FROM sipping on cocktails in the tropical pool bar to dining at the glamorous Indian restaurant you could easily forget you were in fact just a stone's throw from one of the world's busiest international airport.

Among a string of hotels on the busy Bath Road stands the Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Hotel which boasts Punjabi cuisine with a Kenyan twist at Madhu's Heathrow, American-themed Sports Bar & Grill, the Sky Garden home of the Sky Bar and an in-house Starbucks.

Our destination for the evening was the secluded Madhu's restaurant.

Among the dishes on the menu were favourites such as chicken tikka, lamb chops and paneer tikka as well as some surprise dishes including vegetarian sheekh kebab and crab cake.

In keeping with the theme my friend Alissa and I were greeted by a woman in traditional Indian dress, coats taken and shown to our table with menus and something a bit new - a magnetic bag holder - to hang our bags from the table - nice touch.

We ordered our drinks and were given a trio of mini poppadoms and chutneys including mango, mint, and mango and apple - the latter was a tangy and tasty nice surprise with the other two standard accompaniments.

Our selection of starters were from two menus; Robata Grill and classic appetisers, which were being cooked in an open kitchen.

With aromas circulating the room we were getting hungrier by the minute but soon enough our wealth of dishes arrived and we got stuck in.

I went for something new, a vegetarian sheekh kebab or Bhutta aur Methi ki Sheekh (£8) made of corn, cottage cheese and infused with fenugreek leaves.

A mouth-watering dish bursting with flavour and my favourite dish of the night.

Other more classic vegetarian servings included Aloo Tikki (£5), a soft spiced potato patty stuffed with fresh green peas, on a bed of chick peas, yoghurt and tamarind chutney.

A very tasty dish but not one for the faint-hearted although a must for chilli lovers.

Aloo Tikki
Aloo Tikki

A popular street food in Punjab, Pani Puri (£6), provided another tasty mouth-watering treat and not to forget the Tandoori Paneer Tikka (£8), with side salad, which had been marinated before being cooked to perfection leaving a nice grilled layer on the outside and a soft rubbery inside.

As I'm a vegetarian, the meat palette was down to Alissa, starting with some zesty char-grilled butterfly king prawns or Jhinga Achari (£12), marinated with pickled spices, and classic chicken tikka (£9) or Murgh Tikka which was cooked well but proved too mild for her spicy taste buds.

Being a fan of lamb she devoured the Robata Chop (£8) or lamb chops, and made a good attempt at tackling the Sheekh Kebab (£9).

Sheekh Kebab (meat)

It seems the meaty dishes were not as spiced up as the vegetarian delights, although she needs more spice in her life than I do.

The restaurant offers a warm ambiance denoted by red and brown tones, and tables set a good distance apart for privacy - good for a date but equally good for a family celebration in the booth areas.

Looking around, the restaurant was filling up and waiters were busy attending to their diners needs.

For mains, I had an char-smoked aubergine curry or Baigan ka Bharta (£9) with onions and cumin, a garlic naan, which was deliciously fresh and succulent.

We shared a lentil curry, Madhu's Makhni Dall (£7), where black lentils were stirred over a slow fire for several hours fused with butter and tomato, with a dash of fenugreek and garlic to deliver a tasty and incredibly satisfying dish.

Alissa, opted for the signature dish, a lamb curry, Nalli Gosht (£13), but said while it was cooked well it was too bland, although a side dish of onions and chilli, along with the garlic naan helped her with some more mouthfuls.

Full, we decided to share a deliciously soft, creamy and fruitful mango passion cheesecake (£7) - the perfect end to our meal.

Mango and passion cheescake

Alissa said overall the restaurant offered a nice ambiance, the service was grand and food was delicious but lacked spicy tones.

For me a thumbs up for the vegetarian dishes.

Be prepared for London prices but Madhu's is definitely worth turning off your home stove and going out for a meal.

Explore some of our other restaurant reviews in west London.

www.madhusheathrow.com