TOM MORTON reckons this Indian restaurant is a cut above the rest... but please don't go after 10 pints. I'd really like Ashoka to be a success, because it thoroughly deserves to be one.

Polite but not too over-attentive service, good food, and a pleasantly decorated interior mean it's a pleasure to eat there, but my only fear is that it's the right restaurant in the wrong place. Here's why.

Finishing work late-ish one Wednesday evening, a couple of us decided to give Ashoka a go. It's where the former Italian restaurant Franco's was, in the peculiar part of the middle of Swindon between Fleet Street and the station that can feel eerily quiet even at the busiest times of the day and night.

This works in its favour, because it's very much not a traditional "10 pints first" curry place the seating is open plan rather than in booths so in other words it's more restaurant than lager-diluting curry house.

But anyone with the haziest idea about the middle of town knows that Bridge Street is but two minutes from the wall-to-wall pub quarter that fills up with drunkenness at the drop of a hat each Friday and Saturday, and that in turns leads you to believe that Ashoka may well become just a post-drinking destination. And that would be a pity, because it deserves more.

I can say with some authority that it is one of the better curry houses in Swindon, and we're fortunate enough to have our fair share.

Bizarrely, I've found one of the best tests for curry quality is the morning after, not in a crude sense, but whether you still taste it in your mouth it's perfectly possible to cook a hot curry that doesn't make people sweat cumin, coriander and chilli 12 hours later, but it is a skill. And Ashoka has it in spades.

My colleague and I are both fans of hot food, and so chose a madras (£4.55) and a chicken chilli masala (£6.45) respectively. The waiter reminded us they would be hot, and we tried to explain that was fine but equally that wasn't a challenge to slip accidentally with the chilli.

But no, they were both blended well, cooked just right and spot on.

There's a range of the usual curries you'd expect, such as bhuna, danshak, patia and rogan but also variations including crab meat dishes, sweet duck breast cooked in honey, and a series of Indian subcontinent-tinged pizzas. How good they are I cannot vouch for.

All in all it was a relaxing meal out, although the walk back to the car park and bear in mind this was a Wednesday evening illustrates the problem any quality restaurant may have in the area.

We passed a group of lads singing football songs, and a girl collapsed outside one of the pubs while another girl (who had clearly got through a few Breezers herself) insisted she should help because she "knew how first aid worked".

Then the police rolled up to try and disperse everyone.

Despite the circus antics nearby, Ashoka deserves to do well.

So please, treat it well. Don't get leathered and get shirty and rowdy, but give it some respect.

And one final point I guess it should be pronounced A-show-ka because it's certainly not A-shocker. It's actually pretty good.

Ashoka Bridge Street, Swindon 01793 511011