Singburi

The food didn’t live up to the hype of it being booked 3-6 months in advance. The service was good. It was very hot inside as they had heaters running. Almost all the food lacked flavours were used to for Thai food. The egg fried rice, the chicken stir fry and the pork special were the only good dishes. There are better Thai places in London. They only take cash. We paid £90 for 4 people.

We heard about this place, and it didn't sound real, 1-year waiting list, apparently, for a family-run Thai restaurant in Leytonstone. Really? So we called up and tried to book, and the lady said nothing for 6 months but to try our luck and wait outside from 6 pm. We had to see for ourselves. So we turned up on Sunday at 5.30, and it was tipping it down and thought there had to be cancellations; lucky for us, 1 table was free from 6.30. The food - having been to Thailand 4 times and reading the reviews I had high expectations. I can say it just felt like you were in a small family-run food hut on the side of the road in Bangkok; the owner was engaging, funny, warm and welcoming. We tried to order everything on the specials menu - everything was just beautiful, authentic and real Thai flavours. Highly recommend to try, price is super reasonable. Just remember they only take cash! Hope to go back again soon. They also do takeaway, which we'll try, but you have to order the day before. They are not on any of the delivery apps.

I had heard so much about Singburi that I went to great lengths to secure a booking. I think I had booked around 3-4 months in advance - and that with great difficulty. So it was great anticipation that I approached the reservation. I love Thai food having lived in SE Asia for over 35 years and I'm particularly fussy about Thai food - of which there's very little in London. The dishes look very authentic on the menu - and very reasonably priced. A nice contrast to some of central London's overpriced Thai restaurant menus. Perhaps even more intriguing is the location - literally a hole-in-the-wall in a grimy part of London. In the event I found the food to be hit and miss. While the prices are low and many people are attracted by the BYOB policy - in reality some of the dishes are pretty small in portion size. A fruit salad, while interesting, for example, was completely overpriced, whereas a pork dish was probably underpriced. But overall, some of the dishes were a little 'slapdash' in terms of the preparation - cooked without enough care and in something of a rush I felt. They seem to have specific dining times, which meant that everyone turns up at the same time. Rather odd - but that clearly puts pressure on the kitchen. The (classic) green chicken curry for example, was wonderful in that it had exactly the right vegetables in it (which you seldom see in London) but the taste was not as pleasing as other restaurants. In that sense it was disappointing. The same went for the phad Thai. For me, at least, it was a miss, sadly.

We arrived just before 8.30 with the previous sitting just leaving the restaurant. You do not have go into the restaurant to announce yourself. The staff will let you know when it’s time to come in from outside. We were seated quickly . The owner/manager couldn’t have been more charming. She recommended the pineapple and guava salad that turned out to also include peaches apple and blackberries . This had a punchy fiery kick which was unlike any combination I’ve had before. The aged beef curry was full of depth and flavour and wet beautifully with the stir fried cabbage in pork fat. The remainder of the dishes were equally good. This isn’t a place to linger in my opinion . The restaurant is small and noisy. But go for the food. You won’t be disappointed.