Colonel Saab Trafalgar Square Indian restaurant

Colonel Saab garnered celebrity fans when it opened in the the Grade II listed Holborn Town Hall in High Holborn, with a second branch arriving in William IV Street last year.

The restaurants are touchingly inspired by the travels of entrepreneur owner Roop Partap Choudhary's parents - Army officer Colonel Manbeer and his wife Binny.

The interior is like stepping into a different world with chandeliers and ornate framed pictures (Image: Courtesy of Colonel Saab)

Decked out like an Aladdin's cave with handcrafted chandeliers, decorative mirrors, and carved wooden portraits - the Trafalgar Square restaurant gives a delightful impression of entering a different world.

There's invention going on here, in the form of the cocktails and mocktails shaken up at the sleek bar, using their home made bitters, liqueurs and fruit syrups.

The Colonel involves 'the Colonel's favourite whisky' with coffee and chai, while the Memsaab mixes bourbon, cinnamon, orange juice and curry leaf.

I was beyond happy with my Indian twist on a Singapore Sling, an upliftingly colourful mix of chai spiced gin, pineapple and rose that perfectly balanced the sweetness and alcohol.

If you have time I recommend experiencing the full culinary journey with Chef Sohan Bhandari's £80 five-course Memsaab's tasting menu, which takes in many of India's regional cuisines.

The restaurant is over two floors and includes private dining spaces (Image: Courtesy of Colonel Saab)

Taking advice from the helpful staff, we dived into the a la carte menu starting with a bite-sized treat from the 'chaat bar'.

These are street snacks of crispy puri often loaded with onions, potato chick peas yoghurt and tangy chutneys.

Here it had been crafted into a delicate flavour explosion of crispy shell filled with yoghurt spiced interior - a great start to the meal.

We next tucked into Kori Kempu, a generous portion of crowd pleasing spicy crunchy chicken tenders dipped into chili mayo.

Another delight was the fish tikka, a firm fillet marinated in mustard and carom served with a tangy mango salsa.

Next came a basket of breads, parantha, roti, and smoky naan seared and crisped in the tandoor, with a cooling Kachumber salad.

They were the best way to scoop up two curries, the homely slow-cooked and comforting Sunday Lamb Curry, and the knockout Chicken Chettinad.

Our waiter told us there were 16 aromatics used in the curry - the depth and complexity of the spicing was sublime.

Desserts range from spiced rice puddings to cheesecake and tarts.

My companion loved the traditional Rasmalai milk cake which fuses an aromatic cardamom cream with pistachio and an edible flower that had an almost metallic tang.

My coconut pannacotta came with a dreamy mango and vanilla sauce and crunchy coconut croutons - once again invention married with skilled flavouring to round off a memorable dining experience.