On the stone floor, next to a swirl of blue and red mosaics, stand tables and chairs that could have come from an Edwardian park. Rustic benches make up the rest of the seating.

On the terracotta, green and orange walls are artifacts of varying degrees of quirkiness. And on the plank-fronted food counter, under ornate brass lanterns, there's an array of fetch-it-yourself food.

And not merely fetch it yourself, but do-it-yourself. One dish is made from daal, pearl barley and slow-braised lamb in a dish of almost porridge-like consistency. It is terrific, rich and savoury with the warmth and bite of cumin. But it requires added ingredients to send it into orbit. So in small bowls next to it, for diners to select, are slivers of fresh ginger, piles of chopped green coriander and a heap of black powder that looks suspiciously like the stuff cowboys use to blow up banks.

Let's try it. Ah, yes, it is the stuff that cowboys use to blow up banks: a weapons-grade mix of scorched chilli and dark spices guaranteed to pep up even the most anodyne dish, not that there are many here.

Chef-turned-property developer Shehzad Hussain has lost none of his sense of fun in the pursuit of authenticity at his latest enterprise. He also provides the answer to three questions that shout to be asked about this refreshing rebuke to minimalism.

First, who else would try to emulate a Pakistani street market in Brighouse? Second, who else would call it "The Pakistani Street Food Banquet"?

And, finally, who else would dare to place it in an old pub in a side road that even Google Earth might struggle to find?

But then Hussain, ex-Bradford Grammar school and a law graduate, has never lacked entrepreneurial courage. He learned to cook from his mother and father who ran Memsahib, a cracking little Asian diner near Huddersfield University.

Then in the mid-1990s, he turned a former silk mill in the Holme Valley into the sharpest Asian restaurant around, with a persuasive blend of decorative and culinary modernism.

He sold that for development and moved into Huddersfield in 2001 with a smaller but equally striking restaurant called Balooshai Central which he sold to his chefs a couple of years ago.

And now, in tandem with his house-building activities, he's back in his trademark cool-dude black cap and tunic with a restaurant that, even in its first week, is every bit as bold and exciting as his first two. The ground floor buffet, however, is merely the start. The pub, which he bought with the intention of developing and selling, before deciding to run it himself, has been extended to prepare for an a la carte restaurant plus a bar "with sheesha and eats".

For the moment, the buffet area is not large. Factor in its bargain prices (£9.95 a head for as much or as little as diners want), the quality of cooking and the genial fizz of a novelty-struck crowd and it's likely to get crowded pretty soon.

So how does Pakistani street food translate to Brighouse on a chilly evening? Brisk and bracing are adjectives that immediately spring to mind. Take the marinated, charcoal-grilled lamb chops: a touch of smoke, a hint of lemon, a sting of chilli. Fantastic.

The orange notes of crushed coriander seed are foremost in seek kebabs, also juicy from the grill, while egg-coated shami kebabs, have a softer texture and a closer reliance on cardamom.

Lime and pepper king prawns are sweetened by honey, soured by lime, and jazzed up by fresh ginger, while haddock fillet, slightly over-salted, arrives in a crisp masala coating.

While buffets are regarded by some as easy, lazy food from invisible chefs, the idea here is that starters are freshly made whenever customers come through the door. And the chefs toiling behind the buffet counter are policed by the owner who whizzes round replenishing dishes as they empty. Main courses show as much verve as the starters. The stand-outs included a brilliant pot roast of lamb, different from anything I've had before in an Asian restaurant, with flavours both immediate and elusive; a keema mirch methi, which yields minced lamb stir-fried with peppers and fenugreek; and chicken and chick peas, hot, slightly sweet, sensational.

Other dishes may include daal makhani, butter paneer, gobi aloo, chicken saag, lemon chicken, keema karela and lamb nach gana or pretty much what ever Shehzad Hussain is moved to put out that day.

Light, milky white naan and fragrant, buttery pillau rice complete the picture.

Besides the ice cream, there's a selection of Indian desserts, perhaps Rasmalai, gulab jamun or malai kulfi.

There's a wine list, and beers include Old Speckled Hen.

Lucky old Brighouse, chillies and frillies and street-wise at last.

Street, 10, Park Street, Brighouse, HD6 1AD. 01484 715111. Open: Monday to Thursday, 5pm-10pm; Friday and Saturday, 4pm-10pm; Sunday noon-10pm. shehzad@streetpakistani.co.uk. www.streetpakistani.co.uk. Standard rate: £9.95 a head. Young children, £4.95. Under-twos, free. Take-aways. Street parking nearby.