It’s hard to say how it started, but London’s curry houses are getting trendier.

From the Wagamama-style benches and modern Indian ‘street food’ at Masala Zone to the alcohol-infused specials at Clapham Tandoori, a definite attempt is being made to woo younger, trendier Londoners who fancy a cuzza but can’t face the flock wallpaper.

Brick Lane, of course, has long attracted the capital’s cool crowd and last year its oldest curry house, Clifton, famed since the Fifties for bringing Bangladeshi dishes to the capital, reopened at the very end of Brick Lane.

The restaurant is glass-walled, with an open-plan kitchen and industrial-style air conditioning vents through which one can imagine spies crawling with Colt 45s in their teeth. Clifton is clearly setting its sights squarely on the in-crowd. The Woolworths-esque flatware, garish paper place-mats (á la MacDonald’s), and the absolutely extraordinary wooden wall decorations may make for a slightly off-kilter ambience, but you can see where they’re going with it, and it’s definitely modern.

It’s a delight to see a menu divided into Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani dishes, helping to educate our often-ignorant Western palates – something that other restaurants would do well to emulate. It’s also good to see the focus very much on fish and vegetable dishes, though there is a Tandoori and Tikka Masala menu for die-hard lovers of Anglicised food.

You can get Chicken Tikka Masala anywhere; go to Clifton for the King Prawn Cornofuli, with its huge tiger prawns; the Hilsa, national fish of Bangladesh, deboned and formed into fragrant patties; and the Masala Dhosa, a light, “rice-flower” pancake filled with spicy vegetables.

If meat’s your thing, try the Lamb Chop Grill to start, mouth-wateringly minty and with a pureed kiwi side, or the tender Lamb Xacuti made with fresh chillies and lemongrass, perfect with Clifton’s light, fluffy basmati rice. An over-enthusiastic use of scorched onion shavings, used as a garnish, is the only criticism you could level at the food; their bitter, dominant flavour tended to taint the more delicate dishes.

Clifton’s curries are definitely a cut above your average “Indian” restaurant, and with prices so reasonable (£1.95–£3.95, mains £5.95–£9.95) it’s definitely worth making a trip up Brick Lane.

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