Thai Siam

This review appears in the The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 – in the shops now or buy online.

Banquette seating, carefully folded napkins and elevator music suggest that this neighbourhood restaurant is not about to give in to pressures to follow the latest fashions. Instead, there is a quiet confidence derived from the proficiency of its kitchen. Charming waitresses use knowledge of their native cuisine to suggest changes to your order if combinations clash. Ingredients are fresh and the cooking style slightly rustic – each component in a dish plays a supporting role in creating a powerful overall impact. Among salads, a jumble of tiger prawns with cashew nuts and mango appear thrown together, but as the flavours mesh, each item serves its purpose. Tom kha gai soup is revitalising: the coconut milk separates somewhat from the spicy broth to create another layer of concentration, while chopped lemon-grass and chilli provide a rough texture to the soup's silkiness. In the duck and coconut red curry, grapes and pineapples complement the meat and stop the coconut milk from becoming cloying. As often seen in Asian restaurants, a familiar photographic menu displays ice-creams served in fruit shells with adornments. Still, an effort at individuality is made with vanilla ice-cream deep-fried in coconut batter, which is worth trying to satisfy your curiosity.

• High point: Homely Thai cooking
• Low point: Hearing people's conversations – and everyone hearing yours