Paolina Thai Cuisine — Restaurant in London

Having tried Thai food the day before which had completely blew my mind, I genuinely thought my Thai dining experience had peaked and that I wouldn't be able to find something on par. However, this place did wow me by a bit ngl although I still wouldn't say it was better than the other place because they are very different styles - Paolina is a lot more home-cooked and cosy vibe which is great when the weather is getting cold and you want some comfort food to warm you up. This is exactly the place for that!

We had made a booking in advance and were glad we did as it got busy very quickly even though it was a Wednesday evening. We shared some duck spring rolls and satay gai (chicken) for starters which were really nice. The crispy spring rolls were very flavourful and the peanut sauce that came with the satay chicken was so rich and nutty, hit the spot for me perfectly. For mains, I personally went with the duck curry and egg fried rice, others went for massman curry with prawns and also egg fried rice, pad Thai with chicken and pad se-ew with chicken. We all enjoyed our food so much we were really happy with the quality. My duck curry was so rich and flavourful and had a nice kick to it surprisingly - usually Asian places adapt to British palette so even if they put chillies on their menu I didn't think it would taste of much so it was a pleasant surprise. They also gave really big portions for the prices charged so it's definitely good value for money.

Staff were all nice and friendly. I asked one of them if they could lower the air-con as it was really cold when it's chilly outside and she actioned it right away. One of my friends is Muslim so she double-checked if all the meat options were halal which they kindly confirmed both over the phone and on the spot - good to note for people with this dietary requirement.

Overall, this is a really authentic Thai restaurant that I would recommend and would love to...

Food was ok. We weren’t overwhelmed by the multiple dishes we ordered, but it was to a decent standard and came out quite quickly. I don’t drink, but it’s also BYOB with a £3pp corkage.

The service was quite mixed. It was good at first, but then became a little hostile later in our sitting.

A few more people joined us, post paying our initial bill, which I don’t believe the staff were too pleased about. They quickly ordered one main, and two sides of rice, but when it came to paying this bill, the waitress presented us with a cheque for the entire meal (including the first paid for meal) again. I quickly pointed out that we had already paid £110+ of the bill she gave us, and she went to reprint the new bill. However, this bill was also incorrect. Including two dishes that weren’t ordered.

Unfortunately my friend tapped their card when presented with the reader and it was only after this that I point out the extra items on the bill.

We asked if we could be refunded for the extra items we didn’t order or consume and this is where it started to become hostile. The waitress told us that she couldn’t refund the incorrect amount, that she had to refund the entire bill and my friend had to pay again for the correct amount. When questioned how long the refund would take to reflect in their banking account, the waitress said she didn’t know, and there was no other option.

Apprehensive, my friend requested that the refund be given in cash as. There was a lot of back and forth, but eventually a cash refund was given.

We were immediately then told that the restaurant was closed and we must leave, even though there were two other tables still seated and dining. She obviously just...

Paolina Thai Cuisine is a quaint little restaurant with authentic Thai food (staff were speaking Thai and food tasted just like in Thailand!).

We ordered the Mixed Platter for 2, Som Tum (papaya salad), Pad Kee Mau and a Tom Yum with mushrooms. Portions were reasonably sized (especially the noodles!) and the amount of food was perfect for 3 adults (albeit one of the three was a bit more stuffed...). The Pad Kee Mau had the perfect amount of spice and had generously chunky pieces of chicken, carrots, mushrooms and zucchini. We asked for the papaya salad to be less spicy and this request was accommodated for as it was just mildly tingly. The mixed platter had a great variety of appetisers and there was no loose link in the choices provided. My personal favorites were the fish cakes, mini spring rolls and the chicken satay. My parents loved the sesame prawn toast!

Staff here were all super friendly and were attentive when checking up on us and making sure our table was cleared. There is a toilet downstairs and each table comes equipped with a large hook behind to hang coats/bags.

One thing to note is that there are very limited seats available; it's probably worth calling ahead and booking a table. Prices here are reasonably affordable especially considering it is in London and the food is authentic. It can also be quite loud when seated downstairs due to the close proximity between some of the tables. However, this doesn't take away from how delicious the food is and I would totally recommend popping in...