Ruanthai

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• What are these?

• Average price 2 courses:
   £6.95 (set lunch)
   £15 (evening meal)
• House wine: £11.45 per bottle

• High point: The char-grilled sirloin steak; divine with creamy coconut rice
• Low point: The décor may be a little over the top for some tastes
• Food served: Mon-Sat noon-10.30pm; Sun 5-10.30pm
• Delivery: Free for orders over £15
• Open since: 2002
• Also offers: Vegetarian options (at least 25% of menu), Childrens portions, Childrens high chairs, Take away

The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 is now in the shops.

This review is from the 2007 edition.

You could argue that Ruanthai does not enjoy a great location - tucked almost as an afterthought down a shady lane off Cockburn Street - but it is as central as you can get, making it especially popular at weekends. Pop in during the week for a more intimate experience . . . well, as intimate as you can get with plastic flowers draped from the ceiling and all sorts of décor oddities such as boxing figurines, dancing dolls and goldfish, both real and plastic, scattered about. But anyone who has been to the mother country will, of course, realise that this makes it a perfectly authentic Thai restaurant. The menu sticks to all the usual favourites, including plump chicken satays that are properly char-grilled, and generous fish-cakes served with a spicy sweet-chilli dip. The red and green curries don't disappoint either, but it is the char-grilled sirloin steak, accompanied by a trio of dipping sauces, that is the real highlight. Strangely, a dessert menu laden with banana dishes can, on occasion, be curtailed by a lack of the said fruit, but few diners bundling back out into the heart of the city complain after an experience with no frills and reasonable culinary thrills.