WITH family now living in New Mill, I felt as if I had a bit of insider information.

It seemed the word on the street among New Mill folk was that the new Cumin Black restaurant was already quite popular and very busy.

Situated at the village’s main junction, Cumin Black is housed in the former Duke of Leeds pub which I seemed to remember from many moons ago, was quite a large old fashioned building. It would be interesting to see how it had been transformed from a traditional pub into a contemporary Indian restaurant.

So we decided on a family outing to see what all the fuss was about. Together with my youngest son James, his girlfriend Anna, her mum Rebecca and little sister Esha, aged six, I set out to see what the Holme Valley’s latest restaurant had to offer.

At 6pm on a Sunday evening, it was initially fairly quiet and we got a table easily enough. However by the time we left it was full up with only one empty table and diners of all ages queuing up to sample the new menu.

Although there are lots of different restaurants in nearby Holmfirth and Honley, I’m not aware of many other restaurants on the roads in and around New Mill so I presume a new eating place will be very welcome.

Once inside it was interesting to see the transformation to a contemporary Indian restaurant with simple decor and seating.

There’s no ornate traditional gold Indian decor here – just a modern fresh feel in keeping with the contemporary Indian fusion cuisine on the menu.

Once seated on a raised area at the rear of the restaurant we ordered drinks and then studied the menu for our starters. Now I’m not normally a great fan of Indian starters like onion bhajis or samosas, preferring to get stuck in to a good curry with rice and breads etc.

After enjoying some poppadoms and pickle tray however, James and I decided to order the Royal Mix Kebab which is for two people and offers a selection of appetisers including chicken tikka, chicken pakora, seekh kebab, samosa and onion bhaji, all served with a green salad.

Anna and Rebecca chose onion bhajis and vegetable samosas while Esha continued with the poppadoms.

When it arrived our Royal Mix Kebab looked and tasted delicious with the chicken tikka and vegetable samosas getting a 10 out of 10 from me. Samosas were made with crisp flaky pastry while the chicken tikka pieces just melted in the mouth. This was a real turn up for the books for me and we all polished off our starters.

Moving onto mains, I chose from the fusion menu and opted for the Shahi Chicken, described as adventurous dish of steamed cooked chicken with dry fruit and ground coconut powder, garnished with yoghurt and cream. Hey, go for it, be adventurous! When it arrived, it was quite mild but very creamy and delicious. I had made a good selection.

Our other three choices: Chicken Tikka Saag, Vegetable Rogan Josh and Chicken Bhuna were more from the tried and tested school of Indian cuisine and with the accompanying pilau rice, japatis and garlic and peshwari nan breads, we had a right table full. Everyone agreed that the main courses more than lived up to expectations and touched the spot.

Attentive staff were very keen to find something tasty for little Esha who enjoyed a starter portion of chicken tikka (not too spicy) and salad, and their attention to her needs showed they want all their customers, both young and old, to choose what right’s for them and enjoy their meal out.

Phew, talk about being full. We were all really stuffed after polishing off our feast and just glanced at the pudding menu.

This is one of the few Indian restaurants to offer a good selection of Western desserts including cheescake, sticky toffee pudding and various chocolate and ice cream combinations. They all looked really nice but it would have been a step too far, I’m afraid.

Only Esha had a pudding and chose Vacky from the children’s corner which offered vanilla ice cream served in a plastic cow toy. Sounds a bit weird but actually it was quite a nice touch!

Cumin Black is a very pleasant new addition to the local dining out option. We were made to feel very welcome by attentive staff and by the time we left, the place was buzzing.

Cumin Black

2, Sheffield Road, New Mill, HD9 7JT

Tel: 01484 687750

Website: www.cuminblack.co.uk

Opening hours: Seven days a week (including bank holidays) from 5.30pm to 11.30pm.

Children: Welcome

Disabled: Best to ring and ask, there are steps at the front entrance but staff are happy to assist.

The bill: £88.05 for four (and a half) which included £22.90 for drinks.

Would you go back? The general consensus is a yes, from all of us.