Manchester, Thai Restaurant Guide

This smart operation from the Thai Leisure Group has “returned to the top of the tree among conventional Thais in the city”, thanks to some “unusual new dishes”. Portions tend to be “generous”.

This pan-Asian pleases the crowd with everything from Japanese ramen and Singaporean laksa to Thai red curry and Balinese pork belly. The Albert Square original has spawned five other sites across the city.

The “lovely Thai food” at these reliable cafés is “impressively authentic given that they are a chain” – “excellent value” and “fast”, if occasionally let down by “iffy service”. Founded in 2008 by Saiphin and Alex Moore, who inherited the name of their first East End site, the group has 18 branches in London and expanded to Liverpool, Manchester, Reading (delivery only) and Leeds following the sale of a majority stake to US investors. The couple also have two spin-offs, Lao Café in Covent Garden and the new Chinese noodle bar Hoh Sek in St Katharine Docks.

2018 Review: This Spinningfields branch of a 10-strong national Thai chain is the most commented-on in the group, and wins consistent praise for its “buzzing” style and also (mostly) too for its “fantastic” street food dishes.

2019 Review: This Chinatown joint was once a “great little secret” but, post-expansion (adding a Thai-style canopy bar and lavish velvet curtains), it now “gets very busy”, so “book way in advance”; the lunch and early evening deals are “excellent value, but don’t showcase the best of their food”.