At first glance the Surrey Palace might appear to be just another Indian restaurant among dozens.

But on arriving you soon realise that the Surrey Palace is striving for a little more than what’s expected.

Established for over 20 years, Surrey Palace has operated from Kingston Road in Ewell since 2003 managed by Tarek Choudhury, himself a chef with 20 years experience who regularly works in his own kitchen.

The menu is testament to his experience and dedication with Mr Choudhury regularly travelling to Bangladesh in search of new recipes owing to a unique menu with a fantastic choice of more unusual dishes as well as traditional favourites.

He said: “I invented the menu. I go around Bangladesh and get recipes and change it every couple of years so it makes it more interesting. Our gourmet dishes you won’t find anywhere else. These are our specialities. Our menu is unique to us but you will still get the traditional dishes as well.”

Dining on a Saturday night, the restaurant is filled by 7pm.

After a drink served by attentive and friendly staff, we start the evening with poppadoms at 80 pence each, accompanied by a selection of five chutneys and sauces, including a ‘chef’s special’ sauce which was very tasty and something a little different from the norm.

For starters I went for the Salmon Ka Tikka, chunks of pink salmon pan fried in a marinade of dill, fennel, ginger, honey and mustard oil with a side salad at £4.95.

Beautifully pink on the inside and crispy on the outside it was a great start to the evening.

For the main course I chose the mixed tandoori grill with mint yoghurt dressing at £11.95 adding pilau rice for £2.75 and shared a keema nan for £2.95.

Minutes later a sizzling plate arrived filled to the brim with three different meats including lamb tikka, tandoori chicken, chicken tikka and side salad.

All arrived hot, well presented and perfectly cooked and I finished the meal feeling like I had sampled a wide selection of dishes and was suitably full.

We topped the evening off with a ‘chocolate fantastico’ dessert, at £3.95, recommended by the restaurant’s manager himself - vanilla and caramel ice cream coated in chocolate.

All in all the Surrey Palace is great Indian with everything you would expect from a good curry house, plus more than a few finishing touches to make it that extra bit special.

A special mention should go to their stylish décor and lighting.

If you’re a fan of all things Indian then Surrey Palace is well worth the trip.

For more information visit surreypalace.com or call 020 83936733.