Rickmansworth, Thai Restaurant Guide

“Very good Thai food” remains the order of the day at this “cramped” fixture of the local scene, whose extensive menu (wok dishes, curries, fresh papaya salads) represents excellent value for money. From Tuesday to Saturday there’s a lunchtime noodle bar, and they also do a swift trade as a takeaway.

Acclaimed Chef Carlo Scotto is set to launch BEAR by Carlo Scotto, bringing a new slant to the restaurant offering at the Crazy Bear Hotel in Beaconsfield. It will offer an ambitious tasting menu with a farm-to-plate philosophy, highlighting foraged ingredients and seasonal vegetables. The restaurant is open in Spring 2025 alongside renovations at Crazy Bear's UK properties in Beaconsfield and Stadhampton.

2021 Review: 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.

2021 Review: 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.

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”.

2024 Review: This “exciting local gem” near Stamford Brook serves “excellent Thai cuisine in a no-nonsense setting”, attracting aficionados from far and wide who warm to an “authenticity” that makes it “almost an ‘in-country’ experience”. The uninitiated may miss the point other than the good prices. Top Tip – “if they say something is hot, believe them!”

“Somewhat weird interiors” packed with chandeliers, stuffed animals and other antique-shop paraphernalia mean it’s easy to be “transfixed by the decor” at these four neighbourhood cafés in Hammersmith (which added a new branch near Ravenscourt Park this year). The decor boosts what’s essentially a cheap ’n’ cheerful Thai caff experience: “a lot of the food is deep-fried but always fresh” and it’s “staggeringly good value… and it’s BYO!”

“Somewhat weird interiors” packed with chandeliers, stuffed animals and other antique-shop paraphernalia mean it’s easy to be “transfixed by the decor” at these four neighbourhood cafés in Hammersmith (which added a new branch near Ravenscourt Park this year). The decor boosts what’s essentially a cheap ’n’ cheerful Thai caff experience: “a lot of the food is deep-fried but always fresh” and it’s “staggeringly good value… and it’s BYO!”

Bringing a “welcome dash of glamour to Shepherd’s Bush Green”, the recently arrived Hoxton Hotel has a stylish and spacious diner featuring the cooking of LA chef Kris Yenbaroong, whose “Californian-Thai food is perfectly enjoyable (if no more than that)”. Service is personable, and it’s a fun place to linger for an “excellent post-meal G&T” in their rather swish bar/lounge.

2023 Review: A plug from Tom Parker Bowles in the Daily Mail did no harm at all to this Thai concession in an attractive old pub opposite the building site once known as ‘Hammersmith Town Hall’, where the cooking is a cut above that in a typical boozer. Top Tip – “if you get the chance, eat in the sun in the cute beer garden at the back: with some delish salt ’n’ pepper squid, life is good!”