Telephone: 020 7436 7460
Address: 14 Charlotte St, W1T 2LX
Opening hours: Mon - Thurs 12-11pm; Friday 12-11.30pm; Saturday 1-11pm; Sunday 1-10.30pm
No website yet
"Let's go for a Thai ..." Even today, when Britain boasts more than a thousand Thai restaurants, the phrase sounds wrong - not just unfamiliar, but wrong. Thai food is not to be scoffed in front of the television or wolfed down in a quick refuel. It makes messy and confusing takeaway fodder. These dishes deserve to be eaten slowly, reverentially and - at the Michelin-starred Nahm - with the occasional gasp of admiration as the palate meets an unexpected combination of sharpness and heat. Gobbling the moneybags is, well, vulgar.
Siam Central thinks differently. It promises the first "Thai tapas" in London, takeaways and an "express menu" for hurried lunchers. I was sceptical. Can you really turn out a decent Thai meal for £5.50 in an area with such high rents and gullible tourists?
It seems you can, though it's worth pointing out that the express menu is a single course and the average spend at Siam Central is £25-27 per head. It requires considerable willpower to resist the array of 30 tapas on offer and the handful of specials. Siam Central is only two months old, and the décor still feels like Habitat's interpretation of a Far East lounge (backlit faux shutters, paper lanterns, wicker chairs, blackboard specials changed, er, every week or two).
But it is undeniably a welcoming place, and the Thai chefs in the kitchen are competent: given the chance, even adventurous. Papaya salad with fresh chilli, palm sugar, peanuts and dried shrimps (£4.75) was invigorating, and tamarind duck (£4.85) was neither tough nor syrupy. The two specials recommended by the waiter - a tender lamb mussaman curry with potatoes, onions and peanuts (£6.50), and soft shell crab - were both delectable and subtly spiced. The crab produced that rare and intensely pleasurable sensation of spiced crispiness falling apart on the tongue. Scallops and asparagus (£4.85) suffered a little by comparison. As the chef had realised, the "hint of garlic" promised on the menu isn't enough to bring out their flavours when sweet chilli sauce on the same table - but the asparagus was tender. Sticky rice was exemplary and stayed warm in charming lidded bamboo pots.
Thai food is difficult to do cheaply, and the tapas combos for two (£4.75 each, less for vegetarians) dabble in Chinese staples as a result: you'll get spring rolls and prawn toast. As elsewhere, a certain amount of creative eking-out in the form of batter and garnishes goes on. Still, it's hard to disagree with a freshly julienned carrot.
The kitchen also cares enough to squeeze the orange juice and provide a decent French house white that can stand up to the chilli thrown at it, as well as three beers (Singha, Tiger, Kirin Ichiban on draught). A glass is under £3 and a bottle £10.75. It was also good to be told on the menu that the "discretionary" 10% tip added to the bill is shared out among the staff. £30 a head will buy you more exciting gastronomic journeys in London, and you shouldn't expect either authenticity or surprises from the tapas combos. But stick to tap water and you can have some fun with the menu for less than £15.
