Words Marc Crewe

• Some of us thought this would never work. Clearly, some of us were wrong. Still, the Colston-Tower location opposite the Colston Hall certainly seemed like a doomed destination, tucked away as it is just out of sight off the city centre. The Italian restaurant Coccobello had a stab at it and failed before morphing into the upmarket bar SoHo, but that turned out to have an even shorter lifespan. So it was going to be a brave gamble indeed for anyone prepared to tackle yet another reinvention.

Happily, Kathmandu stepped into the breach, bringing with it a reputation forged in the backstreets of Easton that was as hot as any of the curries it served. But if that's the case, you ask, why move into the city centre in the first place? Trouble was that over the years, the Easton area Kathmandu called home had also acquired a reputation - one that had more to do with guns and crack and prostitution, which meant that a lot of people were justifiably nervous about going there.

What a difference a couple of years make. Set back slightly from the street, the city centre version of Kathmandu is assured and elegant, the red and black interior enhanced with clever use of lighting and a graceful granite floor. Once you're inside, the only way you'll know you're opposite the Colston Hall - or even in Bristol, for that matter - is when the inevitable party of 25 people swamp the place post-performance. But look how civilised they are: if the undiscerning 16-lagers-and-a-curry brigade came through the doors here, they'd take one look around and beat the retreat. Even on a Friday night, with the place three-quarters full, Kathmandu positively emanates unflappability.

Like its contemporary counterparts Oh! Calcutta and Old India, Kathmandu offers something a bit more unusual when it comes to menu choices. Sure, there's the normal selection of bhunas and biryanis, along with an excellent choice of veggie dishes, and you can even have chicken tikka masala if you want to - it's your money after all - but it's well worth straying into Nepalese territory if you want to get the full flavour of what's on offer.

We started traditionally enough with popadoms and pickle tray. For once, the popadoms were completely grease-free, shattering into shards pointy enough to take your eye out. On these we scooped a variety of dips ranging from soft and cooling to fiery and aggressive, and it was just as well we ran out of poppadom or we'd have filled up too soon. Next up was a lightly spiced vegetable samosa for Lesley, and a wo for me. The latter is chicken, lamb and lentils compressed into a solid terrine-like consistency, ground with various spices and served in a patty. What didn't look terribly big on the plate felt fairly substantial in the stomach, and I did what any sensible diner would do to make room for it: abandoned the accompanying green salad.

And so, as promised, to the Nepalese part of the evening, and what turned out to be a pile of food as mountainous as the country of its origin. We were told that this was food to share, and I suspect we could have shared it with every other customer in the place and still come away feeling stuffed. Pride of place went to the king prawn sunkoski - big squidgy shell-off crustaceans with spears of asparagus, what the menu described as 'Nepalese-style pan-fried potatoes', delicately scented saffron rice and salad. Rather than the homogeneous taste familiar to conventional curries, this was something much more subtle, a dish designed to bring out the individual flavours and characteristics of each item.

But it didn't stop there, oh no. The Nepalese chef also rustled up dishes of chicken natapole and lamb kritipur, the former cooked with tomato, coriander and ghee, the latter to a satisfyingly spicy secret recipe. This was one of those rare occasions where I was quite relieved to skip puds in favour of a espresso. And comforting, too, to see on the menu that all Nepalese dishes are cooked in extra virgin olive oil. Does that mean you can eat as much as we did without putting on weight?

KATHMANDU COLSTON TOWER, COLSTON ST, BRISTOL TEL: (0117) 929 4455

VENUE VERDICT	FOOD	SERVICE	ATMOSPHERE