Before I begin this post, there’s a little bit of a confession. Normally when we eat at a Thai restaurant (or Indian, Chinese, or Malaysian for that matter), Mr GFB and I are as adventurous as possible. Chicken feet, whelks, sea urchin – we’re not afraid to go a little off piste and wade our way through the oddest bits of the menu. And more often than not, people like to indulge us.
This visit to Chaophraya, however, saw us a little tight for pennies, so we stuck with a set menu. A straightforward £28.50 menu involving a platter of starters and a range of mains, and a glass of Chardonnay. Nothing exotic, nothing fancy, just tea out in a pretty venue.
Our platter arrived with the usual Thai style staples. Prawn and chicken toast topped with sesame, chicken satay, tempura prawns, chicken spring rolls and mahoh – finely diced pork poached with palm sugar, turnip, nuts and tamarind, served on fresh slices of pineapple, all served with an assortment of dips.
Everything was, OK. Chicken was tender and juicy as you’d expect, the spring rolls were good, the mahoh sweet, sour and nutty. The prawn toast was OK – a little softer than I’d like, but that might be the use of fresh baguette, it works infinitely better on stale bread.
The mains saw a range of dishes, accompanied by sticky rice and Pad Thai – a comfort food favourite of mine.
A crisp duck salad with fresh coriander, cucumber, shallots, spring onions, celery and pomegranate in a roasted chilli and lime dressing – probably my favourite dish of the evening and the one that we both tucked into with gusto. 
The ubiquitous Thai green curry with chicken breast courgettes and aubergine, garnished with sweet basil and chillies – light but rich, it sadly didn’t pack the heat that I expected.
And a stir fried beef with vegetables in oyster sauce – again good, but no more than I’d hope for.
The Pad Thai too, for me, was a bit lacking. Maybe I’ve spoilt myself as it’s something I make at home regularly (if you can’t be bothered making your own sauce, try the sauce from the Hungry Gecko, it’s perfect), but it was distinctly lacking oomph.
Away from the food, the service was lovely. We had a trainee working at our table and I do appreciate that that is made known discreetly via a name badge. It automatically means you’re aware and can be a little bit more patient if you need to – particularly while she struggled with an unresponsive card machine.
Though Mr GFB and I have eaten at Chaophraya before (and probably will in future), this visit left us a bit underwhelmed. It was probably our own fault for sticking to a set menu and not making our own choices, but it felt very safe. Very middle of the road – which seems a completely wrong thing to say about such an exotic cuisine.
I also couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed with the price – £28.50 seems a lot compared to what we’ve spent in other venues recently for a distinctly better quality menu. This selection feels very quantity over quality and yet is the cheapest set menu choice featuring meat (the vegetarian set menu is £25.50 and I must admit next time I think we’ll try that for comparison).
I appreciate chains – they’re safe, they’re easy and yes, when it comes to that relative or friend who wants to try something different but doesn’t like anything spicy, it’s simple.
But, I could make it at home for less, or I could visit a takeaway or a better restaurant in China Town and feel less, well, meh about it all.
I just don’t feel like it’s right for me.
This meal was paid for by myself.