I first visited Patara a couple of years ago in Wimbledon, and another time for the ‘Kitchen Takeover’ event with MasterChef 2018 finalist, Nawamin Pinpathomrat, at Patara Greek St. in Soho, both times of which were very pleasant and memorable experiences. It seems like such a long time ago since pre-Covid times, and the announcement of the reopening of the Patara restaurants in, line with Covid guidelines, was certainly welcome news indeed. This time we paid a visit to their Maddox Street branch in Central London, just a few minutes walk from Oxford Circus.
We started with a couple of cocktails, the Lychee Martini and Patara Passion, both sweet and refreshing aperitifs that also seemed to be a popular choice amongst guests. Their menu is truly extensive and everything looked really tempting – we ordered a selection of dishes to share between us, but even then there were still too many favourites to choose from.
If you, like me, love a bit of variety, I would highly recommend starting with the Patara Platter which includes an assortment of seared scallops in a spicy lime vinaigrette, chicken satay with a warm peanut sauce and pickled vegetables, five-spiced duck spring rolls with an orange-plum sauce dip, spiced fish cakes served with a peanut and cucumber dipping sauce, and steamed prawn & pork dumplings. I do love a good Tom yum soup but decided to go for the Poh tak soup this time, another traditional spicy Thai seafood soup, with prawn, calamari, scallop and seabass. Som tum is usually one of my favourite Thai dishes, a classic Thai salad of green papaya mortar pounded with fresh squeezed lime, dried shrimps, peanuts and cherry tomatoes with a chilli and palm sugar dressing – great when eaten on its own or with a bowl of sticky rice.
I was in the mood for seafood that evening and had my eyes set on their signature Seabass dish, a crisp and lightly battered whole seabass glazed with a sweet-chilli sauce. We also shared a portion of their Pad Thai topped with two juicy and beautifully cooked king prawns. Their menu also caters well for vegetarians, from which we ordered the bok choy, stir-fried with shiitake mushroom and oyster sauce. Last but not least, we finished with the Khaneow mamuang – a fragrant Thai mango with sweet sticky rice which has always been one of my favourite Thai desserts.
Apart from their appetizing a la carte menu, they also have a great-valued lunch menu on offer during weekdays from 12:00 – 4:30pm, where a 2-course menu only costs £13.50 – the perfect place to get your Thai food fix.
- My experience at Patara Maddox Street was complimentary – views and photos are my own.
