Bangkok Bar

I’m sure I was not alone in mourning the passing of the Blue Moon Café, when it closed down, earlier this year. It was good to see someone take over the premises so quickly, though, particularly when it was the opening of a branch of Newhaven favourite, the Port of Siam.

Exterior

Their shoreline restaurant has long been on my radar, but Newhaven isn’t on my regular flight path, so I still haven’t made it down there for a visit. This Broughton Street space, which is much handier for me, encompasses two dining experiences, with the main Port of Siam restaurant, with its entrance on Barony Street, and the Bangkok Bar, in the space previously occupied by Hamburger Heaven.

The Bar, which is where guest quester Jane and I ate today, showcases a street food menu, with Thai classics like Pad Thai and tom yam. It took us a good moment or two, in their compact cocktail bar setting, to decide which dishes to try, as everything sounded really good.

Prawns cakes

Eventually, Jane settled upon the prawn cakes, served with kanom jin noodles, while I opted for roast duck and egg noodle soup.

Dishes us were promptly with us, served in neat bowls, which although stylish didn’t entirely fill either of us with confidence about their robustness.

Duck and noodles soup

Both dishes proved to be of excellent quality. My roast duck was outstandingly soft and tender, and without doubt the best duck I’ve sampled in the city. The broth was good and meaty, too. I just about managed to cope with the noodles without destroying another tie, so that was another one in the win column.

Jane was equally pleased with her prawn cakes, which were very light and crisp, with not a hint of oily heaviness. The dish featured five prawn cakes, which made the portion every bit as generous as my profuse chunks of duck.

So overall, we were impressed with the Bangkok Bar. Jane had already visited the main restaurant for lunch, and really enjoyed it, so I will definitely be back to try that, at some stage. I’d be pleased to recommend a stop at the Bangkok Bar, when you’re looking for a simple and flavour-packed meal, at any time of the day.

Scores
Blythe scores Bangkok Bar
4/5 for food
3.5/5 for presentation
4/5 for setting
3.5/5 for service
giving an overall 15/20

Today’s questers were: Jane, Blythe

We ate: prawn cakes with kanom jin noodles; roast duck and noodle soup

We drank: water

We wore: smart brown coat; www.tieclub.co.uk

Total bill: £15.25