Greyhound Cafe | Berners St, W1T

The Greyhound Café, on the corner of Berners and Mortimer St with its rather lovely outdoor area, where many of us will suffer from heat stroke over the next few weeks, has made quite the ripple in the restaurant scene since opening earlier this year. 

This is the first foray into Europe for the Thai chain, renowned for being a bit of a ‘fashion’ restaurant. This London branch, for example, is all origami-inspired lighting, a very sleek open plan kitchen with a human-sized fish trap hanging from the ceiling. Because why the fuck not? The bells and whistle may mean that some clientele will instantly be a bit snobby about it. Plus, it’s not cheap. Though don’t get me wrong, this place is not all braggadocio and no substance. They have some tasty, Thai fusion here – Grilled Lobster with Thai Herbs, Dried Chilli and White Wine Flambé Spaghetti anyone?

And whom else could I take to Greyhound, aside from my number one from day one, who just happens to be my favourite Thai princess, Amma?

As is customary with our meetings, one of us tends to be at least 10 minutes late, and as it was my turn to wait on this occasion I had time to peruse the menu. And this is one stunning menu. It’s a dazzling picture-book and the images look like they are taken from the pages of Women's Health. You know the pages where they merchandise leggings and compression tops against fluorescent backdrops? Very 80s. Yeah, those pages. Except for this time with Scallop Pad Thai, Rib-Eye Satay and Soft Shell Crab Burgers – vibrant and shoppable. Everything looked bloody good. Even the Bug Salad, aptly called ‘Bugs in my Salad’ – a salad of Mixed Greens with Soya Wasabi Dressing and fried Thai Pupae on the side. Pupae, for anyone looking for a description, can find it here. And don’t get me wrong, I’m fully aware that insects are the protein source of the future, I just need time to adjust…and for the insects to be ground so fine, that they’re unrecognisable and undetectable in whatever I’m eating.

With a little guidance from Amma, who has been to a couple of the Greyhound Cafes in Thailand, we ordered. And I think we ordered pretty well for the most part. 

We started with what I was told are very popular in Thailand, the Greyhound 'Single Bone' Wings, and the Salmon in Hot Pursuit.

The Salmon was AMAZING. Loved that in one mouthful, you could get a kick from the green chilli, cooling from the mint and fiery, pepperiness from the shavings of raw garlic. I find that people normally shy away from such a punchy (and pungent) combo. Not me babe, not me. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED :)

The Chicken Wings were a little underwhelming and very small. They did taste great but because they were fried and teeny tiny, they were a little dry and not as fun to eat. The way they are presented - scattered on the plate as if having fallen out of a metal bucket, only added to the disenchantment. It was as if they’d been discarded in embarrassment. Quite a sad, dry plate...I took quite a favourable picture considering what I was working with. A reliable source tells me that in Thailand they are double the size and doubly as delicious.

Moving on to the Main Course and we ordered the Hot Oil Pork Knuckle and the Rib Eye Yang Fai, both served with Jaew sauce (dried chilli dipping sauce) and sticky rice. 

The Pork Knuckle was delicious - crispy and fatty. There was a lot here. And for that, the glutton in me loved this dish; it appeared half the restaurant did too. The meat was a teeny bit dry, but the crackling to meat ratio kind of made up for it. I would definitely order this again and maybe douse it in a little more sauce.

The Rib Eye was good, nothing too special but a really lovely piece of meat, presented well. I think we missed a trick here and when I come back again, I will order fish. The whole Sea Bass Miang (Grilled whole Sea Bass with Mixed Herbs, Rice Vermicelli and Miang Sauce) looked bloody amazing. 

I was naughty again and forgot to take a picture of the bill but here's a little breakdown: 

Wings - £6.50

Salmon - £6

Pork - £22

Beef - £20

Tea (for 2) - £6

£60.50 + tip 

Greyhound Cafe 

37 Berners St

Fitzrovia

London W1T 3LZ