East-west fusion reinvented in new bar-restaurant
King Street has seen so many restaurants in the last year both shut down and open. Charm, the new bar and restaurant, replaces Sabai-Sabai, a traditional Thai restaurant and a King Street fixture for fine Thai dining for over two decades.
Charm, completely reinvents the Thai fine dining experience, by modernizing the space into a glamorous cocktail bar and restaurant. It was too hot for us to try any of the alcoholic delights but our non-alcoholic cocktail was light and refreshing keeping us in anticipation of the meal ahead.
The east-west ambiance –both in the decor of the bar and restaurant - is clear in the attention to detail in the selection of the tables, chairs, lighting and cutlery. The theme is carried through in the cuisine. The dishes are traditional Thai, with a modern twist.
We were two vegetarians on a table of three so we scoured the menu and found delicious tempura and spring rolls which were light, deliciously flavoured and set us up for the main course. We selected a light Chardonnay to accompany our meal which was a smart choice.
We had a vegetarian pad-Thai and a Thai green curry which were both delicately flavoured and with a great selection of fresh seasonal vegetables. We had to ask for vegetarian versions of the menu as they were not indicated and I (the minority non-vegetarian on the table) decided a prawn pad-Thai would be a wonderful alternative to go with our choice of white wine.
We were going to skip the desert as the portions were generous and we cleaned every dish out. But when the desert menu came in we capitulated and shared a caramel and peanut desert that was soft, gooey and crunchy all at the same time. For the protestations of desert being a step too far we, short of licking the caramel off the plate, did great justice to the dish.
The meal for three was around £30 per head including the wine.
Sumi Sastri - Editor HammersmithToday.co.uk
July 21, 2010
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