Is Masala City in Chichester England's best curry house?

Recently it was named the best fine dining curry house in England at the English Curry Awards, held in Birmingham.

And upon opening the menu, right there on the inside cover, are the words "Restaurant of the Year 2024" emblazoned below its name.

The provenance of this title is less clear - but it's fair to say the eatery in St Pancras has a following.

Any curry house worth its salt should be busy on a Friday night, which was when I was invited down to try the food, and it certainly seemed to pass this test with flying colours.

I can't vouch for the back rooms in the Tardis-like restaurant but those I passed through to my table were teeming.

Seated near the window, my partner and I embarked on the typical horse-trading involved in ordering a curry, as famously parodied in Gavin and Stacey.

His sights were set on the sag roll - Masala City's signature dish - so I had to use my best powers of persuasion to share it with me in exchange for some of the mixed platter.

It was an interesting concoction: a spinach-y, cheesy, eggy filling sandwiched between slices of potato and breadcrumbed before being deep-fried.

It came served on a lake of creamy coconut sauce, with a ring of mango coulis - a kind of South-Asian fusion of a Greek spanakopita and a French dauphinoise.

For the main event, we were supplied with an even wider array of delicacies to try - a banquet large enough that it attracted the attention of a nearby diner, an Irish lady who proceeded to ask if it really was all for us.

With a mix of shame and pride, I confirmed it was.

A sucker for a back story, I gave the lamb naga subwal a go because it was the "beloved recipe" of the head chef's grandmother, originating in Chandpur in Bangladesh - the home of the naga chilli from which it was named.

This was in spite of the fact that it was a Madras-level of heat, more than my timid tongue would typically go for.

My boyfriend opted for the more tried and tested butter masala chicken, presented in a lovely bowl adorned with swirls of sauce and sprinkles of herbs.

The presentation certainly elevated the experience from the usual silver dishes with little handles, and evidence for why it won the fine dining award.

Aside from the typical sundries like rices, dall and sag aloo, notable dishes included a chicken tikka, garlic and cheese naan - described correctly by the owner as an "Indian pizza" - and an unusual sag paneer.

The owner told us they do two varieties: the more traditional, dry version and another creamier variety popular with punters.

Swayed by public opinion, we went for the latter - enriched with coconut milk, it was very sweet by itself, but was a lovely companion to the dry heat of the lamb curry I ordered.

(In hindsight, when I asked the waiter if it was very hot, his answer was that it was lovely - not that it was mild, something which occurred to me as I fanned my mouth after eating the first morsel.)

Our eyes were bigger than our bellies, so plenty of food was boxed up to go thanks to the help of the friendly waiting staff, for which nothing was too much of a problem.

So down to the big question. Was it the best fine-dining curry restaurant I've ever experienced?

It didn't do anything ground-breaking in the Heston Blumenthal sense of the phrase 'fine-dining': no dry ice, snail daal or clouds raining korma.

But it terms of an elevated curry house experience, this ticked all the boxes; to be honest, that's what you want when you go for a curry.