Papaya Tree, The

A contemporary style Thai restaurant with lightly coloured walls and wooden floors, serving authentic Thai cuisine using fresh herbs flown in from Thailand; don't let the fact that it is in a basement put you off, and lunch presents especially good value.

Whilst there is a huge choice of Thai restaurants in London this place has consistently produced a higher quality than you tend to find elsewhere, all produced from an amazingly tiny, semi-domestic kitchen.

Their dishes are also a lot more innovative than you might expect, particularly some excellent seafood like the delicious and spicy Thai fisherman's pot, glass noodles with everything from prawns, mussels and prawns, served in a stainless steel vessel.

Don't ever let the fact that it is in a basement put you off, and all you can spot is a simple glass doorway on Kensington High Street, however, even as you step inside it always looks a lot more welcoming than most. Lunch presents especially good value with dishes ranging from £5 to £7, encompassing such delights as pad pet, a stir-fried dish with a spicy Thai chilli paste; geang pet, a red curry with mixed vegetables and coconut milk or pad preow wan, a stir-fried dish with fresh tomatoes, pineapple, cucumber, onion and green peppers in a sweet and sour sauce.

The price is decided by whether you choose seasonal vegetables £5 as the main ingredient, sliced chicken or pork at £6 or sliced beef, duck or mixed seafood, all £7, and then they thrown in a bowl of jasmine rice in the price. Or you can select from various noodle dishes like pad bah mee noodles, stir fried egg noodles with sliced spring onions and baby corn all tossed in a light soya sauce, or tom yum dry noodles, rice noodles mixed with a hot and sour sauce with crispy garlic, chilli and ground peanuts, all priced similarly.

Their special dishes are also a lot more innovative than you might expect, particularly some excellent seafood like the delicious and spicy Thai fisherman's treasure, a combination of fruits from the sea served in the famous hot pot with fresh hot basil leaves, chilli and garlic; green oceanic curry, your choice of king prawn or squid with bamboo shoots and seasonal vegetables in coconut milk, or my personal favourite, seafood hot pot, a selection of various shellfish mixed with glass noodle.

Meat options include tamarind duck, stir fried roasted duck in tangy tamarind juices with sliced tomatoes, pineapple and Thai spices or moo prik king, stir fried pork with runner beans and the chef's special chilli sauce. The normal a la carte offers dishes such as moo pad krapow, stir fried pork with fresh basil leaves, onion and chilli, guaranteed to clear any stuffed up nose, or gai pad met mamuang, stir fried sliced chicken with crunchy cashewnuts, spring onion, mushrooms and roasted chilli.

Two excellent starters are their satay, strips of marinated chicken on bamboo skewers with Thai peanut butter sauce, and the delicious khanom jeep, delicately steamed pork and prawn dumplings, served with a slightly sweetened soya sauce.

Now possibly you can understand why we return time and again to the Papaya Tree, and if you cannot actually get there, then take advantage of the fact that they offer free delivery to the following postcodes in London: W8, W14, W11, SW5 AND SW7.

Finally, if you enjoy a fragrant Sauvignon Blanc with your Thai meal, then their South African one slips down a fair treat, light and fruity, a perfect accompaniment.

However, their Website, with the full menu and sometimes some special offers as well, a 20% off card at present, is the best way to find out full information about this rather special restaurant; and lastly do tell them that Richard Bradford sent you there.