READING is not a town short of curry houses, so competition to stand out as a particularly popular one is rife.

It is certainly not impossible to through, as Tilehurst’s Zyka proves.

Through both word of mouth and the restaurant’s several accolades, including ‘Best Indian Restaurant in Reading’, Zyka, based in Park Lane, is evidently very loved amongst the local community, with a flood of positive responses meeting each article The Chronicle has written on the restaurant in the past.

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The modest setting has limited seating, but as both a take-away and an eat-in diner, it is not necessary to have lots of tables available - and this doesn't seem to reflect the restaurant's strong popularity.

If you do choose to eat in though, you won't be disappointed with either the quiet ambiance or the good service.

The eatery allows customers to bring their own booze, as it does not sell alcohol.

This made for a casual-feeling dinner with freedom to take in whatever beverage you fancy.

There were plenty of food options on the menu, including an array of starters, tandoori dishes, chef's specials, chicken dishes, biryani, lamb dishes, seafood dishes, breads, rice dishes and accompaniments.

Five of us attended, opting for onion bahjis, poppadoms, samosas and the 'Zyka Special' as starters.

Reading Chronicle:

We all enjoyed the variety of tastes, and everything was presented nicely.

The starters were simply-presented and easy to eat, offering things to suit everyone's tastebuds, from spicy to mild flavours.

The Zyka Special, which consisted of chicken tikka, seekh kebab and onion bahji, provided lots of options in one dish but the chicken tikka was 'not as flavoursome' as we had been expecting it to be.

However it was still a nice-tasting dish, which was prepared well.

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I chose a chicken tikka massala as my main dish.

As someone who isn't big on spicy food, this was perfect for me as it wasn't too hot but it was still a nice-tasting dish.

That said, even though it had a pleasant taste, I still feel it was a little bland and there could have been a bit more 'going on' in the dish.

My colleague also chose the chicken tikka massala, and agreed it was nice-tasting.

Other dishes chosen included a jalfrezi and a chicken rogan josh.

These dishes were enjoyed, with each full of 'interesting' and 'delicious' flavours.

All the rice we had was cooked to perfection and full of flavour, while the breads and poppadoms complimented the meal nicely.

We all had high hopes stepping into the 'best curry house in Reading', and although we felt a couple of the dishes were a bit lacked something thanks to our high expectations, we weren't disappointed with anything, and some of the food tasted perfect.

We didn't try half of the things the extensive menu had to offer, and I would definitely return to sample some different dishes.

I would recommend Zyka to anyone looking for a simple but charming Indian restaurant, with a casual feel and plenty of delicious options available.