A review of so-so Thai Silk - Feb 2011

Where: Thai Silk, Waterloo

How much: £9 gets you a very good value pre-theatre meal, you'll get away with under £20 for (most) other 3 course combinations 
With who: Dr Vole
Come here if: you fancy relatively subdued Thai food prior to a show at the Old or New Vic

Needing a bite to eat before a horrifically pretentious evening at the theatre, Dr Vole and I fancied something different to our standby choices around Waterloo and headed to Thai Silk (the clue's in the name) down the tiny tree lined walkway of Joan Street, just behind Southwark tube. 

I've always been a fan of spicy, aromatic and (whisper it) healthy Thai cooking, though have struggled to find anywhere that really hits the mark. I'm aware that there are a fair few in London, including Alan Yau's gourmet chain Busaba Eathai, but none of them (with the possible exception of Clapham's Pepper Tree) have really done it for me. Sadly, I don't think I've found the holy grail here. 

The cavernous space has been fashioned into a restaurant and a bar out of a double railway arch and should be capable of holding a good few hundred at a time. The atmosphere is edged by a strong lemon smell, slightly off-putting at first. Slightly more incongruous are the large flatscreen TVs. Ideal for the party of lads not wanting to miss out on Man Utd's shock defeat to Wolves, but it didn't really help create any sort of authentic Thai vibe. 

Arriving at 6.30, we were only offered the set menu. I don't know whether that's an assumption, or the only thing you can order at that time, but it looked good value at £8.95 a head, and had several dishes both of us found interesting enough not to ask for the a la carte menu. The starters came as a sharing platter. More M&S than Iceland, it still felt close enough to a pre-prepared set. The chicken satay skewers were pleasant enough, though the fish cakes were flaccid and greasy and the fried spring rolls relatively uninspired. The mains were substantial. Two big dishes each came with a heaped pile of noodles, rice and a large side plate of steaming oyster sauce braised vegetables. You certainly get value for your money. The chicken Green Curry was certainly chock full of chook, piles of tender, braised protein in the coconut and lemongrass infused sauce. Pleasant enough, it just didn't really deliver the kick it should. The other main was a wok fried duck dish served with greens. Again a hearty portion, just lacking in the rich flavour you'd hope for from a dish like this.

It's a shame, as the price and location puts it firmly into the hidden gem category, but the food just didn't have enough oomph to make me want to return.