Craving reasonably-priced Thai food over the recent Bank Holiday weekend, we decided to head to Thai Classic on Whiteladies Road after noticing their offer of three courses and a beer, glass of wine or soft drink for £16, 7 days a week…
Situated in the row of businesses that includes Bar Humbug and Planet Pizza, Thai Classic is fronted by a small outside seating area, leading to steps down into the restaurant which looks tiny from the outside but actually stretches back further than expected. The decor is fairly standard for a Thai restaurant, and gentle music playing in the background makes for a relaxed atmosphere.
The amount of choice on the menu is staggering for such a small restaurant: in addition to the aforementioned £16 deal, the leather-bound menu includes a further eight set menus, ranging from £16.50 to £21.50 per head (most needing a minimum of two people to order) including both Thai and Malaysian options.
The standard menu is divided into Thai, Malaysian and Singaporean dishes, and you’ll be looking at paying around £5 for a starter and upwards of £7 for a main. You can see the full menu – including the set menus – by clicking on this link to visit their website.
There was a ridiculous amount of choice on the £16 menu…
…but I was happy to see that my favourite Thai starter of Tom Yum soup was on the menu, with a choice of chicken or seafood. Opting for chicken, I was impressed with the portion size when it turned up, and the generosity of the chefs in terms of the amount of chicken crammed into the bowl. This was joined by a number of large chunks of lemongrass, which were fantastic in terms of adding flavour but hard to navigate when eating! The soup itself was delicious, but, in my opinion, could have benefitted from a little more of a kick to it.
Onto the main, and a classic Pad Thai for me. A large plate of flat rice noodles, combined with crunchy beansprouts and king prawns, accompanied by small mounds of crushed peanut and sugar at one end of the plate, and a salad garnish at the other. A perfectly tasty plate of food, but not of standout quality and a bit on the cold side when it arrived at the table.
My menu also included dessert, and I was pleased to see that a dish I fell in love with in Thailand was on the menu: sticky coconut rice with fresh mango. As with most of the dishes that were served to our table on the night, the presentation was very “retro” – the dish being served in a shallow glass bowl and garnished with a glace cherry.
The natural sweetness of the mango combined with the sugar added to the coconut milk that the rice is cooked in may make this dessert too sweet for some, but the sesame seeds sprinkled on top took some of the sugary edge away and it was delicious.
Overall, a bargain, really, at just £16 for three courses plus a drink. I wouldn’t go to Thai Classic expecting anything special, but it’s certainly an adequate choice for a cheap, cheerful and relaxed evening meal.
Thai Classic
Website: http://www.thaiclassic.co.uk
Address: 87 Whiteladies Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 2NT
Telephone: 0117 973 8930