Location: 3-5 Rathbone Place, London W1T 1HJ
Date & Time: Saturday 6th August 2016 at 6.30pm
Average Cost: £15-20 each (meal & drink)
East Street Restaurant

---

First Impressions

What an interesting experience, where do we even begin? Going to this restaurant was a bit of a random decision, we didn’t choose it based on any recommendations, we simply wanted a venue where we could catch up with our friend over a meal at somewhere new.

Before we get in to the nitty gritty, let’s start with the atmosphere and decor. East  Street  is located just off Tottenham Court Road, away from the busy high street which works well. From the name and the furnishings it is quite clear that they were going for an Asian street food theme. We both loved the funky relaxed layout and the chilled atmosphere makes it a great spot to catch up with friends. There was no requirement to pre book, so it serves well as a place to grab a bite after some retail therapy. Despite us going on a Saturday evening the restaurant was relatively quiet.

This Pan Asian restaurant offers dishes from Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. You can imagine that with such a variety of food, the menu has a lot going.

The customer service was on point! Everyone who waited on/served us were very attentive and friendly. They took the time to explain the menu and offered suggestions based on their favourite dish.

---

Food Order
Starter
ASIAN SHARING PLATTER (for 2) – £14.95
Fresh Spring Rolls, BBQ Chicken, Pork Dumplings, Coconut Prawns, Satay Chicken and Corn Fritters (extra portion £6.95 per person)

Main
THAI CURRY NOODLES – £10.75
Yellow noodles in a red curry sauce with chicken, ginger, garlic, fresh lime and red onion.
PAD KRAKOW – £9.75
Thai Basil in a fiery oyster sauce with fine beans, red chillies and red peppers, with prawns
SINGAPOREAN FISH CURRY – £11.95
Mahi mahi fish with coconut milk, turmeric, curry leaves, galangal, sweet potato, tamarind and cherry tomatoes
Jasmine Rice £2.20

Drinks
GINGER MULE – £2.95
Ginger beer, thyme, ginger & lemongrass cordial
PINK LEMONADE – £3.25
Homemade lemonade, lime & mint topped with soda & grenadine
VIRGIN POPSICLE – £3.50
Orange juice, passion fruit puree, pineapple Juice with a dash of grenadine

Our thoughts on the starter

This sharing platter was great! It was a  a scrumptious mix of poultry, fish and veg. It was definitely finger licking good down to the very last bite. The portion sizes were reasonable, so if you’re like us and find it hard to commit to one dish we would highly recommend ordering this platter so you can enjoy a bit of everything.

PAD KRAKOW
This was  the dish our friend ordered and oh the dramas that came with this dish.
Taste wise she thoroughly enjoyed it, however wasn’t keen on the extra bit  of protein that came with it in the form of a  black fly legs up casually bathing in the sauce.
Now… we can’t vouch for how this little creature got into the meal but nonetheless it was there, so without making a scene we called the waiter over to disclose our findings. We all agree that they handled the situation with great customer service. They apologised profusely, took money off the bill and offered to remake the dish which our friend accepted as a take away.

Maria’s Thoughts

THAI CURRY NOODLES
I chose this dish based on the description. I’ve never had Thai curry noddles before  but I’ve had Thai red curry so gathered that taste wise it would be quite similar. The combination of ingredients also sounded  good and I believed fused together would give a flavourful dish. Yeah…. I got this so wrong. After the first mouthful I noticed that the Thai curry noodles had barely any flavour, it tasted so bland. I had a  few more mouthfuls  but simply couldn’t enjoy it. In the end I  I called the waitress over to send the dish back. She was very understanding and removed the cost of the dish from the bill.
Although this dish wasn’t for me, if you’re someone who  doesn’t like too many different flavours and spices, you may enjoy the noddles.

Nifesi’s Thoughts

SINGAPOREAN FISH CURRY
I am a big fan of curries, I love sauce, the more the better! Once I i noticed the fish curry on the menu, obviously I just had to try it. The fish curry was well flavoured and suited the jasmine rice. The curry was tasty,  however I felt there wasn’t enough salmon in the curry. Secondly the salmon didn’t taste like it has been cooked in the curry, it tasted more like it had been cooked separately and a few minutes before the order was delivered,  dipped into the curry sauce. All in all, the meal was ok and satisfied my hunger. I would return for a quick grab ‘n’ go and try something else from the variety on the menu.

Final Thoughts

Overall it was the customer service that resonated with us. We weren’t blown away by the dishes that we ordered and out of our selection the starters rated top. The  restaurant would work well for those  who are dining in big  groups and want to grab a  spontaneous bite to eat. It wasn’t our cup of tea but who knows you could love it as much as the fly😜.

Overall restaurant rating:  

---

We have told, now it’s time  for YOU to tell… Please let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comment section below.

Until our next post continue to Taste, Experience, Laugh and Live life to the absolute fullest.

x