Stunning Thai curries at Patara restaurant in London Mayfair

Patara in Central London is an established brand that opened its first branch way back in 1990, with sites both in the UK and abroad.

Although hard to come by, this is one of the few authentic Thai restaurants which doesn’t just cater for Halal, but ensures that these dishes are prepped and cooked separately to avoid any cross-contamination.

Patara have been around for a long time; 1990 to be exact

Located on Maddox Street (just down the road from Michelin-chef Atul Kochhar’s Kanishka), this restaurant, although having pork on the menu, does cater for Halal chicken and beef.

The place itself, as you’d expect in the swanky area of Mayfair, is elegantly-designed, with plenty of seating available both on the ground floor and in the basement.

Patara Platter (sharing for two) – Duck spring rolls Veggie spring rolls, chicken satay, steamed dumplings, fish cakes, spicy scallops, £30.00

Designed for sharing among two people, the Patara Platter offers five items: veggie spring rolls, which require being requested as a substitution for the non-Halal duck spring rolls; skewers of chicken satay, steamed dumplings, fish cakes and spicy scallops. But after the substitution, is this platter still worth the default £30 price tag? We’d say no.

In any case, the best of the bunch here was the seafood, which we enjoyed with the peanut sauce. Drizzled in a light chilli sauce, the scallops retained that tender chewiness; while the delicious fish cakes boasted a kebab-esque texture, and were topped with crispy fried seaweed.

And though the veggie rolls were your typical standard variety, the satay sticks, although well executed, were a little on the thin side.

Soft Shell Crab Mango Salad – Soft shell crab, julienned mango, cashew nuts, fried shallots, lime-chillies dressing, roasted coconut, £15.50

Despite being recommended the Som Tum green papaya-based Thai salad, we were glad to have opted for the soft shell crab mango salad instead.

Not only was the batter encasing the beautifully soft crab delicately crispy, but was complemented by the combination of the sweetness from the thinly-sliced mango, and the heat from the red chillis. Just be sure to give this a quick mix so as to really enjoy the zingy dressing resting at the bottom of the plate.

Kaeng Nop Pa Gao (Prawns) – Vegetables in a red curry sauce, £19.95

The Kaeng Nop Pa Gao was part of what Patara calls their Thai Royal Cuisine.

Excellent sticky rice!

Having opted for prawns, which turned out to be delightfully plump and firm, the star of the show here was undoubtedly the superbly-balanced curry.

Driven by the richness of the coconut sauce therein, it also contained chunks of mango, mushrooms, broccoli, aubergeine, and these little berries.

And you’ll certainly want to enjoy this curry with either their excellent egg fried rice or their fragrant sticky rice.

Sea Bass (Sweet Chilli) – Whole sea bass glazed in choice of patara’s special sauce, £25.80

This Sea Bass was one for the ages courtesy of a sweet chilli which was more of a sticky glaze than a sauce.

With the fish having been conveniently filleted and apportioned into bite-size chunks, both these and the remains of the head and skeletal frame were battered, before being deep fried.

What emerged were juicy segments of fish covered in a wonderfully light and fluffy, uber-crispy batter, which we dunked in that subtly sweet, vinegary sauce.

Given that this is £25.80, we would have expected a few condiments to accompany this otherwise bare-boned sea bass.

Pad Thai (Chicken) – Rice noodles, egg, tofu, bean sprouts, Chinese chives, sweet turnip with crushed peanuts, £15.50

Their Pad Thai was somewhat one-dimensional, with the large chunks of chicken, though tender enough, unable to bring much else to the dish.

As for the noodles, then these were slightly over, thereby betraying a slippery, almost gelatinous texture.

Green Curry (Chicken) – Thai pea aubergine, aubergine, bamboo shoots, chillies & basil, £17.50

Epitomising the meaning of the term well-balanced, Patara’s Green Curry was one of the best we’ve had, with a curry that was dangerously addictive.

Khao Soi (Braised Beef) – Curry noodles, £19.50

This northern-style curry noodle dish was slightly thicker than its Green Curry counterpart, and a tad spicier too, thanks to the addition of the pepper.

Add to that the succulent strips of superbly braised beef, as well as noodles that were al dente, and this Khao Soi was soothingly good, with the fried noodles offering a textural contrast.

Baked Banana with Ice Cream – With toasted flake almonds & and vanilla ice cream, £9.50

Looking past the presentation, the combination of the caramelised green banana, topped with toasted almonds, with vanilla ice cream, made this dessert far better than expected.

Sweet Black Glutinous Rice – Fresh coconut meat in coconut cream, £7.50

We’d recommend this Sweet Black Glutinous Rice over the classic Sago & Black Bean Sago dessert below, particularly if you have a sweet-tooth.

Sago & Black Bean Sago – Fresh coconut meat in coconut cream, £7.50

Of course, if you’re the type of person who enjoys an element of savouriness to your dessert, then this Sago & Black Bean Sago should be your choice of dessert.