Lucky Khao — Restaurant in England

Our experience started off on a strange note. When we called to let the restaurant know we might be running a few minutes late, the staff asked if we could arrive earlier instead, as we were the only ones booked for the night. I feel that they were trying to make us feel guilty about it, which was off-putting, especially since our reservation was for 7:30 pm. When we arrived, we were the only ones there, besides one other couple. It was a pretty dead ambience.

The interior was nothing special, just basic decor that didn’t add much to the atmosphere. We were eager to try the sea bass and pork krapao, both of which sounded great—especially the sea bass. Unfortunately, we were told they didn’t have the sea bass available. After considering the other pork dishes, we opted for a khmer curry instead, not wanting two pork dishes. Only after placing our order did we learn that they only had minced beef for the krapao, which was disappointing. The khmer curry was good, but the beef krapao was a complete waste—nothing like what we expected from the dish. It also doesn’t make sense to have beef in pad krapow. So overall, even though we were the only ones there, they didn’t have two of the items we wanted on the menu, and there was no offer to compensate for that.

Despite being the only customers, it was surprisingly difficult to get the waitress’s attention at times.

Overall, the experience felt more frustrating than enjoyable, and we left feeling...

I love the food and the atmosphere. This time we were a group of six and ordered most of the menu. Two of the main meals (a curry and a beef noodle dish) were forgotten. They were on the order but the kitchen missed them. The young ones who ordered it assumed it was coming at some point as we’d told them stuff arrives as and when. When the table was being cleared it became obvious it wasn’t - so we had to wait for those dishes to be made and brought over when the rest of us had finished eating. As recompense, I was offered ‘some free rice’. No thanks, as incredibly generous as a bowl of free rice is, I’d rather a proper acknowledgment of the mistake by the manager on duty (it wasn’t our servers fault really, she was lovely, and the food was on the ticket, so the order made it to the kitchen). As it was, no words from the manager, and no offering the dishes that were never brought out on the house (that is what would have happened in a pro run establishment). This isn’t about the money - not looking for free things (we ordered most of the menu) this is about acknowledging a mistake, actually apologising for it and showing some remorse on the bill. Will come back, the food and atmosphere are great, serving staff are good, just needs to be run properly by more...

The design of the restaurant is great; neon lights, marble furnishings and plants hanging overhead compliment eachother bringing a stylish aesthetic to the restaurant. The atmosphere was a bit off, I went on a Tuesday night and they were playing dance music pretty loud considering there were at about half capacity. The staff were friendly and seemed knowledgeable, despite the short amount of time the establishment has been open (5 weeks at time of writing), although we did have to wait for a little while to get the bill.

With regards to food, I ordered 1 main dish and 3 dishes to share from different parts of the menu, and I'd have trouble picking a favourite one. The food was great, if I had to pick a favourite I'd particularly recommend the pork curry, but generally food was inventive - non conventional flavours but they all worked really well. Portion sizes were decent as well for what we got, with the curry and noodle dishes being the most generously portioned. I also ordered 3 cocktails, all of which were pretty nice, and not too badly priced (considering Brighton prices).

Overall, I would highly recommend Lucky Khao and I plan on...