Mai Thai

This review appears in the The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2009 – in the shops now or buy online.

Note: this restaurant relocated in summer 2009. The following review was of the restaurant in its previous location on the ground floor of the Tun, Holyrood Road: Decent cocktails, friendly young staff, chunky seats and décor mixing carved wood features with minimalist white and grey gives Mai Thai the feel of an unpretentiously stylish bar. Indeed, the adjacent bar – semi-open plan to the dining area – helps create a bit of background buzz on quieter evenings in the restaurant. Fortunately, while the atmosphere may be modern and western, the food can claim some genuinely Thai elements a notch above the bastardised versions served up elsewhere. Braised beef and potato might not sound like much but Rendang is a delightful dry curry, the simple ingredients lifted by complex and delicate spicing. Likewise, moist sea bass steamed with ginger and soy is impressive for its harmonious blending of a few primary flavours. Starters, unfortunately, don't quite do justice to the quality of what follows. Savoury prawn and pork dim sum parcels are pleasant rather than exciting while the clean-tasting mix of chilled duck, mint and cucumber is another rewarding combination but undermined by its bland wrap of damp rice paper.

• High point: Individually brilliant dishes
• Low point: Full potential not currently being met