MUCH like everybody else, we have taken to watching the pennies, as well as the pounds, lately.

My dear departed father always used to say, "You only get what you pay for", and I believe that rule of thumb still exists. In fact, The Boy was only referring to the type of petrol that he has been using in his Fandango GT recently and declared that the supermarket variety is not quite as good as the premium brand he used to obtain just off Burton Road.

Oh, it works all right, it is just he insists that his motorcar feels lethargic and not as lively as before. This is a complaint that I personally have put down to advancing years.

I tried the "You only get…" statement with him and he responded by leaping to his feet, saying, "Stuff it!", grabbing his keys and disappearing for 20 minutes. He returned with a smile as broad as any I have seen before, informing me that the five-star fuel was back in his tank and that he was happy.

It was with a less resilient budget in mind that The Boy and Yours Truly headed towards The Modern Tandoori in town. You may recall that this is where the lad experienced his St Paul moment and made his rather rapid transition into being an Indian food lover, around three years ago.

After parking around the corner, we made our way into the eatery and obtained a table quite easily, as the place was empty.

Being of contrary mood, I opted for a starter of onion bhaji followed by a vegetable rogan josh. The Boy chose a fish tikka (I did warn him about menus that are aspecific) as his starter, with a main of khoraya lamb in balti style.

Naturally, I could not resist the sag aloo (potatoes cooked with Indian herbs and spices), although I think we made a small error by ordering only one portion of special egg-fried rice. A naan bread apiece, keema for me, because I still felt some need for meat, however sparse, and a peshwari (a slightly sweeter and fruitier alternative) for The Boy.

Needless to say, our table chit-chat surrounded the "You only get…" proposition, when the lad pointed out to me that the peach he grabbed from the top of the fruit bowl at Chez FM the other morning was not very tasty. I suggested that he complain to his mother, as she seems to know about these things. Our starters arrived.

The bhaji was pleasant enough but tasted slightly of burnt oil. It was accompanied by a tasty onion raitha and some fresh salad. The Boy's tikka spiced fish was an unspecified white flesh that I believe may have been coley. It was tasty enough but, unless I know the actual origins, I would tend to leave it alone. He consumed all of it and declared moderate satisfaction.

The table was cleared speedily and our mains were delivered to it on immaculate crockery. I almost forgot to mention that the restaurant has been renovated recently and it is much brighter now than its former shades of brown.

The vegetable rogan josh was lovely. Medium hot spices, some mild chillies and plenty of tomato, sweet peppers, spinach and potato chunks constituted a decent dish, although it was excessively oily.

The Boy's equally mild lamb khoraya gave off the most magnificent aroma and was served in balti style (although personally I could not see what the difference was). The lamb was tender and the spice mix, although not so easy to discern, was certainly a most pleasant blend. The sag aloo potatoes were wonderful and served to enhance the dishes. We should have ordered more, as indeed we should have with the rice, as by accident we had ordered only a single portion of perfect egg fried variety. I was glad that we had the well-cooked naan breads with which to sop up any sauces. The overall presentation was average.

I finished the meal with a glass of mango lassi, while The Boy sipped on a glass of still water. Although the bill was an entirely reasonable £35.10, some £20 less than one might pay uphill, my father's words rang in my ears, "You only get what you pay for". I could just see the wry smile on his face.

WHERE: 370 High Street, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, LN5 7RU.

TELEPHONE: 01522 534202.

THE DAMAGE: Onion bhaji – £2.75; fish tikka – £3.75; vegetable rogan josh – £5.25; balti-style lamb khoraya – £7.95; sag aloo – £2.75; special fried rice – £2.65; keema naan – £2.25; peshwari naan – £2.25; glass of lassi, lemonade, orange juice and still water – £5.50.

TOTAL: £35.10.

FINAL VERDICT: Averagely good Indian food, served in clean surroundings by good staff.