AN INDIAN restaurant in a building once home to a traditional country pub?

If you like exoticism when it comes to dining out, the very concept of The Burj, which is based at what was once The Shepherd’s Rest in Foxhill near Wanborough, is a winner already.

And that’s before we even get to the decor or, more importantly, the food.

The sheer size of the premises makes for plenty of open space, and the interior design emphasises simplicity and keeps clutter to a minimum. There is plenty of exposed brickwork, the odd ornamental column in the corners and a discreet but effective air conditioning system that’s just the job when the sun’s beating down outside.

The clutter-free philosophy extends to the crockery and cutlery. Knives and forks have clean, understated lines and much of our food arrived on plain white rectangular platters with colourful sauces in neat zigzag drizzles.

Food which, I’m pleased to report, is very good indeed.

Whenever I’m in an Indian restaurant for the first time, I order an onion bhaji starter. Not the most adventurous of choices, I know, but it can tell you a lot about the rest of the meal that’s heading your way. If it’s bland or clearly chucked together any old how, for example, you can usually bank on the remainder of the evening not being much to write home about.

The bhajis at The Burj, though, were delicious neatly stacked discs of happiness, perfectly browned and with enticing tendrils of onion springing out at the edges.

My companion for the evening started with another simple classic, aloo tikka. The spicy potato cakes, brown on the outside and fluffy within, vanished as rapidly as the bhajis.

For my main course I opted for salmon tikka. At one end of the plate was a small bowl of delicious spicy sauce, at the other a salad, and in the middle a generous number of large, juicy salmon pieces that retained all the taste of the fish but with more than enough spice to add plenty of extra interest.

My companion had the Chicken Kalimiri Chettinad, a dish whose black pepper sauce looked, at first glance, a little like one that might accompany a korma, and certainly had a hint of coconut about it, but turned out to have an overall flavour and fire all its own.

Our two starters, two main courses, desserts of vanilla ice cream and a sort of passion fruit cheesecake, plus rice, naan, a side of sag aloo, a lager and two glasses of palatable rose, came to a few pennies over £52. All in all, The Burj is well worth a visit.

The Burj, Foxhill, Wanborough, near Swindon. SN4 0DR. Open every day between noon and 2.30pm and between 5.30pm and 11.30pm Tel No: 01793 791888.