O's Thai Cafe

Crouch End is awash in neat little restaurants that are distinctive enough to capture your attention, but not so distinctive that you are afraid to try it out. O's Thai Cafe, part of the O's Crouch End bar empire, is a tidy, little Thai restaurant that is pleasing to the eye and has pretty good food as well.

The long, narrow restuarant benefits from having a fresh look. The interior is enhanced by small blocks of colour along the walls and clean lines to compliment simple, good Thai food. Decor is important. It can either be garish and put me off my food or it can compliment the meal, enhancing the experience. I took immediate notice of the interior design. The dining floor is raised a meter off street level, thus distancing the diner from the pleasant experience on the inside and the crueal realities of the world outside. The website describes the restaurant as "Crouch End's own designer canteen," which may be going over the line, but the feeling and design of the dining room certainly fits with the ethos of the menu.

Playing music in a restaurant is always a risk and is probably best to be avoided. Music with a strong beat is tedious to eat to, and musical tastes change from person to person. But sometimes the music works. O decided to play on that night an album from the Buena Vista Social Club. Thai food, Cuban Jazz, but it was pleasant. It reminded me of a sushi restaurant in West Lafayette, Indiana, run by a Japanese curmudgeon who cared about his (bad, bland, over-priced) sushi and little else -- he always played Bob Marley.

It was early on a Sunday night when we dined, so the waitstaff seemed at ease, not rushing around, which can be irritating. As most readers know, I am fanatical about service in restaurants. A server should be affable yet professional, knowedgable and helpful, he should know when he is wanted and when to stay away. I can provide numerous examples of times when I have been persuaded into ordering more (expensive) food based on timely, helpful advice from my waiter and other times when all I wanted to do was eat and leave because the waiter was overbearing, unfriendly, unprofessional, etc. Dining at a restaurant is a social experience, but talking to the waiter is a professional transaction -- I don't ever look to make friends with my waiter.

Having said all that, I really didn't test our waitress. It was Sunday, and we were looking to eat quick and skedaddle. We ordered tap water, ordered food, ate and left.

We started off with Poh Piah Tord, aka spring rolls, which were small, delicate and crispy. It isn't too difficult to get them right, so I shan't comment. They were served with a small dish of sweet chilli sauce which could have been a little more on the chilli and a little less on the sweet, but it was welcome nonetheless.

As a main, I ordered Pad Kratiem Prik Tai, king prawns in a sweet oyster broth enhanced with coriander and garlic paste and julienned vegetables, served along side a dish of rice. The coriander, aka cilantro, paste almost put me off, but I persevered. I normally hate the taste of fresh cilantro. When I say hate I mean I won't eat it because I can not stand the taste of it in my mouth. My mother is the same way. But this was in paste form and was cooked, so I took a chance and it worked out. That being said, I didn't really taste the cilantro, and as I have always questioned, what is the point of putting an ingrediant in food that you can't taste? The king prawns were small as king prawns go but were cooked very well, i.e. not chewy and they retained a nice flavour. The broth was a little on the sweet side and there wasn't a hint of heat, which would have been nice. In retrospect, I might also have added a touch of lime to give it some piquancy and to balance out the sweetness of the oyster sauce, but the dish was not a disappointment. The vegetables were julienned nicely and it was served next to an appropriately sized cup of rice.

A friend of mine has said no Asian restaurant is worth its salt if it doesn't serve rice for free. If you have to ask for it or if it costs extra, it is rip off and it probably indicative of a severe moral lapse. O didn't disappoint me. A perfect amount of soft, clean, white rice blemished only by a singular cilantro leaf on top. The effect was pleasing, but I did remove the vile weed and burn it next to the table.

As we were in a hurry, I did not inbibe, but the wine list looked pretty good. I can't choose wine. That is why you need a good waiter. You should be able to say to the waiter that you want to spend this or that amount of money and eat this or that dish and he or she should tell you what to order, not narrow it down to a smaller list. But, ranging from ?10.95 to ?17.95, the wine selection fits in with the food menu's moderate prices.

I'd like to visit the restaurant again, especially when filled with people. We got there early, before 6.30, so we were given an "early diners" discount of 10%. Nice touch.

Total bill for one starter, two mains, a 10% discount, rounded up with a small tip was ?16.00. Not bad, not bad at all.