Friday Night at Koh Thai Tapas

Last Friday some of the core, pun intended, Jolates crew had planned an after class visit to Koh Thai Tapas. Situated on the Triangle and previously occupied by a Zizzi's, Koh is a mini chain of 5 restaurants based around the South/South West.  Glad to get out of the cold we were greeted by a rush of warm air mixed with the scent of spices, Koh was pretty busy and so I was glad that we had booked a table.  Drinks ordered we settled into the long decision making process of what to eat.  The menu is clearly labeled for vegetarians and also for gluten free so it is easy to see what options are available to you if you have certain requirements.

Service was friendly even though we had to slightly strain our ears to hear them above the busy tables and music, in the end we decided to go for their group option of spending £20 each and getting a selection of starters and mains to share between the 6 of us. This is a great option for groups because it can be a total surprise but the staff will also ask what you like and what you don't and what spice level you can handle. The other thing to note is that some of the dishes are from all over Asia but with a Thai twist, like the 'dim sum', read siu mai dumplings but with coriander and a hot chili dressing over them. 

crispy beef

spring rolls

vegetable tempura

We were brought about 7-8 starters to dig through the portions were pretty generous, they make a point of having enough on each starter plate so everyone gets to taste which is good because a lot of places do set sized portions. I have to say I was really impressed, fresh flavours, everything was really well cooked and tasted great, definitely better than a lot of Thai food I have had in Bristol.  The mains were just as good, particularly the lamb massamann curry, slow cooked and fragrant with plenty of star anise it melted in the mouth and the tamarind duck was perfectly cooked, zingy and I could have eaten more. 

vegetable rice

chicken pad Thai

They are obviously proud of the food they serve, making a point of telling tables how their chefs are Thai and the food unless you specify will come out pretty hot. Rich and I are looking forward to our next visit to the Bristol branch.  I went to the Bath one last night with my parents and the service was even better, really intuitive and friendly staff who gave great customer service, plus the Summer Daze cocktail, if you like gin, is a winner.  I can't believe how impressed I was, we weren't sure what to expect from this restaurant but was pleasantly surprised.  So if your interested is piqued I would give Koh Thai Tapas a go you can find more about them on their website.