It was a swelteringly hot Tuesday evening when I went along to sample the menu at the Tiger Garden in West Street, Marlow, so I was very grateful as our waiter led us over to a pleasant window table.

From the outside, the restaurant looks fairly small but it is deceptively large and spacious inside. The restaurant itself is decorated very simply; with clean white walls, crisp white table cloths and wooden tables and chairs.

On to the food. The restaurant boasts of exotic Indian cuisine, so I was eager to try out some of their dishes.

The menu is fairly extensive, with a good range of seafood and vegetarian options and special dishes like pan friend lobster and Shahee Batera (quail). As well as these inventive dishes, there are also the classic favourites like Korma, Rogan Josh and Bhuna.

While we browsed the menu, we ordered a selection of popadoms and chutneys. The popadoms were warm, crispy and very tasty. They seemed like they were freshly cooked which is reassuring.  

For my main meal, I decided to go for a lamb Korai with Pilau rice on the side, while my boyfriend Stephen went for a chicken Shahee and a Keema naan. We also decided to sample their onion bhajis.

The Korai is a richly spiced dish cooked with onion and capsicum chunks, served in a koral to give it a barbequed flavour. It was a very rich sauce, but the portion was just the right size that it didn’t become overpowering.

The lamb was tender and well cooked and the juicy chunks of pepper, onion and tomato were a welcome addition. There was a nice amount of sauce with the dish and the fragrant Pilau rice went well with it.

The Chicken Shahee consisted of diced chicken in an exotic sauce with mince meat, fresh herbs, coriander and fenugreek leaves. This dish was interesting and the combination of mince and chicken went together surprisingly well. Again, it was packed with juicy vegetables which gave it a sweet kick and big chunks of tender chicken.

The Keema naan was stuffed full of spicy mince, which was very tasty but incredibly rich – Stephen struggled to finish the whole thing, but he enjoyed it immensely nonetheless.  

The onion bhajis were crispy on the outside and soft and seasoned nicely on the inside. They were incredibly tasty and full of flavour.

All of our food was brought out quickly and it was piping hot and fresh and the portions were a decent size, so we were comfortably full by the time we finished.

A Ferrero Rocher and a plate of orange segments were a nice touch to round off the meal.

Overall, the staff were excellent, very welcoming, attentive and friendly. They noticed when our drinks were running low and were on hand to provide more for us if we wanted them.

The restaurant was spacious, light and nicely decorated and impressively, it has a very pleasant and well-kept garden and patio out the back, perfect for warm summer evenings.

The place was clean, tidy and had a quiet, friendly atmosphere and is in an ideal location in the town.

The food itself was great quality and full of flavour and there was a great selection of meals to choose from. Admittedly, you pay a little more than you would in other Indian restaurants, but overall, I think it is worth the price – the food and the service was wonderful.

Visit www.tigergarden.co.uk to view the menu or book a table.