Busaba Eathai - Tottenham Court Road

Welcome back,

Hmm, we should stop meeting like this, or maybe I should stop eating like this!

Today I had to pick up a delivery in the Tottenham Court Road area and came across a stylish and well decorated Thai restaurant with a long but fast moving queue. Much to my interest I decided to risk some impulse munchies.

Close to the British Museum, this restaurant is called the Busaba Eathai. Unidentifiable by it's logo but pretend they're not snakes and you can make out the letters.

According to legend (the website) Busaba is a Thai flower and I am sure you have guessed, Eathai is formed from the words 'Eat Thai'. This is because the term 'restaurant' is used a description for a fine dining venue whereas similarly to Wagamama's, Busaba is more relaxed and sociable.

Not to compare it too much to Wagamama's but as you know it well Busaba works in a similar way with their traditional Thai dishes being served as soon as they are ready, or in my case all at the same time (smiley face :) )! The dining area is similar in terms of being seated at benches and sharing tables with other customers. The atmosphere is quite lively and very busy around lunchtimes, yet myself and the others waiting were seated quite quickly.

My only real fussy point is the fact that it is difficult to place your coat anywhere but the floor, yes there is a coat hanger by the entrance with everyone else's coats piled on there. I just don't like to leave it unattended to the hands of an opportunist who might take a liking to my lego toy story alien keyring.

Drinks up, this is a coconut water and fresh raspberry drink (3.30) which was refreshing and tasted delightful. Not the type of drink I would normally have, so for someone who loves milkshakes and succumbs to the power of Coca Cola, breaking the habit was good for a few minutes. But I'll make up for it at Sticky Fingers where milkshakes are a necessity!

Next up was the Thai calamari with ginger and peppercorn (5.90). This is not a starter but a side order to a main meal which arrived at the same time as the rest of my meal. But if you are anything like me, this is a starter and you order the second thing that takes your fancy as the side order, logic at it's best!

From what I've read from other reviews, these calamari are meant to be the best calamari in all of London, so much so the staff even asked the person if there was anything else she would like..."maybe some calamari". They are really really yummy, the best? I'm not to sure, I must say that the Wagamama chilli squid holds a larger amount of space in my stomach. However, credit should be served as these Thai calamari are very light, a pleasing amount, flavoursome with hints of ginger and possibly soy sauce and they were not rubbery or chewy. I will agree that if you visit Busaba the calamari are a must.

Top marks for presentation, with my main meal I ordered some brown rice to go with it (2.10). The presentation impressed me but unfortunately the practicality of it was much to be desired. It became a little messy when trying to spoon the rice out on to my plate. The rice itself has a bit of a bite to it, not much flavour really but I doubt that will make a difference once each grain is drowning in curry sauce. Maybe the jasmine rice would have been a better option.

Another dish that came highly recommended was the green chicken curry with pea corn and aubergine (8.70). This wasn't actually my first choice, I opted for the 'stargazer' monkfish green curry which they did not have to order, I was then contemplating the garlic pepper ostrich but I thought I would pretend the chicken was monkfish instead.

As green currys go, it was full of flavour, the lemongrass and coconut flavours really came through. There was quite a kick to it spice wise, it contained both red and green chilli slices. As for the peas there was only one (see the bottom of the picture), perhaps a smaller pea in a greater quantity would have been much better. There was a decent amount of chicken and an abundance of sauce. I will say that too much sauce is a bit of a waste, due to the fact you spoon the food from the bowls to your plate, you scoop up all the chicken and chilli but find yourself getting repetitive strain injury from trying to pile on the sauce. Therefore a fair amount is left behind once the rice has been devoured.

The Verdict:

Overall a very enjoyable meal, the calamari is a definite must have and the curry is enjoyable however I think if I do return I will have to try something I think I will enjoy more such as the pad thai noodles (which I doubt will beat ewok in St. Margaret's (near Richmond upon Thames).

The atmosphere is great, very busy, friendly staff and fast service. The service was so fast that the bill was handed to me before I even finished the sentence "can I have the.....oh thank you"!

So for the calamari, coconut and raspberry flavoured water and green curry the bill came to exactly 20.00. Worth it? Not for 20 pounds, maybe if I had something different which really wowed me, the curry was not anything different from what I have had elsewhere. An enjoyable night you will have, but I must say for a few quid less, Wagamamas fits the bill perfectly (excuse the pun)!

Being very busy, I'm sure there is a dish there that screams for a repeat visit so if you find it let me know!

5/10