Who would have thought of shoe-horning what is essentially a curry house into a building you would otherwise drive past and think was a carpet showroom?

Add to that the fact that Pudsey isn't exactly a desert when it comes to curry houses but, nevertheless, this huge, 4,000sq ft glass-fronted restaurant has managed to bring something quite different to the table.

Let's get one thing straight from the outset. East is not understated, quiet or run-of-the-mill. It's as brash and ostentatious as they come. And proud of it.

They have a grand piano, the pianist plays all night and even does requests. The drinks menu is even more flamboyant – a bottle of Krug champagne will set you back an eyebrow raising £750 and believe it or not, they had actually sold out of the stuff when we visited (not that I was buying, you understand, it was just that curiosity got the better of me).

Don't let the razzle-dazzle put you off, though. Dining at East is an experience well worth savouring and if you're thinking you can't afford it – champagne aside – think again.

As soon as you pitch up at the front door, suited doormen usher you into the foyer, where you are pleasantly greeted, then seated. There's a buzz about the place, with black-clad waiters to-ing and fro-ing with reassuring diligence. It could be New York, it could be Los Angeles, or any number of other snazzy foreign locations, but it's slap bang in the middle of Pudsey. The lively atmosphere – the hubbub of conversation of satisfied customers is always a benchmark worthy of respect – forces you to relax immediately.

There are three separate dining areas, each with its own feel, plus two bars upstairs, including an outdoor terraced bar.

I've been to East several times and one thing I can't help but notice is the abundance of staff – they seem to be everywhere, so there really is no need for the buzzer on each table, although it's still a nice touch.

We were given a selection of complementary dips and poppadoms to start and ordered our pre-dinner drinks from the table. The bar has a list of draught beers as long as your arm but in the end I plumped for Kronenbourg Blanc, a wheat beer (£3.30), while my partner settled on lager shandy (£1.40).

The menus are a little oversized, perhaps even cumbersome, comprising three, fold-out, A4-sized cardboard leaves. That said they were clean (always a bonus) and nicely presented.

To start, I ordered sea bass tikka (£5.95), marinated in masalla sauce, cumin, fenugreek and ginger, which was served with a refreshing side-salad and was of a quality you would expect to find in any fine dining restaurant. My partner opted for seekh kebab (£2.95), which again came
with salad and was both savoury and light.

There was a nice gap between our starters and mains, which included,
for me, nassar e khass (£10.95) from the specialities menu, a dish consisting of chicken tikka and lamb mince cooked in brandy with onions and tomatoes. It came to our table sizzling and crackling and literally on fire (that'll be the brandy, then) and turned out to be delicious.
My partner ordered a chicken korma (£6.50), which was light, refreshing and ever so slightly fruity and made a nice change from a standard restaurant korma, which all too often ends up being overwhelmed by thick coconut paste.

In addition, we ordered side dishes of fries (£1.95), rice channa (with chick-peas), for £2.95 and six chappattis (£4.80), all of which were faultless.

As if the flaming curry dish was not enough, more drama came after our main course courtesy of our waiter, who presented what looked like three large mints on a plate. He proceeded to douse them in hot water, at which point they grew magically like little mushroom stalks.

They were, in fact, freeze dried hand towels. Marvellous!

For dessert, I went for gulab jaman (£2.95), which consisted of semolina balls coated in treacle sauce and served with fresh cream. It tasted like a mixture of treacle sponge and coconut cake and was decidedly more-ish. My partner went for raspberry cheesecake (£2.95), which ended up being strawberry as they had no raspberry left.

We also ordered two black coffees (£3), bringing the final bill to £49.65 – fantastic value considering the quality of the food.

The food at East was excellent – it tasted clean, fresh and, dare I say it, healthy. Certainly, there was no layer of fat covering our main courses, as is often the case with curries.

A few other things to note: the toilets were clean. So, tick..
East also offers a take-away (collection only) service on its full menu and has started offering panninis/wraps, sandwiches and things like chilli con carni and steak and chips during the day (two meals for a respectable £9.95), from 11am-4pm.

The decor is, like everything else at East, is slick. Black tables, clean lines, clean floors, spotless cutlery, although service could be improved upon. One waiter almost jammed a plate into my face as he leaned over to clear our table and, when setting an adjacent table after a large party left, two waiters made so much clatter with cutlery it was enough to wake the dead. Still, these are minor quibbles.

Overall, the experience was superb and the restaurant itself highly recommended by Oliver.

Let the competition take note.