Phranakhon — Restaurant in England

We had booked this restaurant for our anniversary weekend away whilst in York. Looking at the reviews and the menu it was clearly a good choice and we were excited to go.

Our booking was at 7pm and we were out for drinks clise by, so we headed over five to ten minutes before. When we arrived there was nobody to greet us as we stood in the door way unsure if we had got the right place.

A waiter came around the corner and proceeded to take our booking details but we were told that our table wasn't ready and we were shown to some chairs to wait. The chairs were rigth next to a couples table, it was so close to them that we thought it rude to be sat there in ear shot of their night so we refused and chose to wait outside.

Eventually we were shown to another table to order drinks and look at the menu until our table could be made ready so we did so, when we were taken upstairs to our table we sat down and there was a large fan in the corner of the room blowing directly in our faces, eyes watering I asked for the fan to be turned off so that when our food came it had a chance to stay warm. I would suggest that an air-conditioning unit may have been a better solution.

Our food stated to arrive, and first to the table was 3 dishes for my wife followed by a fourth that we ordered to share but nothing of my order was ready yet. Given that as a couple when we eat we usually enjoy eating together at the same time, this setup made it awkward so my wife started to eat. A little later the waiter came around with one of my dishes, a single slice of pork belly which was nice but I would have enjoyed it more with the rest of my food that was yet to appear. So I was once again sat waiting and by the time the second and third dish arrived I didn't bother to experice the tapas as you'd expect becasue the service was so disjointed and unorganised.

When it came to dessert we asked for the pineapple frittas and ice cream to which the waiter said that there was a fifteen minute wait due to a large party downstairs. We left it and decided to get the bill.

When we left a waitress was quite upset in the ally whilst talking to another colleague, I don't know if that was due to the issues in the restaurant that night, it would make sense to think so.

Overall the food was nice, We ordered both vegetarian and meat/fish dishes and found them all great in taste. I feel the waiting staff could have been more attentive to guests, we werent checked on or asked if the food was ok. One round of drinks ordered at the start and we weren't asked if we would have liked to order anything else when the food was served or when we asked about deserts.

Good food let down by...

We used to come to this place for many years. We used to think it was one of the most authentic restaurants in York. High quality and very tasty food. Unfortunately this time the culinary experience was the opposite. All prawn dishes had the same taste, which was not a pleasant experience. The glass noodles were saturated in rose water and were inedible. The beef and beans were left untouched as the taste of coriander was so overpowering we could not eat it. The soup tasted like dishwater. The famous crunchy pork tasted of pig and not proper pork. It was very chewy and tasted only of oil.

The dessert was straight forward disgusting. Unfrozen and then refrozen ice cream is a health hazard. Previously much loved by us, the pineapple fritters, tasted vile. The mango sorbet tasted like it was made out of fruit powder.

Unfortunately we will not be returning and I cannot recommend the place at all. 0 stars.

I’m not sure what happened to this once prestigious restaurant, which we would drive 40 miles to...

Fantastic Thai tapas restaurant.

Visited Phranakhon in Leeds previously and was impressed by the choice of dishes and quality of the food.

Decided to visit the York restaurant as a result and it’s even better. Really quirky premises with gorgeous food. So good.

The spice level on this menu is high. I loved it. If you don’t like spice though, watch out. The chilli squid in Particular had a big hit.

The concept is tapas, you order plates to share at the table. Don’t be trying to order separate dishes just for you - they’ll arrive in a random order, you’ll be confused and the people you’re with will think you’re a fool. Embrace the tapas approach, try a bit of everything and enjoy the range.

The belly pork and duck spring rolls are also excellent.

The beer is Chang. Change for the people.

Booking is probably a good idea at the weekend. It’s only a small place so could fill up fast.

The pineapple fritter is good 👀

Definitely coming...