INDIAN cuisine is probably the nation's favourite. And any restaurant worth its salt will be packed to the rafters at any given time. Especially weekends.

Which is why it was a "full house" at Cinnamon when we went on a Saturday night.

I had actually booked a table earlier in the week and, at the time, had mentioned to my husband that the waiter had seemed friendly but rather vague about the booking.

This all became clear when we got inside. No sooner had we stepped through the door than a waiter came over and ushered us to the bar area.

Many Indian restaurants adopt this style of service and prefer only to accept bookings for large parties -- and there were many in on this particular night.

The restaurant itself is attractive. Large without becoming impersonal and lots of little nooks and crannies, lending a cosy feel to the place.

We ordered a couple of drinks -- a bottle of Becks for me and half a Kingfisher beer for my husband -- and had a look at the menu.

Cinnamon offers many "set" meals for its diners -- set starters of, for example, chicken pakora, shish kebab and hoppers (for two people) and set main meals for two or four people.

It's an extensive menu and, as with all Indian restaurants, caters very well for vegetarians.

The starters are divided into sections -- poultry, meat, fish and vegetable and a selection of soups such as dahl or mulligatawny.

I had that long-standing favourite, onion bahji, which came served with a crisp salad and a portion of delicious yoghurt dip. My husband had vegetable stuffed khumbi (deep fried vegetable mushrooms) which also came with the same accompaniments.

Both dishes were beautifully presented and extremely tasty, especially the bahjis.

There were 40 starters to choose from and almost all were under a fiver. We also had a couple of the usual pappadums and pickles to start.

The main courses were equally as varied, with tandoori specials such as chicken tikka, king prawn tikka and tandoori shascic (tandoori marinated in yoghurt and cooked in green peppers).

Then there were the traditional classics -- korma, biriani, dansak, vindaloo and rogan josh -- where the diner could select their meat or fish of preference and add the sauce of their choice.

There's also a list of Cinnamon Specials, including king prawn shell balti, south Indian murghi (tandoori chicken cooked in mincemeat, coriander and spices), sarson salmon (spiced grilled salmon cooked in onions and spices) and Cinnamon malai (whole chicken fillet, lightly spiced with garlic and cinnamon spice). Are you still with me? There were also Cinnamon favourites like balti, shahee (whatever you fancy cooked in minced lamb, herbs and spices), lussi (sweet and hot sauce cooked in coriander, herbs and green chillies) or rezzala (spiced with onions, tomato, pimento and cinnamon spice). All dishes come with boiled rice or chips, however pilau, keema, vegetable and egg rice are all available at a small extra charge.

The majority of main courses varied from around £6.60 to the £8 mark and side orders and naan bread were around £2-£3.

I ordered the vegetable dansak -- a mild lentil-based dish blended with pineapple and lemon juice -- with pilau rice and my husband went for the vegetable samber which was, again, lentil based but with the addition of coconut and garlic and was much hotter. We also had a side order of chapati and tarka dhal (lentils with garlic).

The dishes were again beautifully presented but I think I may have gone for one that was a little too bland. I love lentils but found my dansak to be more akin to lentil soup.

My husband also was happy enough with his dish, but I -- once again -- found it a little bland. Hot, yes, but bland all the same.

Portions were plentiful and we were too full for dessert, but I ordered a liqueur coffee to round off the meal and my husband had another Kingfisher. We did ask if we could take our drinks to the bar area because our table was positioned right next to a very hot radiator and I was boiling!

All in all, Cinnamon is a nice dining experience. The starters we had were delicious and I think, to be fair, had we chosen other, spicier, curries, we would have really enjoyed our main courses.

The service was second to none and the smart, black-clad waiters were efficient and professional.

The bill, including drinks came to £40. There was no children's menu as such, but kids could easily adapt the main menu to suit. Wheelchair access is available.

Quality of Food ***

Menu ****

Service ****

Value for money ****

Atmosphere ****

Overall rating ***

Quality of food...***

Menu...****

Service...****

Value for money...****

Atmosphere...****

Overall rating...***

Cinnamon, 487 Preston Road, Standish, Wigan

How to get there: From Bolton, head to the Reebok Stadium (on your right) continue up to the junction and turn right towards Blackrod. Continue on through Adlington along Chorley Road until you come onto Preston Road. Cinnamon is on the left hand side. The restaurant has a car park.