Thai Square Restaurant in the City of London is one of the most complete dining experiences in a city full of restaurants with ever stranger shticks and tricks.
Tucked down a little side street near Cannon Street station, it's easy to miss as City folk and even tourists are on their way to the next-next thing.
Once inside, the gorgeous, sumptuous decor causes one to wonder why the outside isn't more in keeping with the delicious decorations, which draw the eye to several places at once.
From the large, artfully-lit wall covered in mosaic tiles, to the old-style Siamese statues in small alcoves a la the great cathedrals, the decor in Thai Square is extremely chic and definitively Thai without being over-the-top.
The restaurant is spacious, with plenty of room to seat large groups, while still allowing more intimate parties to enjoy a conversation without having to shoot baleful glares at the drunken bankers one table over.
The service is very good, prompt and attentive. The wait staff are dressed in traditional Siamese wraps and skirts. And are also very good-looking, in keeping with the decor.
We were very pleased with the food. For starters, we had gold bags (because the name was just too naughty to pass up), chicken satay and fish cakes.
The chicken satay was as expected: plump, moist chicken on skewers with traditional peanut sauce.
The gold bags were a delight - rice paper wrapping over a minced concoction of prawns, chicken and various veg and spices. They were extremely flavourful little morsels of golden baggedness.
But the winner in the category of Supporting Dish was the fish cakes, packed so full of flavours, I nearly dropped my fork. They were divine, lightly spiced and with a rich heaviness that didn't deduct from the delicate flavour of the fish. Instead of the potato-heavy ultra-fried cake of restaurants past, this was a new take on a traditional favourite.
The mains were excellent, everything coming out in good time, but taking just long enough to show that it was freshly prepared. The Beef Jungle Curry was delicious, spicy and tangy and savoury in all the right ways, with a solidly-flavoured sauce, and some surprisingly interesting veg.
But the real star of the show was the Chilli Lamb, which was to die for. Hey, people have died for more ridiculous reasons - trust me, I'm a coroner.
I can say without a doubt I've rarely had such tender, well-cooked lamb. Without being squashy or soggy, it melted in the mouth. The spices in the dish were unique, with a subtle mix of sweet, savoury and sour in just the right amounts. I don't even like lamb very much, and was really impressed with this dish.
The wine list was well-crafted, with some standard offerings (Chataneuf du Pape), and some interesting new choices; but being plebian, I stuck with beer, and can say that to quaff a crisp Thai beer is a fine thing indeed.
Despite it being a chain, it's three cheers for Thai Square from this happy diner. read more