Sukhothai Restaurant

Don’t eat what you haven’t ordered!

After seeing some decent reviews, I decided to take my family to this restaurant hoping to start a good night out. Tastewise, food wasn’t bad, although the portions are ridicously small and you will need to order 2 dishes each if you want to feel you have eaten (and I eat very little). But the dishes are around £8 each so the price isn’t that attractive.

But the problem was the owner. First, despite the whole restaurant being empty, he takes us to the smallest table stuck in the corner. I asked for a different table and he gave us a horrible gesture, as in “do whatever you want”. Also, the smell was very odd. The restaurant smelled just like my dog after a day out in the beach and we wondered whether we should stay or leave. But we felt sorry to leave as first customers of the evening so just ordered some food.

And after we ordered, he brought us a small basket of prawn crackers, and I asked “What’s this?”. He just said “Prawn crackers”. It was soggy and tasted as if it had been cooked a few days before, but having had missed lunch, we ate most of it deep in a conversation. And then our food came out, and apart from the Pud Thai which was salty, the rest, Kao Pud Prawn, Kao Pud Beef, and Tom Yang were all okay.

Then, one of us ordered large still bottled water, but of course, as a restaurant, we expected a glass bottle. He brought out a plastic Volvic bottle, slammed it on our table for us to help ourselves, and then left. And, he charged us nearly £4 for it – it’s2 for £1 in Tesco just in case you wanted to know.

No problems so far, but then, when we asked for the bill, he kept us waiting for 20 minutes. He was the only person working so we decided to wait as long as it took. But the total didn’t add up, and we asked what the £3 extra was for. Then he just shouted, yes, shouted very loudly, “YOU EAT, YOU PAY!”. So I asked again, “What’s it for?”, and then he said “Prawn crackers”. I said I never asked for it but then he shouted again “YOU EAT, YOU PAY”, before turning his back on us and walking off. There were other customers at this time, and it was hugely embarrassing as everyone was just looking at us, in a dead atmosphere.

He made it look complimentary and then more or less confronted us to pay after we ate it, and that’s the last thing you want as customers. To express my satisfaction, I always leave a minimum 10% tip, and I had a £5 note in my hand to give him until this happened, and of course, this has ruined our evening.

Warning for people thinking of going there, DON’T EAT WHAT YOU HAVEN’T ORDERED AND EXPECT VERY SMALL PORTIONS. ALSO SOME FOOD ARE VERY SALTY AND FORCES YOU TO ORDER RICE.

It’s a big shame as some of the other dishes weren’t too bad, but it looks like we definitely won’t be returning after this poor service.

Definitely one of the best Thai restaurants I've ever experienced. There's heaps of old-school charm (elephant carvings on the walls, bamboo chairs, retro Thai music), which is quite unexpected along Holdenhurst Road...

The menu has plenty of authentic Thai dishes, including excellent desserts and fine for vegetarians. And as for the taste - absolutely delicious.

If you enjoy real Thai dining, this place is 100% recommended.