If you ever visited Coast to Coast on the corner of Broad Street and Brindleyplace, you’ll know how expansive it was.

Far from the American diner blandness is new kid on the block, Qavali which has popped up in its place and whose owners have transformed the restaurant into a dramatic, dark Indo-Persian restaurant with bags of charm.

They’ve kept the curved banquette seating and upholstered them in racing green as well as adding lots of striking art and greenery. Even the ladies loo has had the Qavali treatment with ornate basins and gorgeous taps. While the décor’s worth a look, the food and drink are the main draw.

We visited at lunchtime so stayed off the booze, but there are plenty of non-alcoholic options. We slurped a punchy little – and we mean thimble-sized – mocktail called Akbar and Alphonso. The combo of mango and ginger was a thing of beauty. If we’re being picky we’d increase the size slightly.

The menu is varied – yes, you’ll find your butter chicken and tikka faves but also more inventive dishes. First up the usual drill with papadums served with three chutneys – one heady with coriander, one spicy number and a sticky sweet version.

There’s a tempting Qavali Grand Platter for £94 which would be a great way to sample lots of dishes, but we refrained this time. Instead, we ate a starter of falafel which sounds simple, but not all falafels are equal apparently. We’ve eaten some dry, tasteless versions in the past, but these spheres were packed with flavour, herbs and a bit of heat served drizzled with yogurt with some truly great houmous on the side. We didn’t expect to be wowed by falafel but there you go.

Peshwari Chapli kebab, although nice, didn’t get us excited. The lamb tasted lamby and a zingy salad on the side was fresh and lively. Butter chicken on the other hand did get us excited. The sauce was an absolute triumph that we scooped up hungrily with a warm naan and then smothered on a Multani paneer tikka dish which was seriously good in its own right, but with the added sauce, perfection.

In truth, the place feels more suited to dinner than lunch – having said that the service was speedy so you could easily have a very good lunch in under an hour. It just feels like an after dark place in the best of ways – glamorous décor, great lighting and a well-stocked bar.

We’ll be back, there’s a platter with our name on it.