Esarn Kheaw

Yummy authentic esarn food! The laab, sua rong hai and the som tam are all as good here as in Esarn itself! The owner is a quirky character, but I found him to be incredibly friendly and likeable. Downside: inconsistent opening times/days.

Becareful when booking at this restaurant as they don't like it if you complain. I made a booking for 4 people at 8 and when I called to advised them that we were going to be 5 they told me I had to go at 8.30 instead. I complained as I thought that is poor service and after discussing with them they told me they didn't want to take my booking and hung the phone on me as they said I was going to go and complaint there again. Terrible never ever going back and it was my favourite Thai restaurant.

I can honestly say the Esarn Kheaw served the most disgusting food ever put on a table in front of me. I have eaten at this restaurant once or twice a year, since 1995. It has deteriorated dramatically recently. The interior is dirty, drab and dank and on entering I immediately noticed a less than fresh air about the room. Had I not been needing a pre-performance bite at the nearby BushHall, I would have turned and left - MASSIVE MISTAKE! I asked for the restaurant special, with its chicken in 'fresh dill' and the grinning waiter bought a bowl of something murky-brown black in colour. I ventured to smell the substance and my nose was greeted by what I can only describe (being a London dog-walker) as fresh poo . I cannot tell you how horrifying the experience was other than to relate it. We downed our drinks, paid the bill and left hurriedly. I shall not go again until it is either gutted or demolished!

The man who owns this place is incredibly rude. He kept harassing us throughout the meal to get us to hurry up. Nice food though but I will not go back

UNbelievably terrible service. The man who runs this place is the rudest person I have ever seen work in hospitatliy. I called the restuarnt to check their BYO policy because ti is not listed onthe website.They told me I could bring wine and even said there was off licens near by - we were greeted by the owner who simply yelled at us 'if yu open that it costs £10.50'. He then told me that it was the waitress fault for not telling me on the phone. He said he heard her not tell me. But it is a rule and it will cost £10.50 to open. We had bought acheap bottle fromTesco and were going to agig afterwards so did not want to take it withus but they would not budge on the ridiculous corkage charge. The manage sent the waitress ovr to apologise but she coul not offer us any compromise on the corkage. Service was quite slow generally and they also put 15% service on the bill! I must say that the Tom Yum soup was a nice flavour but it was £8.50 and mostly mushrooms. The owner manager needs to take a look at his customer serviceand alsothe way he treats his staff. Truly appalling.

My father lives in Thailand, so I spend around 8 weeks a year over there. I have eaten in Thai restaurants all over London, and this is still one of the best! The last time I was there it was 2008 and not a thing has changed, Still the same shabby interior and the same eccentric staff. Browsing through the other reviews, I can appreciate how some people may find the service to be rude or distasteful, but in reality it is absolutely fine, They are very knowledgeable off the menu and happy to recommend dishes. Apart from the young waiter, they are not overly talkative, they are attentive with drinks and religiously check back on the food with each course. Unless you are a ridiculous prude, with no sense of humor or foreign culture then you will have no problems at all, and if you are then get over it. Its best damn Thai food in the city (Thai 101 Kings Street a close second) .

All the reviews on this website are personal attacks on the staff. The waiters are not rude, it's just that some customers are not used to other cultures and take offence quickly. I found the man who served me to be funny in a strange way, but this adds authenticity to the meal, if you want a fake smile go and eat in macdonalds THE FOOD IS GREAT! try it, and if you are a shy xenophobe then try the takeaway

My boyfriend and I had a fab time at Esarn Kheaw last night! We had a 6pm booking, which was the start of the dinner service and the restaurant filled up very quickly generating a healthy, atmospheric buzz. The chap serving us (who I think may have been the owner) was such a joy - enthusiastic about the food, extremely informative, attentive and gave off an air of positivity which made us settle right in to our surroundings. To start, we shared the Thai Sausages and Spring Rolls - absolutely delicious. I've never tasted Thai Sausages before, but they were healthy in size, (probably not so healthy in content!) and we were given a very decent portion size too. Delicious! The spring rolls were good too, bite-sized and didn't hang around for long! My main was my favourite though - Pad Thai Kai. In the past when I've ordered Chicken Pad Thai elsewhere, it's usually been overloaded with egg and not so much chicken, but the dish at Esarn Kheaw was the opposite - full of chicken and bursting out with flavour and colour! No pale looking, flavourless noodles around here! Writing about it now is literally making my mouth water, it was that good. For dessert I had the mango sorbet, which was a great ending to a great night and great meal. Light on the stomach, but juicy on the palate! Yum Yum YUM! I highly recommend this restaurant and would definitely visit again!

Two words come to mind when i think of this restaurant... Shi (with a T) and HOLE! The staff are rude, if you're gay, they will look at you and give you smug and disgusted looks as if they have spat in your food. Also, they gave us a bill... NOT stating what we ate and the prices so we could add it all up, BUT a very sneaky bill that just had the lump sum at the bottom. When I asked for an itemised bill, I got THE most disgusting attitude. Then to top it off, the old crusty waiter short-changed me as if to say that I owed him a tip! How disgusting? I have never left a place still hungry after paying over £30 for just two people. Tiny portions, overpriced hell!

Nice food, especially if you are Thai and need real Thai food. It does what it says. I didnt find the owner rude, but his humour is obtuse, and his daughter (the girl) is lovely. His son however is annoying and has verbal diarrhoea. Do not encourage him in any way. We will go back, as we need real Thai food and this is the best there is