Restaurant Review: Thai Rice
Thai Rice at 303 Portobello Road is part of a small chain with three other restaurants dotted around west London. But it has kept its standards high with authentic Thai food on offer at the Portobello outlet which was the first opening back in 2002.The restaurant offers a relaxed atmosphere with decor that includes walls decorated with car number plates from the U.S.A. and old tin advertising signs. It's an interesting mix of nostalgia and Americana. When the weather permits, there is some outdoor pavement seating, great for watching the Portobello world go by.
But on to the star of the show - the food. If there are two of you dining, the Thai Rice Platter is a great option for a starter. It includes a generous selection of Thai favourites. There's chicken satay, sesame prawn toast, spring roll, Thai dim sum, prawn tempura and vegetable tempura. A small feast in itself.
The main course section of the menu lists a combination of tried and tested Thai dishes as well as some more unfamiliar options. One of the latter is Goong Ob Noey. It's a serving of prawns baked in butter with a bed of spring onion salad as a supporting act. You can also order a version of this dish with scallops instead of prawns.
A side dish that will get your taste buds jumping is the Som Tum salad with its lively spicy and sour flavours. The salad include crunchy green papaya, ground peanut, long beans, cherry tomatoes and an exciting seasoning explosion of lime juice and fresh chilli.
If you truly love the spiciest food, try a Jungle Curry. The menu bills this as "very, very hot" so be prepared to sweat. It's a traditional dish from Northern Thailand and you can choose it with meat options, chicken, beef or pork, go vegetarian with vegetables or try the pescatarian route with prawns, squid or even soft-shell crab.
Whatever you choose for your main, you'll want some rice and as the restaurant's name hints, there's plenty of choice. Perhaps best of all is the excellent sticky rice, a dish that always attests to a Thai restaurant's authenticity. Noodles are another indicator of a Thai restaurant's calibre and the Pad Thai offered here exceeds expectations.
Cold beer is the choice of many when it comes to washing down Thai food and the restaurant does not disappoint with proper Thai beer, Singha, as well as Tiger from Singapore.
Thai Rice
303 Portobello Road, London W10 5TD
For delivery or collection, call 020 8968 2001 or order from the website
Free delivery within a three-mile radius of the restaurant with a £15 minimum order.