SPICY Tadka can be found in the previous location of Hee’s Chinese restaurant in the older part of Basingstoke town.

To the untrained eye and palate, this may seem to be one of your usual Indian restaurants - dark glass, floor to ceiling windows could seem much of a muchness.

However, don’t be fooled.

Spicy Tadka, founded in May 2015, is not usual in anyway, it’s a modern twist on your average Indian restaurant. The modern look and feel did not leave you thinking you were in the middle of Basingstoke.

Its mission statement is to bring smiles to Basingstoke residents and deliver exceptional gastronomical experiences.

To start, there are many unique dishes to them, based on Indian street food, Indo Chinese and many meals of the modern Indian household.

What stands them out from most restaurants, even others outside of the Indian cuisine bracket, is that they will cook from scratch to your specific taste and temperature requirements, no dairy, no sugar, no gluten - no problem.

Spicy Tadka offer a wide range of starters, main meals and desserts. These include the Chilli Mogo Chips which are unique to them, I would highly recommend you try these chips.

There will be lots of dishes that you will recognise as staple Indian classics, as well as a much wider range you will not have heard of or have tried.

That said, it doesn’t matter how full you are, or how much you have eaten, you should order the Chocolate Samosa (even if it’s a small portion), it is absolutely delicious.

They also offer buffet lunches, indoor and outdoor catering as well as a takeaway service, which can be ordered from their own app which, again, is a modern twist with today’s constant use of mobile technology, and it being available so freely at your fingertips.

They also have a massive range of uniquely different beverages, both alcoholic and soft drinks. Having been to many other Indian restaurants in Basingstoke, to see something other than Kingfisher or Cobra made a refreshing change.

To echo this when finishing our meal, I was expecting the near typical mint or chocolate mint served on a plate. Instead we were offered a small bowl of, what I would describe as, multi-coloured rice grains, which were in fact sugar-coated aniseed strands.

Kendra the manager kindly explained that this was a more traditional way of ending the meal in India. However, this had been twisted to more of a Western palate, by coating the aniseed in sugar as this would help with digestion after your meal. If I could give one negative to Spicy Tadka, the toilets could probably do with a lick of paint.

Spicy Tadka has been recognised in the top three by “ThreeBestRated”, also accredited in the top ten on Tripadvisor in Basingstoke and has been given the most valued takeaway award by Hungry House.

For the ethical aspect too, Spicy Tadka takes part in fundraising events for causes in Basingstoke and surrounding area like the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Smbulance service, St. Michael’s Hospice and more.

Following this review, I have been back already and am planning on spoiling my husband with a visit very soon.