The Food Weasel's Reviews

I am not a fan of Mr Ramsay and his television chefery. I was therefore in a slightly perverse way hoping to find fault with his flagship restaurant. I didn't. The food was astonishingly good. My dining companion had a Meg Ryan moment when she tasted her quail ravioli. The room is pleasant enough in a Chelsea sort of way. It's well worth requesting a round table for two if you like a bit more personal space. Service was faultless although the staff will automatically assume that you are retarded. That is because many of your fellow diners will be. I can only assume that a number of people go there not because they want to sample the delights of a three star kitchen at the top of its game but because it belongs to ‘that bloke off the telly’. Anyway once you've had a chuckle at the woman on the table next to you asking if Gordon cooked her scallops and the staff have ascertained that you won't send your medium rare venison back because it's ‘not cooked properly’ then the whole experience is a treat.

If you appreciate and understand true Thai food then go to Nahm. If you don't then go to the pub. The flavours conjured up by David Thompson are quite simply phenomenal. Yes, some of the food is spicy, but it's meant to be. If you want a toned down version then there are many downmarket pubs that now offer ‘Thai Cuisine’. Thompson's flair, expertise and ingenuity are a wonder to behold. From resurrecting long dead recipes by aquiring antique recipe books to acting as culinary advisor to the King of Thailand it is no accident that his is the only Thai restaurant in the world to be awarded a michelin star.

The decor is bland but comfortable. I like to think that this is deliberate in order to provide a blank canvas to showcase the food but suspect it is more to do with the fact that it is in the rather beige Halkin hotel. Service is attentive and informative without being overbearing and the staff are on hand to explain the best way to tackle the menu. Portions are large and ordering a selection to share a la carte is more cost effective than the tasting menu.

I was rather disappointed to read some of the negative comments made about Nahm and hope that this will encourage lovers of Thai food who like to push their boundaries slightly to try what I consider to be one of the best places to eat Thai food on the planet.

I was extremely disappointed. Maybe they were having a bad day but that's no excuse really at this level. The dining room is claustrophobic and stuffy, the service haphazard and the food uninspiring. The coup de grace was when the waiter who presented the cheese trolley admitted he had no idea which cheese was which! I am astounded that this restaurant has repeatedly been awarded two Michelin stars. My advice would be to go down the road to The Square if you want to experience true two star food.