Soho, Thai Restaurant Guide

“Addictive! Watching the chefs fire the meat whets the appetite” at Ben Chapman’s “boundary-pushing classic” in Soho: a “unique and amazing” Thai BBQ whose “visceral cooking over flames provides a sensory experience, with food that’s also exceptional”. “And it’s such a cool place”, if “crowded” – “lovely sitting at the bar, enjoying the ordered chaos of the kitchen, having a drink and sampling all the different dishes; and the committed front of house team make this a very special meal”. Food quality is “holding up well: they don’t seem to have downgraded their offerings to make them more ‘accessible’”; although they are “able to satisfy a chilli-phobe as well as a spice seeker”. Top Menu Tips – “their pork chop haunts me with its fatty char and savoury flesh”; and “the Chicken & Soy is still an all-time favourite”.

For “a more upmarket Thai experience”, head to the branches of Khun Patara Sila-On’s “very pleasant” group (which is over 30 years old, with branches from Asia to Europe). “Well-presented flavoursome dishes” from “good-quality ingredients” are provided by staff who “always seem happy to see you”.

“Chaotic” and “a bit mad”, but “actually brilliant” – JKS Restaurants’s genius if gaudy Chinatown two-year-old is inspired by Bangkok sports bars and hits the spot with a vibrant menu of “really good-value” morsels plus funky cocktails that go down a treat. It’s like being in Bangkok… it “just needs to be about 20 degrees warmer outside!”