock over a full pint of Cobra beer.

The Ginger Garden is recommended in the “Good Food Guide”. I know that because it says it on the window and it says it on their full colour brochure. The only thing is that they don’t mention what “Good Food Guide” or what year.

The truth of the matter is that the Ginger Garden probably aren’t in any Good Food Guide at least not in their present incarnation. The food is standard Indian gravy slop house fare, with a few “specialities” which mostly are variations on different spellings of well-worn Anglo-Indian inventions, polluting menus from Aberdeen to Exeter.

The re-assuring ring of the microwave heralded our food’s arrival – a coconut chicken thing so sweet it couldn’t be eaten, a spinach thing and another meat thing. Not cheap but very very nasty. M