Thai Silk Restaurant and Bar (The O2)

I have been a regular at this restaurant since it opened as I live in Blackheath which is not far. I must say that the service and quality of the food has gone down in my estimation. The quality varies, sometimes it's ok, other times it may be burnt or too heavy on the garlic or something along those lines.

The service is usually average, but can't help but feel that their standing as the only Thai restaurant in the O2 has gone to their head a little. Often they will say that they have no tables in the restaurant (which is upstairs), just to encourage you to buy drinks from their bar or to slow down requests to the kitchen. If they do this, just ask to go to the toilets which are upstairs and they'll find a table for you sharpish!

Don't go there too late on a Saturday evening. The music will be too loud to have a conversation, and they will be more concerned with getting the nightclub downstairs sorted and rushing you through your meal than providing a good service. This happened the last time we went there, and when we wanted to reduce the service charge (for the first time ever out of the dozens of times we have eaten there) that they had added to our bill to reflect this, the waiter argued with us about it for about 15 minutes, after which point the manager came over, argued with us a bit more, and then said very loudly "let them pay what they want - they won't eat here again". This was very disappointing, especially considering that two weeks prior we had spent over £800 on a birthday meal there (after which, even though when we booked they said we could all enter the nightclub for free, on the night made us leave the restaurant, and queue to get back in again - for a fee!!

To sum up - I won't be eating here again on principle alone! It's a shame as it's a lovely venue. Your experience at Thai Silk may be good - but prepare yourself for a bad one - just in case!
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Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6
Friday, August 15, 2008

I was surprised that Thai Silk had any bad reviews at all. I have been there on 3 occassions, and have always been impressed with the food, sevice and price. On 2 occassions, I have been there with my 4 year old son. They have always welcomed us upon entering, and always accomodated to the needs of my son, which I think is very nice. On friday when I visited there, I noticed that they even have a kids menu which is good value for money. My favourite has to be the Lunch Menu which is served 12-5pm, Monday - Friday at only £5.95. I would definately recommend the chicken satay starter and thai green chicken curry with noodles for main course.
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Sunday, July 20, 2008

I wish I had not bothered wasting any time or money in Thai Silk.

The confused (but sweet) man welcoming my three friends & I into the restaurant told us we could have a 'vegetarian version' of any of the options on the (very limited) concert night menu. This consisted of one mixed starter, around 6 or 7 mains and one dessert. We were told by the extremely uninterested waitress that three of the dishes could be made vegetarian.

Nevertheless we requested one mixed starter for meat eaters & the other for vegetarians (each platter serves two people). We also asked for some water. The waitress eventually bought two meat starters, took one away when we advised of the error, and made us wait 10-15 minutes for the second platter. So my meat platter was cold by the time we started it, but nothing particularly special. I chased my water, but none turned up.

The main meals were fine, however we were given a particularly stingy portion of rice for the four of us (less than 2 spoons each). Two meat eaters ordered the thai green chicken curry, one was fine & the other stone cold. I chased up the water again but it still didn't arrive.

The mango sorbet dessert was very artificial tasting, but fine. The waitress asked if everything was okay & i mentioned I had still not received my water - she laughed in acknowledgement but did not make any effort to fetch me any. We did not want to pay the service charge for such an awful experience & the waitress had the cheek to ask us to pay it, pointing to the '12.5% service charge will be added to your bill' note on the menu. We refused & she spoke to her manager, who could clearly not be bothered to come & ask why we had been unhappy.

All in all the service was appalling, the food somewhat-decent (or at least it would be if it all arrived on time & warm). Go to Thai Silk at your peril. I certainly won't be returning.
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Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Thursday, June 05, 2008

I'm really surprised by the good reviews for this place. Having walked down the depressing fake street of eateries at the o2, we settled on Thai Silk and wished we'd gone hungry instead.

The place looks good - the upstairs dining room overlooks the bar, which was unfortunately playing football on a widescreen when we visited - and the staff were polite and attentive. However, the food was below average.

We ordered vegetable tempura and crispy pastry leaves filled with minced chicken and prawn. I can say in all honesty that both were disgusting. My dining companion couldn't tell which vegetables were in the 'tempura', and the batter was not tempura at all - more like what you'd get on a battered sausage. They had obviously been deep fried in the same way as my crispy leaves. Both had come out of freezer bags, but I guess we should have expected that.

Mains were less dire - two chicken stir-fries that were ok, but it's hard to mess up a stir-fry, right?

We had to ask for the starters to be taken off the bill but this was done without any questions. I can only assume that we are spoilt, having eaten at some of London's best Thai places, but we found the whole experience deeply depressing. It might be ok for a quick meal before a gig or exhibition, but I'd walk past it and go to Pizza Express!
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-K-
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6
Thursday, May 22, 2008

Having lived in Bangkok for a bit I can say with (a little) authority that you will not get a better Yum Nur (Beef Salad) in London.

You have to like the heat- its very very spicy but is so juicy, the beef of such good quality, and the sauce... my mouth is watering just typing.

Worth a trip the O2 all by itself. By the way Ive tried the Southwark branch (also nearly as good) and the Oval one (rubbish).

The rest of the menu is good- surprisingly so for a chain so check it out. The service is a bit crap- you have to do a lot of waving to get a waiters attention but once you get that salad all is forgiven.
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Lesley
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 5
Sunday, May 18, 2008

What a great find, we went to see The Eagles and were a bit despairing of finding some good food, then we saw Thai Silk, having eaten in their other place at Southwark we were not disappointed at 02. Great Food, good prices they don't seem to have put their prices up just because they are at 02, we found that many of the other restaurants at 02 seem to have upgraded their prices.

Even though it was a concert night we were not particularly rushed and were able to enjoy our whole experience of going to 02

We will be back to Thai Silk, maybe next time we go it won't be a concert night so we can spend even more time there
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TE - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, April 08, 2008

I have been to Thai Silk at the O2 a few times and I must say it is one of the best places to eat. Tasty food, well prepared. I live locally and this is currently the only venue that I would return to for a meal at the O2. Avoid all the others!
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FAM(Anon)
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Friday, March 14, 2008

Went for the Valentines meal with my partner. Good service, food was filling and atmosphere was good.
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Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 7
Friday, February 15, 2008