Thai canteen style dining comes alive at Hoxton Square and Lancaster Road and the team at Yelo earnestly adhere to their tradition of sharing food with friends hence the communal seating, and their pricing comes as a welcome sign in these troubled financial times. Much thought has also gone into designing the menus that are commensurate with their ethos of 'as you eat so you are'.

So start with a heart-warming Tom kar galangal soup of chicken or prawns with coconut milk or spicy corn patties with chilli, cucumber and ground peanut sauce. Then surrender to spice and sweetness at the same time as massaman curry arrives with a bowl of steamed fragrant rice, alternating bites with sips of Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. For the love of stir-fries, the menu has an eclectic selection, with bamboo shoots, fresh chilli and spring onions, and curry paste and fine beans. Desserts are simple but are packed with sweet nostalgia, think banana fritters and sticky rice with mango.