ZappZaa, Thai Cafe — Restaurant in London

I want to be kind and supportive to local restaurants and fair with any review, especially as I’m local. I tried this place in passing as it had positive reviews. When I went it was pretty empty aside from two other dinners and a large group of people sitting at a table not eating - which was fine I suppose but a bit odd. The room is ok but the tables and menus felt a little sticky on arrival - which starts to bring into question general cleanliness. There was a wide selection of dishes. The waitress was polite and attentive - and did her best to serve us well. However, stopping to eat her own meal at a table whilst serving - is of course no big deal but just doesn’t give a great impression. We ordered tofu with tamarind - a tofu soup - papaya salad - grilled sea bass. The dishes were underwhelming. Tamarind was watery - tofu nice and crispy but only four peices. The soup was missing the tofu and watery with over cooked veg - very poor and they tried to charge for it but took it off when we protested. The salad lacked zing, any real freshness, and good amounts of herbs and nuts. The fish was nice and crispy but in a sauce that needed a bit more finesse. Nothing was dire but nothing seemed to match the high praise we had read in other reviews. The dishes arrived a little slow. This place does have potential and maybe we were there on an off night. But it does need a lot more attention to detail for me to even consider going back - the atmosphere in the room needs more thought - tidy up the room so it is more spick and span (items not left lying around) - adding touches to the dishes to make them more authentic - like Thai herbs etc. Have some nice Thai music on rather than a radio in the background. I provide this feedback to help you improve and be successful. I wish your...

Myself and partner who are Crouch End locals decided based on the positive reviews to eat at ZappZaa.

On entering the restaurant there was a smell of sewage. I am not sure if there was a drain issue but it smelt the same in the toilet too. Anyway we sat down and were both made to feel very welcomed. The restaurant itself is very nice and clean and the waiter was lovely!

For starters we ordered Veg spring rolls to share. Also we both had the strawberry and Lemonade mocktails. The drinks were delicious, however not enough in the glass unfortunately. It was mostly ice which was a real shame. The spring rolls were very nice, but they just looked like the ones you can get from Iceland. I am not sure if these are made from scratch or bought frozen. I can't be sure, but they were nice and the chilli dip was nice too.

I ordered the Veg Pad Thai. The dish came out and it looked very nice. It was actually nice, but I could taste an oil from it that was a little off putting. My partner had the Crispy Pork belly and spring green. She was very dissapointed as the pork was very fatty and not crispy at all. She had to leave half of her food and had to have food once we got home.

The final thing I would say is the restaurant is lacking the ambiance. We had to sit through a collection of 80's ballad rock tunes which seemed at odds with being in a Thai restaurant.

For me the number one Thai in Crouch End...

Where do I start?! I walked in and the gentleman who welcomed us said "we don't sell alcohol!" Never seen that in a Taï restaurant. But I realised that the staff and management changed! I stayed anyway not wanted to 'judge a book by its cover' ! The staff were dressed in everyday clothes (winter jackets, scarf) it was freezing inside! I asked to raised the temperature of the heater next to us but it wasn't possible for H&S. No pork left at the beginning of the shift! Strange! I asked about their duck dishes, the waiter told me not take the Tamarin duck because I wouldn't like it! How do you know what I would like, you don't know me! Ordered Pad Thai noodles with prawns. Prans were barely cooked. The elderly man who served us and was going in and out with the same clothes he served us with just sight when I told him! A young lady was doing some time of spring rolls without gloves and touching the chair when she was getting up! The duck didn't taste anything like duck and was bland. The spare ribs(beef) were tasty! No pork and no alcohol in a Thai restaurant! What can I say! Waste of money. Definitely won't...