Thai on the River

Jess Mayer (25 July 2007)

I had lunch at Thai on the River, the quality of food was very good, although the portions were quite small. Surprisingly, it was fairly lively for lunch time, good atmosphere for an informal lunch. The staff were very welcoming and friendly. It is a nice place to visit. Recommended.

Tim F (10 February 2006)

Should have been great - but marred by lacklustre head waiter. It's not easy to get here on public transport, but the food is worth the journey. As well as the standard fare you would expect to find on a Thai menu, there were a number of more exotic dishes - all cooked with fresh ingredients.

However, if you are paying £35 / head (this is roughly where we came out after starter main and a bottle of wine) you expect the whole experience to be a bit more enjoyable.

We were seated at a table away from the river views and when we asked for a seat by the river, were told that these were all booked. Fair enough - although the restaurant was empty when we arrived.

However as the evening wore on and the seven or eight tables by the river remained empty - it began to grate. When we asked the head waiter he said that the bookings had been cancelled or the people who they had booked the tables for had asked to sit elsewhere, or had wanted to smoke and had gone in the smoking area instead. All of them? Hmmn.

Ok, so perhaps they'd allocated all the river tables to people without checking whether they wanted them (or whether they wanted to smoke), but surely when the cancellations come in, the obvious thing to do would be to ask if we wanted to move. Even though we probably wouldn't have moved, it would have been nice to have had the offer.

Similarly, it wasn't until after we had taken the time to choose desserts that we were told that many of the desserts were not available (they'd sold out at lunch apparently). Why not explain that when giving you the menu?

Finally, when leaving, you'd expect help with your coats (or at least the door to be opened for you). Instead our coats were unceremoniously handed over and the head waiter then stood-back and watched us leave without so much as a "good bye". Such a shame to spoil what should have been a hugely enjoyable evening.

Service, incidentally, other than the head water was pleasant and efficient. However,