Siam Smile — Restaurant in Cheltenham

Family of 4 staying in Cheltenham zig-zagging The Cotswolds for 3 nights looking for an Asian fare. On May Bank Holiday (May 31) arrived at 5:45 pm without reservations and very cordially invited in despite opening time shown as 6:00 p.m. Interior was immaculate, fastidiously clean and safe. Bright plain white, wrinkle-free table cloth quickly revealed the level of attention paid to making sure this place is far more premium than the menu prices suggest. Front of house was manned by a one-man show, in a well-pressed black polo tee neatly tucked into an equally well-pressed tailored black trousers - if this was the international ice-skating tournament he'd have scored 10/10. His mannerisms - calm, calculated and yet casual soon disarmed our caveat tourists guard; casual, respectful, no fuss, quick, efficient and friendly to boot. We used the washrooms a flight of stairs down and was impressed with the decor and amenities - smelt as good as the reckoning of a spring day outside, fresh and meticulously clean. The food - we ordered the pad thai, green curry, chargrilled beef spicy salad, seafood tom yum soup and the Siam Smile special fried rice. We asked for plain water to quench the thirst brought on by miles of Roman Saxon villages. The tap water was pleasantly served in a cloud-free glass pitcher jug (none of those bottles that never gets a brushing out so you get an extra sampling of algae when you only wanted water). Simply put, if you were sobering up from an acid trip out of a club down the area you won't be hallucinating as if you're eating in Thailand - it is as good as what you'd get in the Land of Smiles. Ample fresh ingredients, skillfully balanced taste and dignified dinnerware - the whole shebang for a satisfying and proper Thai meal. Finally when it was time to ring up the till, the evening ended up with a lot more smiles - as the prices were more than reasonable for the level of quality, service...

Pros Very authentic Thai food that is rarely seen outside of Thailand and with similar tastes Great depth of flavor (close to what you would get in Thailand) Clear and refined menu without having to spend forever choosing what you want to eat Warm welcome from staff who looked after us tremendously, and took time to chit chat with us and check up on our meal Inviting atmosphere and decor without being over the top Value for money (really well priced considering how much food we ordered)

Cons None

Bottom line Best Thai restaurant in Cheltenham, possibly in the Cotswolds. If you like this cuisine then look no further than here, you will not be...

I love Siam Smile - I have eaten at a lot of Thai restaurants around the U.K. on business travel and nothing compares to this place! Best spicy beef salad, coconut rice and spring rolls! Everyone is so nice here as well. I went to Bangkok for work and nothing compared to this place which you’d think you’d find better in Thailand but they really are the best here. I’d even ask for cooking lessons if I had to move away from Cheltenham so I could try to...