I THOUGHT it was a transport caff," said a friend when I mentioned Ivory. That's one thing this restaurant is not. But it has many other faces.

It serves up bhajis and tandooris. It presents European cuisine with upmarket style. It resembles a brasserie with a pretty patio and a well stocked bar. It puts on live music when you can dance the night away.

So what is Ivory? An amalgam of all kinds of eateries that works surprisingly well.

Jon Tutton, one of the partners, says: "At Ivory you can eat either Indian or European cuisine. We have a Bangladeshi head chef for the Indian food, and a British head chef for the European.

"Nothing is mass produced, but we prepare each dish for the customer, which is unusual for Indian restaurants."

Jon began his interest in the business as a restaurant designer, and confesses that his involvement in Indian eateries goes back to the days of flock wallpaper and small booths.

Ivory is worlds away, all pale beech wood and open space with pastel designer chairs brought over from Italy. "We're dragging Indian restaurants into the 21st century."

The only aspect of the restaurant which doesn't work is the exterior, a former pub standing like a child's giant blue block on the London Road at Wooburn Moor near High Wycombe.

Jon says they may repaint it in peach. But the rest, he says, has been well received - especially the music night on Wednesdays, when the group Boogie Rascals gets toes tapping and folks dancing alongside the steaks and shashlicks.

The list of eating options reads like someone threw some menus into the air and got them mixed up. Talk about something for everyone. You can have full English breakfast from 8.30am or croissants and preserves, then baguettes, jacket potatoes and pasta and more at lunch time, and a vast array of traditional and trendy dishes at night, as well as Indian delicacies. There's also a children's menu.

It's fun to mix and match. How about wild mushroom risotto for starter and tikka mossala for mains?

Jon's partner Md Muzzakier Ali - known as Junior to regulars - says: "We serve Indian dishes on the plate, fully garnished, so it works if one person is eating Indian and their companion is eating from the European menu."

We began on a European note when we visited one Wednesday: baked cheese tartlet with Mediterranean vegetables and buffalo mozzarella (£3.95), and watercress roulade filled with cream cheese and tomatoes with sour cream and chive sauce (£3.95).

These looked beautiful - they go for upmarket, classy presentation at Ivory - and tasted fresh and delicious.

No problem choosing one of our main courses. Ivory Coconut (£14.50) is a unique dish designed by Ivory chefs. They take a baby coconut from India, still in its thick outer shell, scoop out the inside and mix the flesh with king prawns, tomatoes, peppers, onions, herbs and spices. Then they replace the lid, seal it with chapatti flour, cook it whole, and serve with a flourish and a rich vegetable and rice accompaniment. We'd never tasted anything quite like it - superb.

Jon described lamb hara mossala as tasting brilliant but looking a bit strange. We decided to give it a go. It did look a bit like a bright green swamp, but it had a judicious blending of spices and was an excellent dish.

Junior looked so disappointed when we said we had no room for dessert that we relented - and were very glad we did when he brought in summer pudding (£4.50) topped with an intensely flavoured blackcurrant sorbet, again elegantly presented with fresh fruits and creme de cassis sauce.

As we left, the music was getting louder and dancers were enjoying a twirl. Don't be misled by outside appearances at Ivory.

Ivory 01494 730093