Ruan Mai

The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 is now in the shops. This review is taken from the 2007 edition.

It is easy to dismiss a restaurant that huddles among a gaggle of pubs and fast food outlets on busy Rose Street, but don't let first impressions put you off. You probably still won't be convinced when you enter, as you're confronted by a thatched roof replete with streamers of plastic flowers, but stick with Ruan Mai and you will be rewarded with affordable and fairly authentic Thai fare. It may never win any awards, but the cooking is honest and the service sealed with a smile. Weekends bring in the pub crowds, so come midweek if you want to enjoy a more intimate dalliance by tea light. In summer, tables spill outside with diners enjoying ridiculously good value set lunches. The tom ka soup is dished out with lashings of coconut milk to dim the chilli glow, while the pad Thai, with a nice mix of moistness and crunch, shapes up well - add the pile of roasted chilli on top if you dare. If the 330ml bottles of Singha don't tempt, sample one of the palate-challenging Thai wines recently added to the otherwise unadventurous wine list.

• High point: Decent cooking at affordable prices in the heart of the city
• Low point: Weekend pub punters piling in to interrupt your meal