Thai Orchid - Rugby

This is the latest restaurant opened by the hugely successful Thai Orchid group - their first outlet in Banbury has now been operating successfully for twenty years, one of the earliest and still probably the best in the middle of England - bringing fine Thai food to Rugby, a town not exactly endowed with good places to eat out. As elsewhere the Thai Orchid gets high marks for its decor and fittings, including some artefacts with the most intricate carving; most importantly the atmosphere is warm and welcoming and there is a good menu display of interesting and some original dishes.

Thai eating is a very social business. It is a time for relaxation, enjoying company and conversation with food as an equal partner, prepared in such a way as to be eaten easily. You will find a spoon and fork table setting only, since Thai meat dishes come in diced form. How sensible! That really is comfort food.

Thai starters are always hugely appealing with soups at the forefront, like their spicy hot and sour soup, flavoured with lemon grass, lemon juice, lime leaves, ginger, chilli, coriander and fish sauce or the renowned tom kar gai, chicken in spicy hot soup with coconut milk. However, the satay is just as popular, either chicken or beef served with one of the best peanut sauces that I have enjoyed, genuinely homemade, while my particular favourite is their fresh mussels steamed in Thai spices and herbs.

Among the mains I recommend the goon pad huad, king prawns cooked with asparagus, straw mushrooms and oyster sauce for example has particular appeal, leaving the flavour of the main ingredient enhanced rather than hidden. Duck is a much favoured dish, so keep an eye open for baked breast of duck marinated in Thai herbs, sliced and topped with a light spicy brown sauce with Chinese leaves, dry mushroom and celery. A popular dish for many is pork, stir fried in a deep red curry with spicy shrimp sauce and French beans. If you are ordering rice do make sure to try the jasmine rice cooked with coconut milk, padan leaf and ginger.

Every day they serve a superb value 3 course, eat-as-much-as-you-like lunch of excellent quality, served from a buffet counter where the food is constantly changed to ensure freshness all the time. With a daughter at Rugby School I have had to organise my times to fit in with having lunch there on several occasions already.

A sensible wine list does not over reach itself, whilst travelling the world, including house wines from Thailand that make an ideal accompaniment, as you would expect, to Thai food. Thai beer is also on offer, together with Kaliber which gives the feel without the kick.

Service is always welcoming and many of the staff have been there since the opening and have transferred from other restaurants in the group. Already you should find that regular customers are greeted like long lost friends; what a difference that can make to the overall experience.

Their excellent Website will provide you with far more information, including the full range of menus.

Richard Bradford