Thai Edge, Leeds

Occasion:                      Celebration

Party Size:                    2

Overall Rating:              ***** Excellent

Date Visited:                 September 2012
Price Per Person:           £22 approx = 2 courses excluding drinks ppn

Sa-wa-dee!

“Arguably the best Thai restaurant chain in the UK, Thai Edge is a world class restaurant in a unique setting which compliments Thai culture with modern oriental design”. Bold claims from the Thai Edge menu, and with a good selection of Thai restaurants in the Leeds area, claims that can be pretty easily tested.

Set just off Millennium Square Thai Edge occupies a prominent city centre location, and as soon as you enter it’s apparent that they take the modern oriental design bit pretty seriously. Thai Edge has a bright and airy feel to it, it contrasts to the rich dark colours of some of its Leeds competitors, and it stands apart in this regard. The tables in the restaurant are well spaced out so you’ll never feel like you’re sat on top of other diners, and the oriental touches, in terms of décor and music, are enough to provide a great ambience without being over the top. This visit was on a Monday evening at 7pm and there were plenty of diners to create an atmosphere even at this time of the week – Thai Edge is clearly popular.

There are a range of set menus to choose from priced at £19.90 to £38.50, but we were visiting on a Living Social voucher which meant a starter and a main each off the A La Carte menu. Starters are priced from about £6 to £11, mains from about £8 to £30, but with only lobster at the top end. Some seafood dishes were around the £15 mark, while most of the stir fries and curries are in the £8 to £11 bracket. Prices that make you hope the food is going to be great quality, and on the whole we found that to be true.

We chose Nuae Yang – Thai style char grilled tenderloin of beef with a special Thai chilli dipping sauce (£10.50) and Hoi Shell Noung – steamed scallops with spring onion, soy sauce and a touch of Thai whisky, served with spicy dipping sauce (£7.95).

Given the price we expected a premium piece of beef, and whilst the flavour of the meat and sauce was excellent the beef was a tiny bit tough. The scallops were amazing: large, cooked to perfection and perfectly matched with the  soy sauce and dipping sauce, and an optional big chunk of fresh red chilli per scallop to add some spice. I could have eaten the whole thing again and thought this was a really good value starter. Swapping the price of the 2 starters would probably reflect their quality for this visit, but they were both very enjoyable.

Mains were a curry, Gaeng Pa Gai – chicken jungle curry (£10.80) and Mou Pad Bai Kra Praw – stir fried minced pork with snake beans, holy basil, garlic and fresh chilli (£8), with portions of steamed rice at £2.20. Both dishes tasted fantastic, the jungle curry was loaded with fresh Thai herbs and spices and hot as you’d expect, and the pork mince stir fry held loads of flavour, it may have been salty for some but I loved it, the soy-like saltiness giving a rich flavour to the dish.

All this was washed down with Singha lager which wasn’t cheap at £6.50 for a large bottle.

  

The best Thai meal I’ve eaten in a restaurant in a long time – a winner for Thai Edge as I eat a good deal of Thai food.

The service throughout the meal was as you’d expect from a higher end Thai restaurant, fairly formal but still friendly and attentive to just the right degree. This may have had something to do with the fact that we spent some time photographing the restaurant and our dishes, and engaged in detailed conversation about the food they put in front of us – we found ourselves being served a bit quicker than other tables, maybe playing at being a critic does have its advantages!

Overall I think this would appeal to those who are looking for a restaurant with style and have an occasion to celebrate, a real treat.

http://www.thaiedgeleeds.co.uk/