The tandoor oven has come a long way from its humble roots in northern India and what is now Pakistan. Basic but so effective, its design has remained unchanged for thousands of years: a simple terra-cotta cylinder, maybe a meter high and 25 cm across, surrounded by thick insulation to keep the heat in. With temperatures inside reaching almost 500 C., this is the perfect medium for grilling meat, sealing in the juice and flavor, and equally ideal for producing fluffy oven breads.

These days, any Indian restaurant -- here no less than in New York or London -- that wants to be taken seriously must have its own tandoor, with the chef installed behind a glass screen in full view of the customers. And yet, until recently we've had very few places that have explored the potential of these ovens -- an omission that has been more than rectified by the opening late last year of Khyber, Tokyo's first upmarket tandoor grill.

One look at the black and gold sign and the striped awnings that mark its position on busy Showa-dori, is enough to tell you that Khyber positions itself several levels above standard-issue curry joints. Despite the posh facade, the interior is plain, with only the simplest of decorations on the rough-textured walls. The effect is serene and spacious, with no tourist tat to distract the eye, no keening Bollywood soundtrack music to fill your ears. High vaulted arches curve across the ceiling, supported by pillars -- more Punjabi palace than the teeming bazaars you'd find up by the Afghan border.