Thai lunch at swanky Patara in Oxford Circus
By Umar Loane
HALAL STATUS Halal apart from the duck • Alcohol served
For lunch, my friend and I decided to go fancy and check out something Halal in and around Mayfair.
A browse of the ol’web presented a few options, with Thai restaurant Patara catching out attention on account of their superb reviews.
With six locations, four of them found in the swanky areas of Knightsbridge, South Kensington and Soho, we were sold.
A quick phone call told us that apart from the duck, everthing else on the food menu was Halal.
On arrival, we were swiftly seen to and ushered to our seats (always helps when you’re as divinely dressed as we are).
Have to say on first impressions, this particular branch certainly looked the part, with a warm colour scheme that made us feel right at home.
Spiced Fish Cakes – a classic recipe of red curry flavoured fish and spices, gently kneaded and fried to perfection, with peanut cucumber dip, £9.80
We started off with these fish cakes which came out slightly over done and therefore hard and dry. A mistake that really shouldn’t be happening when one is paying such prices.
Normally I do point out any mistakes and expect the item knocked off the bill. But this time we did end up finishing it off thanks to the sweet chilli dip on the side.
Asparagus – with shiitake and mushroom sauce, £9.50
This simple side was a good little nibble, with the asparagus cooked bang on.
The shiitake mushroom provided that deep earthiness that I thought went really well with the veg.
Ginger Black Cod – Pan-seared black cod and shiitake mushroom in a shredded ginger, pickled soya and yellow bean sauce, £32
At a pricey £32, we were expecting this to be spot on. It was! A large piece of black cod that had depth of flavour, and whose broth was deep and flavorous and wonderfully aromatic.
Perhaps some bread would have been nice to soak up all that buttery goodness. This is more like the standards the two of us were expecting.
Chilli and Basil Chicken – minced chicken stir-fried with crushed garlic, fine beans, red chilli and Thai basil, £16.95
Not a bad dish, with the chicken mince and fine bean mixture floating in a lot of sauce.
In the end, the fine beans overwhelmed the flavour of the chicken. And for a green curry, it was very spicy. Personally, I wouldn’t order this again.
Chocolate Pudding – warm soft-centred bitter chocolate pudding with Madagascan vanilla ice cream, £8.50
A nice chocolate fondant, with a chocolate runny center; some fruit on the side and ice cream, but no real innovation.
A little disappointing too in that there wasn’t anything Thai to order as a dessert.
All in all, I would highly recommend this place for business meetings given both the decor and the exceptional service we received.
As for the food though, I’d consider revisiting and trying some more on the menu before making a final judgement. What I can say, is that there are better Pan-Asian/ Thai Halal places about in the area that won’t break the bank.
Patara
7 Maddox St, Mayfair, London W1S 2QB.
T: +44 (0)20 7499 6008 | W: www.pataralondon.com | E: [email protected]
Opening Hours:Â Sun-Wed 12:00-22:30 | Thu-Sat 12:00-23:00
