For fine dining with a Thai twist, head to one of London’s four Patara restaurants.
With Patara restaurants in South Kensington, Knightsbridge, Soho and on Maddox Street; finding fine dining Thai cuisine in the capital has never been easier.
But Patara’s success and reach has far surpassed the streets of London, this restaurant has gone global with branches in as far-flung corners as Geneva to Beijing, Vienna to Singapore.
StyleNest had the delight of heading to Patara’s Maddox Street restaurant just off Regent Street, to sample a Thai tasting menu like never before.
Teaming up with Thailand-based celebrity chef, Chumpol Jangprai, Patara recently created a four-course menu fusing together some of the UK’s finest produce with traditional Thai cuisine and Jangprai’s gastronomic expertise.
Jangprai has spent his entire life in the kitchen, in fact quite profoundly, he was actually born in his family’s renowned Thai restaurant Sa Nguan See. Jangprai began working full time in the heat of the kitchen at the age of just 13, and has since gone on to win numerous awards, appeared on TV and build up an international name for himself.
As we arrived at the restaurant we were greeted by Patara’s warm and welcoming staff. Patara actually means “gracious lady” and the staff are just that.The restaurant itself transports you to the East – dark rich wood, gold detailing and dim low lighting.
Day-to-day Patara serves up an a la carte menu of appetisers, soups, salads and mains, but we were lucky enough to try Jangprai’s bespoke menu. To start, we sampled a generous amuse bouche of Tartar of Smoked Salmon a la Thai. The Scottish salmon was fresh, rich and packed a punch of flavour, whilst radishes, ginger and chilli gave it that Thai kick.
The next course was a delight for the eyes as well as the senses. Three beautifully crafted little packages combining traditional European fine dining skill with flavours of the South East. There was Grey Mullet – satisfyingly crispy and served with a light chilli jam, pan-fried Crab Cake sourced from Cornwall and given a Jangprai rework with aromatic galangal. And finally, our favourite, pan-seared Foie Gras – deep and rich in flavour it was sweetened with pink grapefruit, sweet and sticky tamarind reduction and spiced pistachio. It’s safe to say we cleared the plates.
Already getting full, the third course of a light, smoked seafood soup was warmly welcomed. Unlike traditional Thai soups, this was topped with lashings of trendy foam that is seen cropping up on many London-bound restaurant plates. Again, a great example of how well Jangprai fuses the East with the West.
On to the main event and we were presented with braised Welsh Lamb. So far, so British, but not when it’s slow cooked in Thai massman curry. With a side of raw vegetable salad and coriander puree, the Thai influence offered a fresh take on a hearty British classic.
The meal was topped off with a warm Chocolate Tart, infused with chilli of course and served with a cooling, fresh coconut ice cream.
Four courses down and we were well and truly stuffed, but indeed satisfied. Patara’s take on Thai cuisine had us heading home thinking of all the hot, spiced and fresh Thai flavours we could incorporate into our own cooking. As well as clearing a space in our diaries for our next Patara visit.
Patara, 7 Maddox Street, London W1S 2QB / Tel. 020 7499 6008 / Patara have three other London based restaurants in South Kensington, Soho and Knightsbridge.