What's the draw
You've munched Som Saa's crispy fried sea bass and you've done your best Lady and the Tramp impression with Kiln's clay pot baked glass noodles; you might think you've got this celebrated East Asian cuisine all, erm, Thai'd up. But Greyhound Café brings something new to the table with a menu inspired by the street food of Bangkok. The self-appointed 'lifestyle café' in Fitzrovia feels less hipster than Som Saa and less intimate than Kiln – we say grab a bunch of mates, pile around a table and get ready to tuck in.
What to drink
In the spirit of the informal and unpretentious meal that was bound to be heavy on the spice, we went for a refreshing Chang beer before moving on to the bizarre-sounding Bubble Plum Plum cocktail. The non-alcoholic concoction of Chinese plum ice cubes, served with honey and lime and topped up with Sprite was sweet, salty and sour – and undeniably moreish.
What to eat
Food here is hearty and portions are generous. While you wait for your feast, whet your appetite for what's to come with the khao tung, puffed rice crackers (a bit like Snack A Jacks, but much, much better) with three dips inspired by different areas of Thailand: beef massaman, pork prik ong and mushroom larb. If you're really hungry – and only if – we'd recommend the enormous hot oil pork knuckle, a German-style golden fried pork knuckle, with all the juicy meat and crispy skin you could dream of, and served with a spicy tamarind curry paste, jaew sauce and basket of sticky rice for soaking up all those moreish sauces. Veggie? The mushroom holy basil chilli bomb is a mouth-blowing one-pot dish inspired by a Bangkok classic, topped with a perfect, crispy-edged fried egg with a golden yolk that satisfyingly oozes all over the dish at the gentlest prod. Yum. Keep things light(er) with a scoop of the young coconut sherbert to finish. Job completely and utterly done.
Mains from £13; beers around £4.50. 37 Berners St, W1T 3LZ; greyhoundcafe.uk
