Thai in a hurry!

Recently on a shopping trip to Soho - forced by the imminent presence of Christmas to head into the city on a Friday night, and lets face it the sales are hard to resist! - I tried again to go to a highly recommended Pizza joint that apparently has the best wood-fired pizzas around. The first time I attempted to go there with three others we were surprised to be told there was a wait of around 40 minutes to an hour for a table. Even then it wasn't guaranteed as we had unknowingly come out on a night when Italy was playing Football and of course they were screening it at the restaurant.

So this time, without the burden of any international football playing as far as we were aware, we thought we were in with a chance! Unfortunately, it would appear that others have also cottoned on to the pizzas at this place and once again we arrived to be told there would be about a 40 minute wait. There were at least three other groups waiting ahead of us - Bugger!

In desperation, after work shopping is a bit fraught without the likelihood of any food, we decided to try a Thai restaurant, which as we walked past looked as though it might be interesting. You know the sort - lots of stickers in the window, having been reviewed by several people who all had good things to say! With luck on our sides for once we found ourselves seated at a table for two immediately! Things were looking up! Well as long as you overlooked the seating location which had three tables for two squished into an area more suited for two tables, and an airconditioning unit that seemed to think it needed to regularly switch on to cool the room -not often needed in Winter when you seat is also close to the door, which is regularly opened by other patrons with decision making difficulties!

Never the less, the service was attentive and the menu looked interesting. Rather unusually we thought a starter was in order and so we went with the corn cakes. Partly due to the description of the fresh herbs and tangy sauce. It had been a while since we had a good corn cake - unfortunately tonight was not to be the night. The predominant ingredient appeared to be potato which coated your teeth as you bit into it. There was corn but even on close inspection the fresh (or otherwise) herbs were non-existent!

The mains of Penang curry, green curry and mixed vegetable stir fry was good but not great. I wouldn't go out of my way to have it again! The rice that came with the meal was in such a small quantity that even for two, not such big eaters, it had to be rationed. We were expecting more to be offered but this was not to be! Our joy with our meal was diminishing rapidly!

When offered the dessert menu - we decided to skip it. From here on the service took a distinct turn. What we had previously thought was attentive became more obvious as rushed. The dishes were removed, the bill arrived and the change returned. Our drinks were not even finished! We had noticed that certainly several other people were enquiring about table availability. With the frequent opening of the door and the fresh breeze that accompanied this it was hard to miss.

So we decided to cut our losses and squeeze past the other two tables to make our escape. With the proximity of the other tables I couldn't put my coat on at my seat and needed to step into the middle aisle. Incredibly, in the time it took me to get my coat on, the table had been wiped down and the next people were being seated. Well the one that could get past me anyway! This did not go unnoticed by the other diners, who were also experiencing the pressure to move on. There was a comment that my seat would still be warm! Perhaps I should have put my coat on in the street!

The food was OK, we were not starving, but the corn cakes were forgetable. Unlikely that we will go there again, although if you want Thai food in a hurry, then maybe it's for you!