I love Indian food. Its delicious reliability - a biriani is a biriani wherever it is eaten - is one of its recommendations.

But Indian food doesn't have to conform to the fairly standard norm and can, indeed, achieve gourmet status, as I discovered recently, when I visited Spice Merchant in the town of Henley-on-Thames.

It was a beautiful evening in early June and the striped regatta marquees were already in place across the river from Spice Merchant, which occupies a coveted riverside spot. The restaurant opened a year ago, a couple of days before the famous Henley Royal Regatta kicked off and, manager Hasan Chowdhury told me, it was a baptism of fire as they were hit by hordes of hungry regatta-goers from word go.

One year later, and the restaurant is now firmly part of the Henley scene. In fact, the Spice Merchant Group also owns a sister restaurant, The Henley Bar and Grill, just around the corner in Bell Street.

If you want a true taste of India, then The Spice Merchant aims to deliver. Within the group there are nine chefs from the different regions of India. Between them they have created a menu that spans the continent, from the Himalayas to the Assam.

This is a large restaurant, with a 160-seat capacity, and it is thoroughly modern, with beautiful white angular china and crisp linen napkins, each decorated with a fresh orchid flower. Very pretty indeed, and the staff are welcoming and discreet.

However, I was quite disappointed that we were led through to the large rear room of the restaurant, as the front part was rather more intimate and, of course, had that lovely view of the river.

No matter. Armed with a glass of crisp Pinot Grigio - the very good house white - while my (driving) companion made do with a tonic and lime, Hasan guided us through the large menu, and I immediately realised that this was no run-of-the-mill Indian restaurant.

Hasan had told me Spice Merchant's style was unique, and the menu confirmed that. The choice was mouthwatering, from unusual starters like flash-grilled rock oysters with coconut and ginger to Punjabi chicken lollipops with chilli, lime and cinnamon to main courses like masala lobster, stir-fried in spices and served in the shell, and black pepper chicken tikka, it was all very appealing.

We were glad for the assistance of Hasan and he recommended that, to get a real taste of what was on offer, we should go for the introductory menu, which featured a whole range of dishes for £32.50 per head.

We started with a refreshing cold dish of minced chicken lettuce parcels, with a tangy coconut and mustard dressing - interesting little dishes of delicious food followed in quick succession and included crunchy tandoori broccoli with yoghurt and an intriguing mango ginger sauce, juicy roasted paprika chicken, Nalli Barra - a dry spiced lamb shank, Sharkarkand Chaat - an Indian white sweet potato accompaniment, grilled with chutney and tamarind sauce, a monkfish tikka-hamour, spiced with fenugreek, and four melt-in-the-mouth honeyed lamb chops. The bread basket featured perfectly cooked naan and aniseedy puri.

It was all yummy and we were exceedingly full, but the main dishes were yet to come. The waiter arrived with what resembled a large golden pie. It was, in fact, a casing of dough which was cut off to reveal a beautifully moist and spicy chicken biriani.

Another dish of lamb curry accompanied it, and refreshing cucumber raita. We did our best, but the quantity of food defeated us and some had to be left. Why is Indian food so delicious, but so filling! It can be quite annoying!

I had no complaints about anything. My companion, who doesn't like anything the remotest bit fatty, was not overly keen on the lamb shank which featured as a starter, and in the lamb curry. It didn't seem fatty to me, but he wasn't bowled over, so it could be worth asking what cut of meat is being used if you choose a lamb dish.

A dish of grilled mango was the perfect palate-cleansing dessert and we rounded off a fabulous meal with very good coffee, though the After Eight mints were slightly ubiquitous after such an innovative feast!

So, Indian food fans everywhere, here's a very different taste of India, and one that I would thoroughly recommend.

The Spice Merchant, Thameside, Henley-on-Thames. Call 01491 636 118 or visit the website: