Camile Thai

First impressions were good. Camile Thai has that trendy neighbourhood-restaurant-by-numbers look down pat (concrete floors, bare bulbs, chipboard tables). Full-of-smiles staff were breezy and accommodating. Prices were reasonable. Then the food arrived.

A couple of dishes weren’t bad: specifically, a small kale and pumpkin seed salad. Camile Thai makes a lot of noise about its ‘healthy choices’, complete with calorie counts on its menu. Also passable: the signature beef salad, which though chewy, and with slightly limp herbs, was at least generously portioned and adequately dressed.

Everything else was dismal. Sauces for no less than three different curries were soupy and samey; that is, thin and mono-note. Other dishes had been bulked out with cheaper ingredients (cabbage, onions), or with extra liquid. Spring rolls were mostly pastry, with scant fillings. An order of pad Thai arrived as a single, stodgy clump. Seasonal vegetables were soft and watery.

Service was lovely. Pop in for a lemonade and a smile. Then go somewhere else to eat.