Ekachai

If you like Thai, this is the place to go - good menu range and although the service is swift and efficient rather than friendly and caring, this attitude is ideal for a quick, but polite meal with great food at a good price for a london venue.

My favourite lunchtime thai!
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Gabs
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Monday, December 17, 2007

I have been coming here for the last six months for lunch and its fantastic. Its quick, the food is good and great value. Its a "what it says on the packet" type of place. Not for romantics and not for long business lunches or diners.

As for the staff ... They are fine...agreed not super friendly but just there to take your order and then bring the food.... I suppose that's why a service charge is not added to your bill !!!!
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Ash Chikhlia
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Thursday, August 23, 2007

I was there on a Friday night. As other people have pointed out, you can't decide on where to sit. I asked to be sit at a more civilised table at the back, but I was told with an accent I couldn't quite make out and my friend had to translate for me: "reserved! reserved!". I was there for until closure and no one came to sit at the "reserved" table. So waitresses are liars on top of being extremely rude.

Then I sat down and wanted to catch up with my friend who I hadn't seen for a while but kept being interrupted by the extremely pushy waitresses who came about 5 times in 10 minutes to ask us if we were ready to order!

Food arrived within 3 minutes (it was a Friday night, not a rushed lunch hour). It was... ok. Rice was overcooked and the lettuce looked like the one you can get for about 25p in Tesco! Meat was good though.

The dessert was the only very good thing about the dinner. The beer was warm. With the dessert also came a glass of lukewarm tap water.

We left no tip.
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Marco
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 4
Sunday, August 19, 2007

This is a good place to go for a quick lunch near Liverpool Street station. It's better than a Wagamama - the food is about the same quality but a lot less salty and you get seated and served much faster. The previous reviewer is right about the seating arrangements, the staff are very particular about where you sit even when the restaurant is nearly empty. The music is really awful too, probably fine for the lunch time rush but not great for a more relaxed after-work meal.
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Jedi - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 4
Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Went here for a spot of lunch and thought it was really good, so was suprised by all the negativity.

Just remember when you go that it is fast food at the end of the day. Yes you sit where you're put and yes it is a bit of a bark orders place. But the food was of good quality and was very reasonable compared to other similar venues.

I'd go back.
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Matt
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Thursday, August 02, 2007

I went here last night with a friend and we ordered some wine and sat chatting for a while. We ordered our food after a bit, and it turned up less than 5 minutes later. I'd ordered green chicken curry - the chicken was bright pink and there was orange oil swimming on the top. My friend had chicken with cashews and the sauce was cold. The salad on our plates was grotty - brownish tomatoes and nasty looking lettuce.

When I asked the waitress why the chicken was so pink she said it's because it's a mixture of thigh and breast, and that it was definitely cooked because they have it cooking it big pots all day (I guess this is why it was so quick to come out). This wasn't good enough for me or my friend and we decided that rather than risking our stomachs with pink chicken, we would simply pay for our wine and leave. The waitress went off and mentioned this to who looked like the manager. He nodded his head and we got our bill - no fuss whatsoever - perhaps they are used to it??
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Nicky
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6
Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Had a really nice lunch here yesterday. It's one of those fast food-style Oriental places - me and my friend were in and out within half an hour. There isn't much hanging around. You are given a menu, and 2-3 mins later are asked for your choice. It arrives within another 2-3 mins. Once you're done, plates are whipped away quickly and there's little fussing over the bill.

So this isn't a place for a romantic date, but it's fine for what it is. Most people there are on their lunch break and are happy to get in and out speedily - slow service would only irritate them. Time is money in the City, it appears. None of the quick service was rude or abrupt, as some people have reported below. We had no problems being seated either.

More to the point, the food is pretty good too - decent sized portions for £7-8. My nasi goreng could have done with a few more prawns and a bit more squid, but otherwise I had no complaints. Will be returning.
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Pete
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, May 30, 2007

food's fantasticbut service's really poor.I'm not a person who need a drink with noodle soup,but whenever I come here, I feel pressures from waiterless to order drink or not. it made me really uncomfortable. so I'm still thinking going or not any more.
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Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 7
Sunday, March 25, 2007

Here's a warning about Ekachai's seating policy. If there's only two of you dining:

- you cannot occupy the 4-seater tables even though there are plenty available;

- you will have to share a 10-seater, massive square table with other diners; and

- you cannot choose which two seats you would prefer to occupy along the bench at the massive table ("No! Sit HERE and HERE" says the rude waitress when my sister and I didn't know better).

This massive square table is so uninviting and is arranged like a fortress. It is tightly surrounded by 4 massive, heavy wooden benches with no room to allow your legs to go under the table so that you can slide along the bench to sit down. The benches are so heavy that you can't even move them, and even if you wanted to, other diners are already seated on them and it wouldn't be too nice to move the bench while they're eating their food. There's no lady-like way of trying to sit on the bench but to lift one leg up and over the bench, followed by the other leg.

I do not mind sharing a table with other diners, but to be forced to sit at a table when there are so many other free tables around (and getting told off by the waitress for suggesting to sit at those free tables) is just really unpleasant.

I agree that the food is great, but this place can be so much better if diners were allowed to sit where they like, just like any other restaurants.
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Catherine
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 5
Thursday, March 08, 2007

This restaurant is fantastic - a favour for me and my friends. I've been going there for about 4 years now and have never had any reason for complaint. The duck salad is to die for!

The food is delicious, service is quick, and the price is extremely reasonable. What more could you ask for?!
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Aurelia Patel
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Monday, January 29, 2007