This mini-chain (there are four in London, such as at Beauchamp Place and the Fulham Road, plus a few abroad) aims at producing high grade Thai cooking in fairly smart surroundings. The Greek Street branch was completely packed tonight (including the overflow room downstairs). Prawn crackers arrive while you look at the menu, and these actually taste of prawns. A starter of green mango salad with crispy Thai soft shell crab (£8.95) featured excellent crab, the batter avoiding the greasiness that often afflicts this dish in lesser restaurants. The salad was served in a little dish on the side, and did not compromise the chilli bite, which worked really well with the mango (14/20). Thai fish and prawn cakes (£7.25) were also good, served with a tasty cucumber salsa (13/20).
For main course a sea bass filled was char-grilled with herb curry and served in a banana leaf. I’m not sure what the latter really added since it was not used to steam the fish, but the sea bass was cooked well, and the herb curry sauce did not overwhelm the bass (13/20). Rock lobster tail was sautéed in a basil green curry sauce (£19.95); the shellfish was cooked lightly enough to avoid chewiness, and the green curry’s spices were held back enough so as not to dominate the dish (13/20). Pad Thai noodles (£9.95) featured carefully cooked, large prawns as well as noodles with good texture (13/20). Service was efficient, and indeed the meal whizzed by at quite a rate. Prices are hardly bargain basement, but portions are generous and this is the heart of Soho. It is not as good food as at the very best places in Bangkok, but it is hard to think of a better Thai restaurant in London.
Further reviews: 01st Jan 2006
Ben
Tried this place at the weekend. To start, perfectly cooked scallops were served in a well balanced chili sauce while beef and prawn skewers were a little too bland to compete although had good texture and a more flavourful dipping sauce. For the main course we tried Wild Boar in a coconut and red curry paste sauce which was well flavoured although slightly more chewey than I would have liked. Melange of sea food was superb with scallops, prawns, crayfish, salmon and muscles, all beautifully cooked in a chili sauce. This was accompanied by sticky rice and sugarsnap peas which were also very competantly cooked, even if the rice portions were a little small (requiring us to order some more). Overall, probably the best Thai meal I've had in London. My main critisism is that the serving dishes don't lend themselves very well to scooping the wonderful sauces up onto the rice! I will definitely go back, it's the best Thai I've had in London and at £100 for a meal for two including wine and coffee, it's not too pricy considering the upgrade in quality from the average London Thai.