IF you think of locations when going out for a meal in York, Clarence Street might not immediately spring to mind, with its coach park and assorted university buildings.

But nestled in among the small shops and just a stones throw from the city centre is a place that I have been dying to try for ages.

The Coconut Lagoon has been open since 2012 and specialises in South Indian cuisine from the Kerala region.

Back then a trio of taxi drivers decided to take a punt on opening a restaurant and almost immediately picked up plaudits from a national paper as one of the city's best budget eateries. To my shame, it’s taken me this long to drop by and try it out.

Before heading off for my evening meal I mentioned to colleagues at work where I was going and one said it was her favourite Indian in York - high praise indeed given the choice available and a lot to live up to. She even went so far as to recommend a few dishes, enthusing about the way they crumble one extra spicy pappadom over the rest of the pile and tipping the coconut rice as being very special.

With her words ringing in my ears, I headed off to meet my other half who was joining me for the evening.

On arrival the place was already busy at 7pm on a Friday night. The menu was a hefty tome and, after much deliberation, we went for the recommended pappadoms and pickles (£1.50 per pappadom). When they arrived they came served with curls from a spicy pappadom atop our stack. If you like to dip the shards of your pappadom into the selection of pickles and dips you can do so without any concern for fellow diners as we each got our own tray - so no double dipping arguments.

Our pops and picks were well underway when our main starter of Uzhunnu Vada (£3.95) arrived. Coconut Lagoon describe it as a savoury lentil doughnut and that seemed to be apt. It came accompanied by a dinky pot of sambar, a lentil based vegetable stew. Ours was closer to soup in consistency so it was perfect for dipping our doughnuts. We did not want to spoil our appetites too much so we ordered a starter to share.

For my main I went for the Kerala lamb curry (£10.95) which the waitress said was a little on the hot side and when it arrived consisted of tender lamb chunks cooked with coconut oil, dry red chillies, cinnamon and tomatoes.

I’d steeled myself for something rather spicy, but the heat was instead a lingering background warmth as opposed to anything too hot and overpowering. I loved the flavours and the meat was melt in the mouth tender.

It made the perfect partner for the coconut rice (£4.95) and chappathi (£2.45) we chose to go with our curry. The rice was a very pleasant surprise it did not have the sweetness sometimes associated with this dish and was instead infused with shavings of fresh coconut. Getting one to share between two was about the right amount for us.

Jordan had Navarathna Korama (£7.45) to go with my rice and chappathi and said that the heat, which was a little more intense than your usual korma, was none the worse for it, all the flavours still came through and were augmented by the little warming kick.

To drink I decided to try the bottled cardamom beer (£3.95) which had a mild background flavour of the spice and made a refreshing alternative to the usual Tiger and Cobra which were also available.

Both of us were more than sated after we’d finished our curries and very happy with the quality of the food all round.

In essence the restaurant does not appear to have been troubled by interior designers but it was clean, comfortable and obviously well looked after, and, to be honest, you'll be concentrating too much on the food for the decor to get much of a look in.

One thing I would say is that access might be an issue for people in wheelchairs or families with buggies as the entrance is via a narrow flight of steps up from the street.

You can also avoid any debate over who's going to be the designated driver as there's a bus stop right outside.

When the bill came it was something of a shock - in a good way. Our total was £48.90 including Jordan's large bottle of Tiger beer (£5,25) and my two cardamom beers (£7.90).

We had had drinks and two and bit courses and brought the whole thing in for less than £50.

In my opinion, The Coconut Lagoon definitely deserves to retain it’s crown as one of York's best budget restaurants.

The adventurous menu has something for everyone and I'm already planning my next visit to try out one of the restaurant's dosas (£6.95-£9.95), a type of Indian savoury pancake which they serve up with a variety of fillings and sounded delicious.

Coconut Lagoon, 56 Clarence Street, York

Phone 01904 652828

Website coconutlagoonuk.com

Food: 4/5 Delicious

Ambience: 3/5 Simple

Service: 4/5 Attentive

Value: 5/5 Excellent

Reviews are conducted independently and paid for by The Press