Koh Thai Tapas restaurant review
Posted on: 2016-11-25
Our rating:
Each dish was served in a generous portion and was presented with class and creativity. It was a wonderful environment for relaxing and I very much enjoyed the tapas culture of sharing and discussing food.
I have passed Koh Thai Tapas many times walking through the Clifton Triangle, but sandwiched as it is between two kebab shops I never gave it the credit it deserved. Finally, I was curious enough to go inside for a review, and what I found amazed me.
The ambiance of the restaurant lifts you up and places you gently in the heart of Asia, with dark wooden furniture, Buddha statues, low light flickering candles, and gorgeous golds and reds. You feel warmed in body and soul, just walking through the doors, and although it was a chilly night there was a beautiful outdoor garden area that I look forward to using in the summer. We were welcomed in by what proved to be incredibly attentive staff, and handed a menu full of choice.
Koh Thai offer a useful service in which you give the details of your dietary requirements and preferences and they tailor a menu to your liking, taking the stress out of ordering and allowing you to kick back and indulge. Within minutes of menu gazing we knew exactly what we wanted, however, and settled for a mixture of 5 tapas.
We ordered Koh’s Own Chicken Satay, Sweetcorn Cakes, Prawn Tempura, Koh’s Special Crispy Squid, and Thai Style Steamed Mussels. Service time was amazing, and our orders arrived steaming hot and exquisitely presented in front of us within minutes. Each dish was served with a sauce tailored to compliment it perfectly, and I really found it hard to fault the flavour and texture combinations.
The Koh’s Own Chicken Satay was by far my favourite, a warm and comforting dish with peanut and rich spices served with tender chicken skewers. My partner was himself enamoured with the Thai Style Steamed Mussels, which were cooked to perfection, enormous in size, and clearly carefully selected. Thai seasoning and spices featured most heavily in the Sweetcorn Cakes, which tasted like a Thai green curry in a pancake, crisp and floral. These were served with a delicious sweet chili and nut dip which gave way to all kinds of textures and a glorious flavour combination. The Crispy Squid was slightly floury and a little heavy, so the crispiness in the title suffered, but the soy dip that accompanied it was enough to render it moreish. Finally the Prawn Tempura, which had me – a prawn sceptic – going back for more. I adored the crispiness and the rich flavour, a mark of Koh Thai Tapas which was present in all their foods.
Each dish was served in a generous portion and was presented with class and creativity. It was a wonderful environment for relaxing and I very much enjoyed the tapas culture of sharing and discussing food. Our order of 5 tapas between two was more than satisfactory, and those looking for a lighter meal should probably go for 2 dishes each. Everything we were served, and by extension everything on the menu, was fresh and vibrant, unpredictable even. There was a twist to each dish that in my opinion places Koh Thai Tapas above any other Thai restaurant in Bristol. This is a beautiful, serene restaurant serving full-bodied flavoursome food – perfect for dates, parties, and small gatherings.
5/5
Reviewed by Miri Teixeira for 365 Bristol
To find out more, visit Koh Thai Tapas' Website.
Article by:
Miri is an English literature student at the University of Bristol who enjoys folk-punk & math-rock music, trailing round art galleries, and playing video games. She is a keen follower of politics and will read any science fiction you throw her way. Having lived in and around Bristol for many years she has developed a keen interest in the Bristol underground music scene and independent restaurants.
