Fitou's Thai Restaurant — Restaurant in London

I visited this restaurant with a friend who had highly recommended this venue based on previous visits and commended it across the years as offering authentic Thai food in north west London.

Upon arrival I was greated by someone who I assume is the owner who immediately quipped “your a bit late aren’t you” hardly an inviting welcome however in his defense our party of 3 did arrive at 9pm on a Sunday (I still have never received a less welcoming greeting despite attending venues that are closed or no longer accepting orders)

After the cold and dismissive greeting we were seated at a table which had an exceptional view of the family’s front room. Whilst this area was visible and accessible from the restaurant it is most definitely a private area and what I can only describe as their front room. I drew this conclusion due to the myriad of screaming semi clothed children running about chased by a woman (again assuming) which I believed to be the mother. To complement this exposed living area showcased in not only the dining area but immediately visible from the reception there was various bags of shopping, toys, bottles and water and odd bits/objects that I would best describe as rubbish. Whilst this is not a review/attack on how one keeps their house - I would expect that a restaurant of this stature and longevity would at least install some curtains - not only to have privacy but also to assure diners that you are a welcome guest and not a sore thumb just outside their living room, upon which they are eager for you to leave so they may go about their business uninterrupted - again this is my perception based on the feeling I received upon my visit.

Despite the lackluster welcome and bizarre arrangements, I was looking forward to the food. Having travelled extensively throughout south east Asia and visiting Thailand in excess of 5 times, I have an appreciation for this cuisine. Again given experiences and dining in Thailand it is often the worst looking/least hospitable restaurants that serve the best food. This is why I was more than willing to dismiss the immediate red flags.

Amongst the table we ordered a load of dishes ranging from green curry, red curry, fish and a few starters. The food took a while but that is ok. What was most mortifying and lead to me leaving this review is this - what I can sadly only describe as- an awful/disrespectful excuse for Tom yum soup.

As mentioned previously I was more than open to disregard all other apprehensions in anticipation of amazing authentic food. I simply ordered the most famous Thai dishes - Tom Yum Soup & Thai Green Curry.

I understand that perhaps this may sound spoilt as I have had the experienced authentic Thai food many a time, but what was most surprising and disappointing was the very lackluster Grey soup that was presented to me masquerading as Tom yum. Please see picture;

Due to the poor recipes/“creative licence” adopted by this restaurant and the inhospitable serve techniques, further concreted by the bizarre, somewhat unhygienic and most definitely unprofessional layout of this restaurant, I will...

I was invited to a friend’s birthday dinner at Fitou’s Thai Restaurant, expecting a nice evening of good food and celebration. Instead, we were met with rushed service, rude staff, and complete disregard for customer experience.

From the moment we sat down, the staff pressured us to order immediately, barely giving us time to settle in. When we asked for a few extra minutes, we were rudely told that we only had the table for two hours—something we had never been informed of when booking a week in advance. If we had known, we would have chosen a different restaurant.

As more guests arrived, the pressure only got worse. The waiters pushed us to order quickly, which led to mixed-up meals and ignored dietary preferences. When we tried to clarify the mistakes, the staff refused to fix them and even blamed us for not reading the menu fast enough!

The worst part? The birthday cake. We planned to celebrate properly, but before we could even cut the cake, the manager came over at 8:00 PM, demanding we pack up. We tried to explain, but instead of letting us enjoy the moment, they rushed the cake out—only for it to arrive damaged and misshapen. It was obvious the staff had handled it carelessly in the back, completely ruining something that had been made with love. Seeing the birthday girl in tears was heartbreaking.

By 8:15 PM, the manager was standing over us with the card machine in hand, basically forcing us to pay and leave before our time was even up. The entire experience was stressful, disappointing, and completely unacceptable.

I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone. Terrible service, rude staff, and no respect for their customers....

The food was bland (salty chicken wings, tasteless squid, decent nasi kampung), but the reason for leaving a comment relates to the dreadful service from one of the waiters. The restaurant wasn’t full and I was contemplating ordering a coffee and dessert after our meal. We were engrossed in conversation and having a laugh when one of the waiters marched to our table, put the bill down and shoved the card machine forward toward my face. Mid discussion, we looked up at him in surprise and I pointed out how rude this was. His response was that they were “closing soon”. I responded to state that it was 9.15 and that he was being unnecessarily aggressive by interrupting our discussion and insisting on payment when we hadn’t said we’d finished dining. He sheepishly retreated.

Another two guests arrived shortly after and placed their order, so it was perplexing that we were being hurried in such a manner, particularly when there were many empty tables all around us.

The food was mediocre and not good enough to overlook the awful service/warrant another visit.

It’s such a shame as I’ve been coming here for decades - every Friday night back in the day when it was the number one cafe.

I wont...