Nahm

Thai food is all about getting that sweet-salty-sour-spice thing going and usually once that is understood, the simpler the better. It’s really because most dishes are quite a symphony of flavors to handle in the first place, so the preparation is quick and unfussy. Thai street food, for instance, is unbelievably delicious and I would prefer to have a food stall Som Tam over most meals any day. But David Thompson is some sort of genius and manages to take Thai food to such an extremely high level, and all with his style still shining through. I have his cookbook and have done some of his recipes, and you can really see and taste such a flair and deep understanding that he possesses of the cuisine.

His restaurant is tucked into a quiet little hotel in Belgravia, and you would really have to seek it out in order to find it. They don’t really have a website and the room itself is extremely understated and minimal. But for me, it makes the food really sparkle as it is all there is to notice. It is apparently the only Michelin starred Thai Restaurant, but you would never notice that by being inside of it, only after you have finished your dinner.

The menu is very complex and extremely interesting. The complicated combinations all manage to hold each other up and it works very well for something so intense. The salads are particularly good. We had two types, one called a “Yam Pak” salad, which were a variety of julienned raw vegetables with lots of tamarind, Thai basil, and sugar. It sounds strange and you would think the tamarind would overwhelm such delicate flavors, but it was perfectly balanced and full of texture. One of my favorite dishes from Thailand is the banana blossom salad, and it is very hard to find in England, even in Asian food markets. But they served it here with grilled prawn and it was really outstanding. Its funny, too, as I was raving about good it was but that there really lacked the right amount of heat, and then I noticed a very Asian style bowl of finely chopped green chilis swimming in fish sauce. I was very excited! It was actually quite smart of him to do this, as you cant give the English to much spice. And very food stall-like as well, which I thought was rather charming. I like the way they serve all the food here as well; everything is to share so it doesn’t go straight to your plate but in the middle of the table. Then the waitress comes around with complimentary rice and gives you a scoop. Nice authentic touch.

Next we ordered a red curry of scallops. There was a depth and richness to the dish that was very pleasing, and surprisingly did not manage to swallow the scallop’s delicate flavors. The sauce was a puree and had a creamy soup like texture. It worked really well with softness of the scallop.

There is a very interesting little section on the menu for relishes. These are really big in northern Thailand and usually served with sliced raw vegetables and herbs to eat it with. We ordered a minced pork with trout relish which sounded incredibly odd but intriguing. It was really very good in fact, and I loved how it was served so traditionally, with thin slices of green papaya, Thai basil, mint, and various other slices of raw vegetables. I loved how the green papaya cut through the dark sticky relish and made it come alive on your tongue. It is a traditional combo, mind you, but rarely seen outside the gates of Chiang Mai.

The wine selection here is excellent, as is the sommelier. Lots of focus on gewürztraminer and Alsacian wines as they balance out the spiciness but are complex, delicate, yet full flavored like the food.

This is a lovely place, and its subdued casual quality makes it rather intimate and chill. I look forward to going back and trying more. It is a spectacular style that David Thompson has developed, almost an art form. And it is also really cool to eat such high level Thai cooking as it is rarely done. A gem of a restaurant indeed.