FOR months after the decline of legendary diner the New Piccadilly Cafe, Denman Street lacked a culinary draw. As a result, the numbers siphoned off from nearby Piccadilly Circus to this easy-to-miss South Soho street fell.

That was until Chowki stepped in to fill the hole with smart, quick and mid-market Indian cuisine from Kuldeep Singh - the brains behind the Mela franchise - once again putting the street on to the West End's food map.

And like the ever-evolving offerings of Mela, Chowki is determined to avoid offering the stale menus churned out at most of Soho's long-standing curry houses or the now ubiquitous, and gimmicky, Masala Zone.

Until the end of the month, Chowki is taking customers on a whistle-stop tour of Indian food, from the hot, dense curries of Rajasthan, to the spicy meats of the central plateau, to the light fish dishes of Kerala in the south.

The menu is accordingly divided into regional sections, allowing punters to pick and choose flavours for each course.

The result is a well-priced, inventive and uncomplicated array of sub-continental delights, dished up in an informal dining area, where customers can rub shoulders at shared benches.

Chowki is what it is, in the best possible sense; informal, good quality and fast, befitting its location just off Piccadilly Circus.

For starters, take a cumin-infused Rajasthani quail masala or a steamed fish of the day from Kerala (both £4.95), served in a banana leaf or a savoury medu dahi vada dumpling,delivered with a mild yoghurt sauce, while fans of Hyderabadi cooking can tuck into the Hussani lamb kebab (£4.75).

For mains, Chowki pots offer the best value between £10.50 and £13.50 for curry,rice, dal and bread.

The mix-and-match theme extends to the service, dished out in a detachable bowl and platter,to be passed among diners.

Rajasthan is represented by a personal favourite, lal mass, a fiery hot lamb curry,with murg soweta providing a mild chicken alternative and a gatta curry of gram flour rolls as the vegetarian option.

The seafood of Kerala stakes a strong claim with the allepy prawn curry,stewed prawns in a creamy mango gravy and a coconutty fish curry.

Finally,Hyderabad offers up a simpler range of chicken or lamb curries and a tasty bagare bargain veggie option of baby aubergine in spicy peanut, poppy and sesame sauce.

For those with less adventurous tastes, the grill provides what appears to be solid classics, from salmon sula, Tandoori prawns, to a meat platter while deserts run through the usual assortment of kulfis, sorbets and gulab jamons - the matka kulfi (£4), jammed into a large pot with crumbled pistachio nuts on top, warrants a special mention.

Chowki 2-3 Denman Street W1D 7HA 020 7439 1330