Patara (Soho)

Patara is a Thai restaurant which has branches located around the world including Bangkok and Singapore. In London there are four branches and we visited the Soho branch that is located on Greek Street. Lucky we made a reservation in advance as it was a busy restaurants on a Friday evening.

We ordered various dishes to share, including some appetizers. But it looks like we ended up ordering all skewers as appetizers.

The satay trio which has a combination of chicken, prawn and beef satay.

Panaeng Gae Ping – barbeque marinated lamb skewers accompanied with curry sauce, pickled vegetables and bread. I prefer this combination over the satay trio, as it was different.

There are the range of tasty mains which we ordered to share and have with coconut rice and pad thai. My favourite and one I recommend is the Panaeng Nong Gae. This was a nice tender lamb shank in paneang red coconut curry scented by kaffir lime leaves. To my surprise it was not as spicy then I expected, so may be it has been tone down.

Phed Pad Graprao – Stir-fried duck in garlic and chilli sauce with crispy basil.

Along with some warm mains, we also tried some of Patara’s salad. The Tuna Tartare was thinly sliced raw tuna in a tangy dressing. For some crunchy texture we tried the Yum Mamuang Pooh Nim, which contained mango salad with crispy soft-shell crab.

To go with the meal most of us opted to try the Thai milk tea. A nice alternative to just having the usual juices, tea and soft drinks.

We finished our meal with dessert and ordered three different one to share. But I personally think only one is worth ordering which was the sticky rice that came served with fresh mangos.

Other deserts we ordered included the baked banana served with ice cream and the pancake stuffed with fresh fruits.

I would not say Patara is a budget restaurant but it was not cheap, as for eight people we managed to spend around £35 each. However, it is a nice Thai restaurant to dine in various occasion.

Patara (Soho)
15 Greek Street,
London,
W1D 4DP

http://www.pataralondon.com

Thai Square

Yesterday, we wanted to have Japanese at Ten Ten Tai or Japan Centre. But found that both restaurant was closed, so instead we went to Thai Square at the Trafalgar Square branch. Many people, especially students will know Thai Square for clubbing which is downstairs of the restaurants at this branch, but not been to dine.

I have been here a few times for dinner and it has a great romantic atmosphere. Dark dim light, with candles on each tables. Each of the waitress are beautifully dressed in a Thai gown which must be hard to move around serving food.

The menu comes in a hard plastic book case. You will find dishes to cater for everyone, becasue I remember coming here with a group of 7 on a busy Saturday night. I had individuals who could only eat seafood and vegetables, but we had no trouble finding dishes to cater for all. We ordered dishes such as: Gang Kiew Wan (Prawn Green Curry), Pla Rard Prik (Fish with Chilli), Tao Hoo Prik (Fried bean curd with chilli), Pad Priew Wan (Stir Fired Chicken in Sweet and Sour Style), Pad Thai with Prawns, Pineapple Rice (which came in a pineapple)…….

Yesterday, with not as many people we also had Gang Kiew Wan (Prawn Green Curry) along with Toa Hoo Pad Med Muang (Beancurd with cashewnuts), Pad Khing (Stir-fried beef with ginger) and Ped Palo (Duck with special gravy). Then we ordered some coconut, pineapple and steamed rice to have with it all.

This time the pineapple rice did not come in a pineapple and the portion was small. The rice was enough for one or two people.

Overall, as it was place I have been here before I would now say the food was OK. The presentation look as good as when I first came here.

The price to me is average for a Thai restaurant. Although, if I remember right it might be a bit more expensive then Elephant Royal or Thai Silk, but then this is the heart of London.

Thai Square (Trafalgar Square branch)
21-24 Cockspur Street,
Trafalgar Square,
London,
SW1Y 5BL

http://www.thaisquare.net/