LIKE any self-confessed curry addict, I can never resist checking out any recommendations for Indian restaurants.

The new go-to place at the moment is ZaZa, formerly Mint Boscombe, which re-launched a few weeks ago.

Owner Shipon, who has helped run several restaurants in the area, has a real passion for good, freshly-cooked food and you are guaranteed a warm welcome.

The place is bright, clean and contemporary with mood lighting and lovely finishing touches such as fresh flowers, crisp cloth napkins and tablecloths.

But it is the menu that really marks this restaurant out as a different class to other high street Indian restaurants.

There are many dishes on the menu that you wouldn’t usually come across as well as old favourites and chef’s specials.

For starters there were the traditional appetisers such as onion bhajis and samosas, but on Shipon’s recommendation we ordered spicy squid rings and hot lamb.

The squid was tender with just enough heat to give it a kick and the hot lamb had been marinated with garlic and served in a sweet and sour sauce with a hint of sweet chilli which was an inspired combination.

For our main courses Shipon gave us a taster of some of his favourite dishes, including chicken tikka korai which arrived sizzling in a skillet with slivers of sweet, tender onion and was packed with different flavours and textures.

The rezela, which was fairly hot, was a mixture of chicken and minced lamb cooked with fresh green chillies in a yoghurt and coconut sauce.

The butter chicken was packed with chunks of tender marinated chicken and cooked with mild spices and served in a rich, creamy sauce.

One of favourite taster dishes was mango chicken, succulent chunks of meat in a smooth mango sauce which tasted fresh and exotic – sublime!

Everything is cooked from fresh so takes a little longer to arrive at the table but it is well worth the wait.

The presentation is excellent too – food is presented on big white, warm plates with garnishes and flourishes of cream or sauce.

Owner Shipon is clearly very proud of his restaurant and rightly so. If you like good quality Indian food, you will love this place.