Tiger Bay Oxford
63 Church Way, Iffley, Oxford OX4 4EY
Rating: 4.2 ★ (205 ratings)
Details
Tiger Bay Oxford offers a welcoming and comfortable setting within The Tree Hotel in Iffley, a charming village just a short drive from central Oxford and near Iffley Lock. This restaurant provides a contemporary Indian dining experience, distinguishing itself by bringing regional culinary traditions from across the subcontinent to Oxfordshire, rather than focusing on a typical curry house menu. Its warm hospitality and focus on genuine culinary craft in a peaceful village setting make it a notable addition to the local food scene.
The cuisine centres on authentic Indian dishes, meticulously prepared with aromatic spices, carefully balanced recipes, and quality ingredients by a culinary team boasting over 25 years of expertise. Guests can savour classic curries, fragrant biryanis, and sizzling tandoori specialities, alongside chef-inspired signature creations. Notable highlights include a variety of vegetarian options and seafood dishes inspired by coastal regions, all designed to avoid generic sauce bases and instead showcase distinct whole roasted spices and fresh herbs.
This establishment is well-suited for a diverse range of patrons and events, from relaxed weekday family suppers to more extended weekend gatherings with friends. It caters excellently to those seeking a quality Indian meal, and vegetarian diners will find themselves particularly well-served. Tiger Bay Oxford also provides options for milestone celebrations, family parties, and corporate events, with takeaway collection available for those wishing to enjoy their favourite dishes at home.
Location
Opening Hours
Monday: 12:00 – 10:00 PM | Tuesday: 12:00 – 10:00 PM | Wednesday: 12:00 – 10:00 PM | Thursday: 12:00 – 10:00 PM | Friday: Closed | Saturday: 12:00 – 10:00 PM | Sunday: 12:00 – 9:00 PM
Contact
+44 1865 779596 | http://www.tigerbayoxford.com/
Comments
Iffley Kitchen itself is co-located with a hotel and pub, I think these are both called The Tree. I don’t know why they are called that. These make for odd bedfellows – the pub, through which the toilets lie, is very much a traditional, old-fashioned, boozer (think drinking locals, everyone knows each other, karaoke on a Thursday etc – not a bad mix for a pub), the hotel has some ‘interesting’ reviews and the restaurant, which sits to the front, is in a couple of large sparse rooms – I assume this is, or at least was, the breakfast room of the hotel. The overall atmosphere was one of shabby neglect, a bit sad and tired – as mentioned, the restaurant has bare walls, which were coupled with bright lighting and no background music. All a bit sparse and sad really. I see the restaurant has changed its name recently and a banner declares ‘under new management’ – not sure how recent this is but time will tell, perhaps it is finding its way.
The place wasn’t busy and so we were seated without issue, although all a bit chaotic and disorganised. Drinks came via the pub, a fulsome selection of lagers on offer – you like to see that and it would be truly poor for a pub not to have.
Big menu, with plenty of choice and some curious spellings! Opted for the classic to start, a Sheekh kebab – this was served on a sizzling platter and had a decent taste, although a little dry for me – the salad alongside had begun to turn brown, which cannot be a good sign – I don’t eat the salad though, so was indifferent to this. For a main, a chicken korai and a keema naan – unfortunately I didn’t particularly enjoy these, the naan was very doughy (undercooked) and the korai was quite oily, with little of the subtly of flavour you’d usually expect from this dish. Not so poor that you’d’ send them back, but just not great – it all felt a bit low effort, which was shame because the service itself was great – fast and efficient.
Might have got them on a bad day, who knows? Overall not a meal I’d care to repeat though. The experience wasn’t terrible, but it certainly wasn’t something I’d return to – I fear restaurants like this sometimes rely on repeat custom and can get very used to that by dint of being one of relatively few offerings in a particular area. You can only get by on that for so long – with the big hotel around the corner now refurbished, it would be a perfect time for both restaurant and pub to up their game a little.
I’m going to go with a 3/5 for this one. A miss.
I was told that the Sunday buffet is still available at £18.95 (eat as much as you like) so I'll definitely return to try it out.
I did notice scaffolding at the front of the building and wondered whether it's the start of a much needed renovation and refurbishment to what has become a rather dated and tired looking venue.