Restaurant Galanga — Restaurant in La Rochelle

We found Galanga on a late October Wednesday, and after checking out a few nearby French places that didn't really inspire us (we were just a bit bistro'd" out at this stage of the holiday) we saw it on Google maps and suddenly felt like yes, we needed to mix up the cuisines we'd been eating!

We were eating quite early by La Rochelle standards it seems (around 7pm) and were seated easily without reservation, with only a couple of other tables there, but by the time we left, it was full, with people waiting, and countless deliveries flying out the door. So clearly, a popular choice!

They have a la carte or, in the style of French food, a set menu which actually had really decent options on it - not just one or two to choose from by 5 or 6 which is brilliant. That also means you get your own plates rather than sharing which is what I'm used to at a Thai place.

The waitress was very friendly and spoke English, but it was just her and another server, which was OK when it wasn't full but the the end of the meal I felt sorry for her as she was doing everything, and doing it really well I should add! Juggling all the tables and orders, whilst the other server brought the meals, and did all the drinks.

The had a great cocktail menu of which we ordered a couple, and they were absolutely delicious, especially the mojito with the smouldering rosemary! I did feel a but sorry for the server doing the drinks though as it was justnhim, and he was also the guy bringing the food to customers, so juggling that with custom cocktails which take time was no easy thing.

For starters we had the crispy spring rolls, chicken satay, and beef salad. All yum, fresh, the satay sauce was especially nice, and the beef salad could've been a better balance of sweet and savoury but that's personal preference. It wasn't bad by any means, still ate it all!

For mains, two of us had Pad Thai and the other a green curry and it was all very solid. Nothing to complain about, it was standard Thai restaurant fare.

For dessert, the creme brulee had the classic tap of sugar (not all we ate in France has that!) but I really loved the mango coconut rice. It was packed with flavour and just as good ones I've had in Thailand.

I wouldn't say this was a blow your mind with flavour Thai experience, but it was perfectly decent and sometimes that is all you need. I'd absolutely...

An absolute disaster. We visited as a family for a birthday celebration dinner for four people but unfortunately the overall experience was awful.

We arrived and ordered our starters and main course. The starters arrive two of which we had ordered and two which we had not. Without any apology the incorrect starters were whisked away and we had to wait for another 10 minutes for the correct order to arrive by which time the first starters were cold…..

We then waited for our main courses to arrive but when they did they arrived without the various rice accompaniments we had ordered. This was pointed out to the waitress but we then waited over 10 minutes for the rice to arrive by which time (again) the main courses were cold.

After the main course we were asked if we would like to order dessert to which we replied “yes please”. After waiting another 15 minutes we had to ask the waitress to give us the dessert menu. After waiting ANOTHER 15 minutes and with no sign of the waitress taking our order (the restaurant was now only 20% full so no excuse of being busy) we just gave up and left without any dessert.

When the unacceptable service was pointed out when paying the bill it was met with a shrug and a reply of “we were very busy”.

I have never encountered such a poor level of service and lack of interest in the past 10 years. The message is – if you can’t handle so many tables then DON”T HAVE THEM. I would avoid...

C’est très simple : c’est un peu devenu mon QG en quelque sorte : je n’ai rien à dire tellement c’est bon et que tout le personnel est bien. (Mise à jour :) Bon, à la demande d’amis, je développe. Le goût riche et complexe du Royaume de Siam par de vrais cuisiniers Thaïs et des très bons. En outre, ils proviennent de différentes régions et vous avez donc accès à un large panel d’une des rares cuisines capables de détrôner la cuisine Française. Après, c’est bien sûr une histoire de goûts mais on est obligés d’admettre que, dans un registre un peu + goûteux ou « relevé » (je n’ai pas dit « trop épicé »), ils assurent. Je suppose que cela est dû à leur position géographique et pas seulement historique car ils sont le carrefour central de la Grande Asie et ont su bénéficier de plusieurs influences qu’ils arrivent à magnifier dans votre assiette. Le Team serveurs est excellent et celui des cuisiniers est parfait. Note : 20/20 sans aucune hésitation. J’espère que le patron saura les garder pour le + grand bonheur des clients et dans son propre intérêt (logique). Et si vraiment vous ne savez pas quoi choisir, pensez à essayer la suggestion du jour (plats qui ne sont que provisoirement disponibles). Même moi qui ai plutôt mes « plats repères », j’en suis encore bouche bée de satisfaction orgasmique. Si après cela, vous n’appréciez pas cette cuisine divine, je suis désolé mais je crois qu’il n’y a plus rien à...