I have always been a big fan of Thai food and luckily the Thai restaurant scene in London is quite a gem!  Whether you are after gap year standard green curries, street food or regional cuisine, it is available across the city, in smart restaurants, modest local joints and hip, buzzy spots. I recently had the pleasure of visiting one the most popular and award-winning Thai restaurants in London, Mango Tree Belgraviaand what a joy it was…

Here we are at the stylish entrance of Mango Tree Belgravia

Warmly welcomed by Yonlada and Tan at the front desk before being led into the separate bar room

I really was completely in love with the bar! This truly is a place, where everybody will feel at ease – and the service is impeccable! No wonder JK Rowling immortalised Mango Tree in her book “The Silkworm.” One of her characters mentions a restaurant in an attempt to impress someone else. “They do reasonably good food,” said Matthew. “Thai. It’s not the Mango Tree, but it’s all right.”(The Harry Potter author clearly has good taste and knows her London restaurants well)

Welcome to cocktail heaven! It was not an easy choice but we went for the most exotic looking ones

Could not think of a better way to spend a Saturday evening!

A beautiful Mango Colada for me served in a pineapple…

– and a Funky Coco for Frenchie! Everything was so beautifully served, that we hardly dared to taste it! But when we did… Oh my! So good that I felt right back in Thailand! 

If you are not too keen on really exotic drinks, The staff at Mango Tree will happily serve you more traditional cocktails as well! Will you look at these colours! Perfect for a gloomy autumn day in London! 

Time to move on into the restaurant (these pictures were taken at 8pm)

This picture was taken at 10pm (as you can see the place gets really busy, so remember to book in advance)

In my opinion the dark mahogany tables and brown leather seating contrast perfectly with the restaurant’s overall colour scheme of grey and white. But what really gives this place the sense of grandeur are the heavy maroon curtains running from the ceiling to the floor and extending across the entire length of the hall. According to Mango Tree’s website, the interior is styled after “the restaurants in Thailand and has been feng-shui designed to enhance the dining experience

All settled with a lovely glas of Chateauneuf-Du-Pape Blanc, crunchy prawn crisps and a very stylish menu card!

Again choosing was quite a task as everything looked incredibly tasty

Frenchie and I love to share our food! It is such a smart way to have a taste of as much as possible, so we went for the sharing plates for starters

This is the Mango Tree Platter: Chicken satay, king prawn rolls, duck spring rolls and thai fish cakes, served with peanut sauce, sweet chilli sauce and plum sauce

The Mango Tree Seafood Platter: Fresh king prawns in tom yum sauce, grilled scallop with garlic butter sauce, soft-shell crab tempura and prawn satay

Everything was super delicious and fresh! (and trust me, there is more than enough food for two in the sharing platters) I was actually already feeling a bit full, maybe because that pineapple cocktail had taken a bit of space in my tummy, so I went for a small main (as I wanted room for dessert as well…)

Num Tok Neur Yang: Grilled sirloin steak mixed with light lime, fresh mint, rice powder and roasted chilli dressing. The meat was really really tender and tasty, but be warned – it is a spicy salad! 

Frenchie went for the Kow Pad Saprot: Stir-fried thai rice with chicken, prawn, sweet pineapple, mild curry powder, soy sauce and garnished with egg, shrimp floss, cashew nuts and raisins served in pineapple bowl (I really love the way Mango Tree presents the dishes!)

Time for dessert! Frenchie was completely full, so I could enjoy my Chocolate Sphere all to myself

Voila! The Chocolate Sphere with vanilla pandan icecream core served with warm, salted caramel sauce! When you poured the sauce over the chocolate everything melted… It was mouthwatering good! 

I would like to thank Mango Tree Belgravia for having us! We had such a lovely time – and I can honestly say, that this is not the last time, we have been here! (Actually we are going again this Sunday, as the restaurant throws one of the most dazzling events in London!) “Miss Mango Tree” is one of the most famous Ladyboy competitions in the UK – and I am sure it will be outrageously fun and an absolute hoot! Why don’t you come and join me?

 

X Louise