SO APPARENTLY in Britain there are now more people working in Indian restaurants than in coalmining, steelmaking and shipbuilding combined. It is telling evidence of the global forces at work on the modern nation-state, as well as a deft explanation of why London plays home to a number of Indian restaurants that surpass the traditional notions of the genre.

Melbourne hasn't crossed that particular Rubicon. We seem to be developing a vague understanding that there is no such thing as ''Indian'' food but rather many different regional culinary traditions. Yet the northern-style curries continue to dominate and the restaurant hasn't yet appeared that really sucks the marrow from the subcontinent's sprawling complexity.

Another thing emerged when Epicure put the call out for readers' favourite Indian eateries a few months back. There was the broad array of places and the swath of suburbia they covered, from north to south and east to west, as well as the delightfully recurring taxonomy of their names - how many days of the Raj references can one branch of cuisine support? But above all, it was the common disclaimer about - how to put this politely - certain aesthetic shortcomings that seem almost inevitable when it comes to the suburban Indian restaurant.

Going merely by aesthetics, Bombay by Night is unlike any Indian restaurant in Melbourne. If it wasn't for the artistic photographs of street scenes mounted on the walls, you'd call it an Indian restaurant disguised as a French bistro, from the bentwood chairs to the music. The double shop front on a Caulfield shopping strip is as sedately comfortable a dining room as you'll find, with tables clad in paper-on-linen and smart wooden shelving storing part of the very limited wine collection, although it wouldn't be an Indian restaurant without a stream of takeaway customers clutching their plastic bags.

But we're not here to be accused of superficiality. Put simply, the food isn't exactly what you'd call adventurous or envelope-pushing. Yet it's executed with a neat confluence of quality ingredients and sympathetic cooking, with the odd unique product that piques interest on a menu of well-delivered standards.

Bombay by Night was started in 1999 by Arvind and Jaspal Gandhi, who at the time worked day jobs and did double duties in their restaurant at night. Twenty-one years later, Jaspal still cooks each evening and their son Ravnish runs the floor.

The family has roots in Peshawar, now in Pakistan, which explains the bias towards northern dishes, although there are a few southern-style curries represented as well. They're also now accustomed to the curious habits of Australians, who treat pappadums as an entree and crunch their way through them before anything else hits the table.

Other entrees have a familiarity at odds with their superior execution. Onion bhaji are crunchy yet non-oily onion fritters with a creeping chilli kick that requires yoghurt to quench. Gobi pakora (cauliflower fritters) have a thicker lentil batter that works well against the vegetable's natural creaminess. On the specials list we find beef kofta - finely minced, quite dense meatballs cooked in a lovely savoury-sweet sauce of prunes and pistachios spiced with ginger, aniseed and tamarind.

Mains are as sprawling as the subcontinent. There are six chicken dishes, including Britain's national dish, chicken tikka masala. There are six lamb choices and four beef and despite the wide choice, there are no all-purpose gravies slopped with abandon. Each dish speaks of unique spicing in its flavour base, although the excellent naan has a universal mopping-up application. The spirited saucing of Indian food often disguises mediocre meat, so it's a pleasant surprise that the produce at Bombay by Night seems top-notch.

The southern-style prawn curry is a gently aromatic thing built on coconut milk with heavily reduced tomatoes, plus the usual suspects of onion, ginger and garlic plus coriander (and here's Ravnish's take on people who ask for mild dishes to be spiced up: ''Why make it really hot? That's like putting meat on a vegetarian pizza.'')

The dish known as desi dahi ghosht is a true northener, featuring the lamb slow-cooked in yoghurt with whole spices of fenugreek and cardamom. The lamb chunks are tenderised in their slightly sweet pale gravy to that desirable crumbly state that works well against the mintiness of the sauce.

The vibrancy of the food is perhaps something Bombay by Night could push further, judging by the success of London's modern Indian restaurants, which have driven the cuisine heartily into the realm of fresh herbs and vegetables rather than just counterpointing meat with spiced gravy and confining vegetarian dishes to a separate category.

It's easy to get the feeling that after 21 years the restaurant is so comfortable doing what it does that few explanations are needed. Asking our waiter if we've ordered well, he skims his notepad and declares it to be the right amount of food.

A warning about the lack of greenery would have come in handy. One of the vegetarian dishes would have been good ballast to all the protein, although in their defence, perhaps we should have figured that one out without assistance.

That said, I loved the beef vindaloo in its fiery and unforgiving red sauce. It had depth and finesse, with no oil slick smothering the surface. And when it comes to dessert it's hard to argue with the merits of the mango kulfi, which tastes not unlike pure mango in a sweetened ice-cream form.

For the most part Bombay by Night sticks to the traditional and familiar, although the quality of the execution turns it into a strength. Prices are fair (including the BYO policy), the atmosphere pleasant and unhurried and the service is taken seriously. Which makes it an eminently worthy place to spend some time while waiting for the great leap forward.

Food Indian

Where 355 North Road, Caulfield South

Phone 9578 6150

Cost Typical entree, $7.50; main, $18; dessert, $8

Licensed and BYO Wine (corkage $4 per person)

Owners Arvind, Jaspal and Ravnish Gandhi

Chef Jaspal Gandhi

Vegetarian Three entrees, seven mains

Dietary Gluten-free available

Noise Easy on the ears

Parking Street

Wheelchairs Yes

Service Capable

Value Good

Web bombaybynight.com

Cards AE MC V Eftpos

Hours Tues-Sun, 6-10pm