Tamarind Tree, The

The Tamarind Tree is a prime example of the modern style of Indian restaurant where the bright and lively décor reflects the modern face of Bangladeshi cuisine, the service conducted with dignity and professionalism. No flying shirt-tails here. Their avowed aim is to 'blend exotic luxury with homely warmth'.

Listed in recent awards amongst Britain's Top 100 at a recent National Curry Awards Ceremony, Tamarind goes to great lengths to use only the best ingredients. Food is prepared only when your order is taken, and whilst some places can suffer extended service times because of this, at Tamarind it is kept to an acceptable minimum.

From amongst the starters look for the king prawn sizzler, in its shell, fried with onions; puri path, liver cooked with spices served on a fried Indian bread; a delicious dish, prawn adadia, prawns seasoned with chopped ginger and fried deep in oil, or lamb patties done with red lentils, garlic ginger, turmeric and dill seeds.

Main courses of machli, fish with olive and tomato, duck korai and salmon shashlik, salmon marinated in spices and herbs before being cooked in a clay oven, a lamb tikka massala or the ever-angst absorbing murgh vindaloo are all there, but for sheer versatility the gosht kata massala, diced lamb braised golden brown in sliced onions with ginger and garlic has my vote every time, to the point where I think I may be getting cuisinally wasted. Never mind it's a good way to go.

Sometimes I think the Indian side dishes are amongst the most interesting, and Tamarind has a good selection to brighten an otherwise lacklustre day. A scintillating tarka dall, and muttor ponir, peas with cheese must surely prove the point, and there's that high moment when the first mouthful of a light but well filled peshwari nan goes down the hatch. As you can see you are in the hands of an enthusiast, someone who particularly delights in this new concept of Indian restaurants, with not a hint of flock wallpaper to be seen.

I sometimes wonder whatever happened to Bombay Duck, and when I receive yet another rebuff at the hands of a staff member who appears embarrassed by my request I have to make the assumption that we were eating something dreadful in those far-off days. I don't really mind - I loved it. But I never see it on the menu here - what does Brussels know about this?

As with so many of their kind the range of cocktails to be found at Tamarind is explosive. The present Manager claims to be the originator of some of the most imaginative cocktails known to man, which must be saying quite something.

Tamarind do Take Away, with a 15% discount on all orders and they are open 7 days a week. Their Website keeps customers up to the mark, including map directions and arrangements for reservations.