Since 1976, diners have adjusted their eyes on entry to the Bengal Curry House to the dark red-maroon decor - the airport lounge carpet, the heavy velvet curtains, upholstered wall seats, the painted walls. In the adjusted light, as they have greeted and been greeted by the friendly staff, and looked round for a table, they have made out the posters of welcome in the alcoves, including the elegant closed-together hands en Namaste .

When not busy, diners can choose one of the two more secluded tables for four in either of the front window areas, necessitating, of course, a further journey for the eagerly awaited trolley when their order arrives. This is a classic curry house; such a classic of the genre, I think it really ought to be listed. I hope they never paint over the mural of the jungle tiger which has caught a deer on the left hand wall (there is, sadly, no venison on the menu). The waterfalls in the alcoves opposite are posters, cut to size to fit the arches in front of which the diners are placed in parallel lines of tables along either wall - sitters on the wall side have comfortable velvet. Facers-in (always a difficult choice, depending on how insecure people feel with their back to the room and most likely resolved most comfortably by those able to judge how often they will want to get up to go to the loo), benefit from the wooden chairs with upholstered seats, which naturally have backs with knobs on.

Above the diners, are dim lamps with little chains on for the use of people who wish to turn on the integrated fans, but these rarely turn in my experience - the two large brass ceiling fans in the middle of the open carpeted concourse providing movement of air and a re-assuringly decrepit clicking sound as one joins the other and wobbles round and round.

It is not all dark red maroon at the Bengal. Blue velvet trims the mirrored mosaic faux arches that give the Mughal look to the ceiling to the left hand side of the restaurant. There is some splendid fresh new napiary on the tables in dark blue and mauve. Adorning the table cloths are Chinese style peach blossom plates (made in England), artificial plants and Indian pop music accent the exotic (these days with a beat from one of the clear local radio stations rather than the plaintive sitars from the stretched cassette tapes of yesteryear).

Baroque gold leaf clusters ornament the surrounds of some of the posters, including the no smoking sign next to the table reserved for the walk-in take-away trade.

The food tastes fresh. My recent Chicken Jinga Masala had chicken breast meat, fresh green chilli and a tangy tomato and yoghurt sauce. It comes with pilau rice for £6.95. They will upgrade a Chicken Vindaooo (£3.95) to a Phall without fuss, but do not over-do the heat: it is a tasty dish which is not sour as can be the case in some establishments. The Lamb Biriyani (served with a vegetable curry for £5.75) is delicious, the meat tender, not greasy, but not dry either. There is a slight tendency for them to cook with a little too much oil, which is what stops the Bengal getting a regular 10 out of 10, but it does not spoil the flavour and brings its food in with a consistent high 8/10 in my book. Dishes like Saag Aloo (side vegetables are all £2.15) were served avoiding the sogginess which can be a common fault with such dishes.

The Bengal has a lot of meat on its menu, keema, chicken and lamb curry combinations abound, generally around the £3.95 mark, but they also cater well for eaters of prawn and king prawn. They could do with offering some of the excellent fishes available from local suppliers like HMS Bazaar or N&A Fishmongers, as there are no fish dishes on their current menu.

As well as the Tandoori dishes, served with salad (a whole chicken costs £6.95, a half comes at £3.95) they offer a Balti range which comes with a nan bread.

Vegetarians have a fair range of Curry, Madras, Vindaloo, Bhuna, Korma and Dansak dishes to choose from, though not Malaya, Rogon Josh, Dopiaza or Pathias.

Other more pricy dishes come from a list of 'chef's recommended dishes'. I personally have never met a chef who does not recommend one of his dishes, but for what it is worth, the Chicken Tikka Masala, Murglai Lamb, Chicken or Lamb Pasandas etc which are available for £4.75 are pretty good.

I have never had the Thalis, which come at £9.95 for a non vegetarian one or £8.95 for a 'Special Vegetable Thali'. I have also not eaten their plain rice for many years, as I have a rice cooker at home and don't find it any bother to put that on rather than order it at £1.60 a portion if I fancy plain rice. It will be cooked by the time their delivery arrives, which invariably takes about 45 minutes.

The Bengal Curry House is an old favourite of mine for Indian cuisine. (Much of this is, of course, actually modern British cooking, but that's another story). I have tried others over the years, I must admit, and have been delighted with new restaurants for a time until the excellent chef they bring in for a few months when they open moves on or something goes wrong with the order - a dish forgotten or a starter provided that is too small. Learning the lessons from such disappointments I always go back to the Bengal, despite the temptations of places like the Raja or even Tropical Taste.

The Bengal Curry House is situated at 24 St James's Street, next door to a branch of Kebabish Original on the other side of the road from the station, WM Smith and the St James's Street car park. Tel 0208 520 4434 or 0208 520 0385. Delivery in Walthamstow is free on orders over £9.50.