Slightly off Newport's beaten track of mobile phone shops, coffee houses and chain stores you can find the Nabab. Surprisingly Matt and Cat made their first visit there only recently - despite its good reputation amongst their friends.

On arrival there was a very warm and attentive welcome from one of the many waiting staff - Matt and Cat's coats were taken and they settled into a comfortable window table. The menu has the traditional favourites, korma, dhal and balti, alongside unexpected items such as sea bass and swordfish. Cat chose Murgh de Gama, an interesting hybrid of Portuguese and Indian (according to the informative notes on the menu) which promised to be chicken breast stuffed with spinach, mushrooms and cheese. Disappointingly the chicken breast had been cut into tiny pieces and all of the ingredients were combined to make something not unlike pasta sauce (but green). It was an extremely rich dish with an unusual juxtaposition of flavours. However, despite being one of the most expensive items available, the portion was unexpectedly small.

Matt chose lamb curry which, again, was rather expensive - particularly when compared with similar dishes in other Indian restaurants on the Isle of Wight. Nonetheless it was a fair sized portion and the meat was very nice. Matt heroically (greedily?) finished Cat's Murgh de Gama which she declared to be distractingly cheesy: cheese in an Indian restaurant somehow seemed, well... wrong. Cat did not go hungry though, dear reader, as she finished off a companion's very nice chicken khorma - big and succulent pieces of chicken in a delicious and plentiful sauce - which offered much better value for money. In fact, your reviewers concluded that although the expensive and unusual dishes draw the attention of the neophyte diner, it may be the more conventional meals hidden away at the back of the bill of fare which are the gems in this establishment.

The restaurant itself was a very enjoyable place to eat. Well set out and not too crowded, it was very clean and had the requisite piped Indian music. Also, despite having to leave promptly to make way for a second sitting, Matt, Cat and friends did not feel harrassed by the friendly staff. At the end of the meal, the ladies in the party were presented with red roses (nice touch) before being politely seen out into the February night.