Masters of masala, kings of korma, Tim Hughes and Ed Nix are the Curry Brothers – and are on the search for the best Asian food in Oxford. This week they let their hair down with a party at one of the city’s best-loved eateries, Jamals.

NO-ONE loves a lively night out more than us… but sometimes, at the end of a hard week, it does you good to kick back and chill.

So, cheered by the prospect of a laidback night of beer, banter and Bangladeshi cuisine, we gathered some of our best friends and headed out for a night of sophisticated spice at perhaps Oxford’s best-loved eaterie – Jamals.

Now, Jamals has never claimed to be the city’s best-kept secret. Indeed this Jericho institution is a local landmark – former finalists in the National Curry Chef Awards and winners of the Oxford round, it is as much a part of Oxford life as Carfax Tower, punting on the river and traffic jams.

But even such battle-hardened party animals as the Curry Brothers were taken aback by the scene which greeted us when we walked into this Walton Street honeypot. Lively, doesn’t touch it – this was a fiesta….

With little persuasion required, we dived headlong into one of the most fun dining experiences any of us have enjoyed in our home city. And we started, suitably enough with poppadoms and a tray full of Cobra beers.

First tough decision over, we decided to put ourselves in the hands of Manager Hydar Ali, who chose the perfect menu for six – with a good mix of heat for your chilli-addict Curry Brothers, vegetarian loveliness for our wholesome Curry Sister Hollie, authentic Bangladeshi specialities for our well-travelled friends Jess and Steven, and delicate sophistication for our guest of honour Jeremy Smith – aka the Oxford Mail’s ever-discerning Man about Town – a chap more usually seen working his way down the cocktail list up the road at Raoul’s than munching on a Madras with strange men in shades.

After another round of Cobras, and a bottle of cheap fizzy wine from a shop round the corner (Jamals keeps alive that great bring-your-own-booze tradition), and the first delight of the night arrived – Jamal’s Mixed platter (£25 for six diners) – a fabulous array of bhajis, samosas, lamb and chicken tikka and other faves – which practically flew off the table.

Another round of Cobras later and the night cranked up a gear. With military timing the crumbs were whipped away to be replaced with a feast fit for a sultan’s bachelor party – a rich, dreamy Bangladeshi fish curry cooked in coconut milk sauce (£6.95); a smooth and tasty paneer baigon – cubes of cheese cooked with aubergine (£5.95); the most succulent lamb rogan, cooked with tomato, garlic, ginger and cumin (£6.10); and that old Anglo/Bangla modern classic chicken tikka masala (£6.95) – which is often derided, but which when done well is borderline addictive.

But the centrepiece was the wonderously-named Light of Nepal (£8.95) – a flambé dish of chicken tikka. It tasted even better than it looked – and it looked about as good as a fiery plate of sizzling poultry and peppers can get.

The whole banquet was balanced with special rice (£2.75); mixed veg – firm aubergine, spinach and mushrooms (£4.95) and nan.

An obligatory final round of Cobras later and we finished off with mango and pistachio kulfi, orange sorbet and coffee liquor for our Curry Sister (who requires booze even for pudding). And that was it.

While everyone else stumbled out into the chill, I had a quick chat with Mr Ali. He is fiercely proud of his restaurant; and with good reason. His establishment has a spectacular reputation, which he is keen to maintain through top-notch cooking, quick, friendly service and glacial cool … even if, as on this night, the restaurant had all the calm of rush hour in Delhi’s Main Bazaar.

Beaming widely, he explained his restaurant catered for everyone.

And the reason for its extraordinary popularity? “Everything we use is fresh,” he whispers, as if giving away a trade secret. “We don’t use anything from the day before; nothing!”

“It’s not just that people know they can have a good time here,” he adds.

“They also know the food is good – and that we care about every dish. And that’s why they come back.”

And he’s right. See you there tomorrow!

* Jamals 108 Walton Street Oxford 01865 310102 Jamalsoxford.com * Crack a poppadom and break out the bhuna, because Britain is celebrating its favourite dish, curry. See nationaleatingoutweek.com for more details. National Curry Week runs from November 21-27