Mango Tree (Restaurant)

Top 10 things you need to know about Mango Tree Thai restaurant:

1) You feel like you need a holiday and with Thailand seeming especially appealing as an escape from stress and too-long working hours, you head off to – where else? – Mango Tree restaurant in Belgravia.

2) Smitten by oriental flora, you spot guzmania plants and red hibiscus by the windows and notice how they complement the double-decker buses trundling past on the road outside. Thank goodness you’re on the inside.

3) You travel halfway around the world to sunny Siam and all you hear are gobby Londoners; now, if the tables were not so close together...

4) Friends have blagged and blogged about the seafood on Thai islands and you see what they mean after tucking in to the seafood platter of prawn, scallop, crab tempura and tom yam sauce.

5) It’s tricky picking wine to go with spicy food and, while the house wine covers the starters OK, it won’t work with many of the main courses. Top tip: consider wine by the glass as there are lots of choices; a shame, though, that the Gewürztraminer only comes by the bottle (£32).

6) Mango Tree may have some swanky neighbours - Buckingham Palace across the road - but that doesn’t guarantee sophistication and you might be a tad shocked by the crude heat - or is it just very authentic - of the classic green curry, gaeng kiew wan.

7) The vegetarians of London love Thai food, and Mango Tree is true to form with tempting possibilities for all parts of a meal; though, the aubergine curry could have done more with the vegetable than just bathe slabs of it in a tasty sauce.

8) If this is your first trip to Thailand, you’ll warm to the justly renowned Thai etiquette: staff smile and there is a finesse to the service.

9) When it’s summer in Siam, sang The Pogues, the moon is full of rainbows so best end your meal with a colony of colours from the fruit platter: starfruit, dragon fruit, pineapple and, of course, mango.

10) With lunch specials and pre-theatre weekday menus, there is no need to challenge your credit card in what is a quintessentially posh and expensive part of town....read more