Image above: The pla satay (grilled marinated cod fish satay) served with peanut sauce proved to be an interesting twist on the usual meat satays I opt for. [Thursday 22 July] | [View all images]
Having enjoyed the excellent Thai dishes at Rosa back in November last year, it was great to see the restaurant expand to a second base in the heart of Soho. So having arranged to accompany a friend to see Shrek 4 it was the ideal opportunity to see how this sequel stacked up to the original.
One aspect that was immediately apparent was that there were no queues at the Soho branch. Albeit we were eating around 18:00 which is on the early side but the place was surprisingly empty. Not that I was complaining as I was starving having spent almost 1.5 hours coming in from my client site! But similar to the original, the interior had the same cosy feel though was obviously more polished given its recent opening.
We started off with the staple of fresh vegetable summer rolls served with peanut sauce along with a pla satay (grilled marinated cod fish satay) for something different. Both were delicious and set up nice for our main courses. My friend had this massive bowl of pla kapong rad prig – deep-fried sea bass topped with sweet and spicy chilli paste. Whilst for me, I love gaeng ped – roast duck breast in Thai red curry with peppers, pineapple, cherry tomatoes and sweet basil leaves – so had to give that a go and I wasn’t disappointed.
At the end of the meal and thinking about how this sequel stacked up I felt that although it was a lot more convenient to get to, it didn’t really have the soul of the original. I actually like the fact that you will usually have to queue, that the place is a bit worn down, and that it’s thronged with diners. The food in Soho is good and I am going to go back but it was just … too polished. Funny that … :)
Rosa Soho | 48 Dean Street, London, W1D 5BF | Map | Nearest station: Tottenham Court Road
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