GOOD INSIDE OR OUT: For the most part, you have to drive to the suburbs – Irving, Richardson, Plano – if you want good Indian food. India Palace – inside the loop, at the southwest corner of Preston Road and Interstate 635 – is one of the few exceptions.

But it's exceptional in ways beyond geographical convenience. With a broad menu, excellent quality and white-tablecloth atmosphere and service, India Palace is one of the best Indian restaurants in the area, inside the loop or out.

CLASSY JOINT: Many Indian restaurants make food their primary focus, which is a good and reassuring thing. But in the process, they sometimes ignore the setting. Within its genre, India Palace is uniquely elegant and well-appointed.

It's a large space, broken into separate rooms, their borders defined by playful wooden cutouts. There is art on the pale pink walls and linen on the tables. Candles and chandeliers add ambience. A nice little bar resides up front; in the back, a window opens into the kitchen, where you can watch the staff rolling discs of dough that will become the puffy, warm bread called naan.

Servers wear black bow ties with crisp white shirts and provide service to match. Dishes arrive just in time; water glasses are filled efficiently.

The food was exceptional, prepared with a light, confident touch. In general, the main items – be they lamb, chicken or fish – were cooked simply and skillfully, then paired with more elaborate side dishes or sauces. Seasoning was savvy. Many (though not all) dishes were hot, as in spicy – and would get hotter and hotter as the meal went along. Diabolical!

STANDARDS WELL DONE: Chicken tikka masala ($13.95) is the Indian dish most favored in England. No wonder: With chunks of white-meat chicken in a cream-and-tomato sauce, the dish has a comfort-food richness, like a spicy version of chicken a la king. At India Palace, it was served in an oval, stainless-steel dish with saffron-laced rice on the side. The chicken pieces were pleasingly tender, the sauce nearly decadent – but with enough heat to add some zip.

Vegetable samosas ($3.95) are a benchmark dish many people order at Indian restaurants. If you judge an Indian restaurant by its samosas, then India Palace passes with flying colors: Its samosas were stellar. The crust was crisp and greaseless, as flaky as a pie. The filling of potatoes and peas, enlivened by whole cumin seeds, was intensely flavorful. Both potatoes and peas kept their identities rather than blending into a sodden purée.

Breads were fantastic, from the gorgeously puffy naan ($1.50) to the slightly denser wheat roti ($1.50) to the irresistible aloo paratha ($2.50), wheat bread stuffed with potatoes and peas. You can order an assortment for $5.95; naan is complimentary with entrees, as is a choice of house salad or soup.

NOT SO STANDARD: Green chicken ($17.95), a nightly special, had large chunks of chicken breast doused sparingly with a green chile sauce. The chicken wasn't so very spicy, but its accompaniment – a vegetable mélange of green beans, tomato, bell pepper and chiles – was intensely hot. The dish came with two wonderful little savory potato cakes studded with green onion and chopped cashews.

Fish bahar ($19.95) was novel: a generous salmon fillet cooked in the tandoor oven. Though it seemed simple, every aspect exhibited care and thought. The salmon possessed a tender interior and a nice crust that lent a little char to the taste. It came with aromatic rice and excellent roasted vegetables – whole chunks of onion and squash that were blackened but still somewhat firm.

TAKES THE CAKE: Other areas in which India Palace surpasses its genre: desserts and beverages. A list of wines by the glass includes merlot, shiraz and cabernet sauvignon; there is also a mango margarita, a spiced tea with liqueur and rare Kingfisher beer, back again after being unavailable for a year.

Desserts include both traditional Indian items such as rice pudding and atypical treats such as an intense chocolate cake ($4.50) with deep-chocolate icing and mini chocolate chips. All this excellence attracts a varied clientele, including natives of India, England and beyond.

It's a professional, well-traveled crowd, far more cosmopolitan than that found in most area restaurants – one more element that sets India Palace apart from the rest.

TERESA GUBBINS January 17, 2003