Ikan Restaurant, Bar and Lounge

Spikey Suffolk (14 December 2008)

The food at Ikan is just magnificent, outweighed maybe by the warm hospitality offered by Catherine Lim. Here's our story;

In May, we had booked to see Coldplay at the M.E.N. in Manchester on a Thursday in December. A couple of weeks prior to travelling we did some research to find a Thai/Asian restaurant where we could eat quite late after the concert. We chose Ikan on Portland Street, mainly because other visitors gave it excellent reviews, and also because the menu looked absolutely gorgeous; the food and the cocktails. We were concerned about how late we would need to eat and if they would be able to accommodate us. Also how far it was from the M.E.N. and if we could walk it. In case we couldn't walk it, could we get a tram etc? I e-mailed the restaurant with the above queries, and the wonderful Catherine Lim replied. Catherine is the founder of Ikan, and she assured us we could eat after the concert, around 11pm and reserved a table for us. She also offered to book a private cab for us and set up an agreed pick up point away from the Arena. Without going on too much before I even start on the food, Catherine ‘did us proud’. Basically, the concert started later than we expected, and we had major problems when we came out locating our taxi, but Catherine was at the other end of the phone from start to finish to co-ordinate our taxi and get us to Ikan. We finally arrived at around 11.15; the restaurant had been kept open just for us! I can’t think of any other establishment, restaurant or otherwise, which would not only oversee transport arrangements, but would also stay open to receive four guests who had never even set foot in the door before.

We were greeted personally, by first name, by Catherine, with hugs and the warmest welcome you could hope for. We were then settled at a table, and made to feel hugely welcome - even though it was clear to us that we were the only customers and the entire restaurant had been kept open purely for us. Catherine and her team advised us on the dishes, and we chose a selection of starters followed by the main courses. There were four of us - the boys had beer, and we girls had to have a cocktail, one Kieng and one Mangkone. The cocktails were beautiful. Then the starters arrived, which were just delicious. Scallops Shu Mai crowned with Tobiko caviar, crispy duck spring roll, deep fried prawn with melon mayonnaise and a fragrant Thai style salad. It was faultless and just wonderful, the scallops were amazing. We then chose our main course, kieng phed pad yang - sliced roasted duck with tropical fruits in red curry sauce, crying tiger - marinated fillet steak grill served with spicy Thai sweet and tangy sauce, and two more wonderful dishes, one with chicken and one with deep fried prawn, plus coconut rice and noodles with chicken. It was just delicious, fragrant, beautifully cooked and presented, everything this style of cuisine should be. We simply cannot re-iterate what a fantastic restaurant Ikan is. The service and hospitality are absolutely, faultlessly first class. The food is just wonderful, the surroundings are atmospheric and elegant and our only complaint is that we live a three hour drive away.