Nipa Thai — Restaurant in London

Thai food is one of my favourite cuisines and I have been lucky to have some excellent Thai meals in London. The meal I enjoyed at Nipa Thai is one of the best I have had in a long time.

I had the Ruam Mitr (Thai Starter Selection) to start with and all of the starters were well cooked and delicious. Even the accompanying sauces complimented the starters perfectly. For dessert, I had the Ice Tim Kluay Tod (Fried Banana with Ice Cream). The banana was prepared so well. Crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, just like it should be.

However, the highlight of the meal was definitely the Kaeng Massaman Nuea (Beef Massaman Curry). It was honestly one of the best curries I have had in a long time. The meat and vegetables were cooked perfectly and the sauce was rich and full of flavour. Even the egg fried rice I ordered with it was pretty much faultless.

The service at Nipa Thai was also excellent. The staff made sure I was comfortable and brought a cushion for my back without me asking for one. They were also attentive and responsive without being intrusive and everyone I interacted with was warm but also professional.

The restaurant itself has a calm and relaxing atmosphere where you can enjoy your meal in peace. I recommend sitting at a table near the windows if possible, as you get a nice view of Hyde Park.

The prices at Nipa Thai may seem fairly high, but you definitely get what you pay for in terms of the quality of the food and service. I recommend a visit for a special occasion or just if you want to enjoy...

The venue is pleasant enough but the service is absolutely horrific. Not because the servers aren’t very pleasant - they are, and are clearly doing their best. But the restaurant is hugely understaffed and the kitchen is either too small or incompetent. The food is OK - slightly better than a Busaba or standard Thai place anywhere else in London, and absolutely not worth making an effort for. Don’t waste your time...literally.

I took my mother there for her 80th birthday dinner - having made a note of that on the booking. First we had to wait 15 minutes just for someone to come and seat us. Food orders took another 25 minutes. We arrived at 8:00 pm. The first food arrived at 9:00 pm. The waitress was very sweet and very apologetic but there was absolutely no consideration or care given. Keep in mind that the restaurant was half-empty at this point.

I mentioned to one of the two maitre’d-types that it was meant to be a special dinner as indicated on the reservation and that we’d like to get something extra for my mother (of course we’d pay for it) and we got absolutely nothing - not even an acknowledgment or an excuse. Instead we got slightly-above-average Thai food, fairly Westernised and served at an absolutely glacial pace. Would never go back. They ruined a special event and I’m amazed that any of the reviews below have had a...

My wife booked my 40th birthday celebration here and invited 5 other couples. While the food is excellent, we felt particularly let down by the service and attitude of the staff.

Apparently, when my wife called up in advance to pre-order some starters to cater to individuals who are vegetarian or have allergies, the lady on the phone cut her off and suggested the set menu (no doubt, probably the more expensive option). Although we had reserved a table and confirmed it again, our guests and us were kept waiting for 15-20 minutes before being seated without so much as an apology. When we got around to ordering our drinks and starters, the head waitress was exceedingly pushy and wanted us to order the mains as well - really??? Over the first round of drinks, the staff managed to leave 3 guests' glasses empty and progressively, we found ourselves having to wait longer and longer for follow-up orders.

The icing on the cake (literally) was when I was embarrassing myself with a speech thanking everyone who had come to celebrate with me, the head waitress loudly interrupted twice and asked if her staff could clear the dishes.

Of course, we had no option to show what we really thought of the service with the obligatory service charge already included. A thoroughly good meal and good times marred by some pretty rude and...