THE Chillies, situated on Winchester Street at the bottom of the town, has a good reputation as one of Andover’s most established restaurants.

Despite being a fan of Indian cuisine I had yet to test The Chillies’ offerings but a spontaneous midweek visit confirmed its reputation as a local favourite.

We had not booked ahead and were not particularly hopeful of getting a table with what seemed to be a fairly full restaurant, but on entry we were immediately shown to a table with a warm welcome.

Traditional Indian music filled the restaurant and I was delighted with the drinks menu, which included Cobra beer.

Poppadoms were served with a wide variety of sauces and chutneys ahead of our main meals which included a chicken bhuna and a lamb rogan josh, both with pilau rice.

Both meals were thoroughly enjoyed, a popular criticism of Indian food is often its spice, however these dishes had the perfect balance of a ‘kick’ alongside deep flavours, there was luckily no need for milk on this occasion.

The staff were attentive and eager to please throughout our dining experience in spite of the number of other diners in the restaurant, checking back on our meals and offering refills on our drinks.

The cost of the meal for two came to just over £35, including drinks.

Being so close to the town centre and with the high quality of food and service it is safe to say this won’t be my last visit to The Chillies.

WILL TURNER