Lye Torng Thai Restaurant & Bar

I have been to quite a few Thai restaurants in London, just to name a few, Mango Tree in Victoria, Thai Pot in Charing Cross, Thai Pin in Covent Garden, Thai Thai East in Old Street, Chang Mai in Soho, Thai Cafe in Pimlico. I've also been to Thailand and tried some really amazing authentic Thai food. However, I do hold different opinions on this restaurant from those of the previous reviewers' - the food at this place was a disappointment.

We had Thai Fish Cake and Satay Chicken for starters. The fish cake was a little smaller than normal Thai fishcakes(which was OK) and a little too hard(which wasn't OK), not a great texture. Satay Chicken was quite good though but it's also quite hard to screw up Satay Chicken. For mains we shared Chicken Pad Thai Noodles, Beef Green Curry and Crispy Chicken with Basil Leaves and Chillies. The Green Curry was so tasteless, and to be honest I could do better with the Green Curry sauce from Tesco. The beef was overcooked and very very hard. Chicken Pad Thai was OK, I would say maybe less fish sauce, and the noodles were a bit too soft and soggy. The Crispy Chicken with Basil Leaves and Chillies was OK though.

The waitress who served us food was warm and nice and we loved her. But the waitress who brought up the bill was rude. I showed her my TasteLondon card and asked politely if their restaurant happened to be on the list so we could get some discount. She responded in saying "I have never seen this card in my entire life!" and looked at me as in I was trying to not pay the bill or something like that. She turned to my friends and asked "So are you going to pay the bill?" with really bad attitude - what can I say? I certainly wouldn't go back to this place again.

I have to add though the bill was £13 each (including a 15% tip) - which was really really cheap!!! So I would say the value for money is, quite good, if you're not fussy about the quality of food.
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Jingotip - View all reviews by this user
5 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 7
Sunday, December 13, 2009

Went for lunch with couple of friends and we were actually really looking forward to it based on the previous reviews. However, we ended up being disappointed. To start with the interior of the place looks like it has seen better days. Moving on to the food, the starters were OK but things went downhill when the main courses arrived. The Pad Thai noodles were very stodgy and we questioned as to whether they had been freshly cooked. In addition, the Green Curry beef was disappointingly rather tasteless. The Crispy Chicken with chilli sauce was not bad. When it came to paying the bill, my friend politely asked if he could use his Taste London card and got a sarcastic response from the waitress that she had never seen such a card before in her life. It might have been mildly amusing if we had actually enjoyed the food but came across as rather abrupt and unnecessary and a rather tedious end to the meal. We all stayed polite though. It is fair to add that the prices are very reasonable. However, we won't be rushing back.
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4 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 5
Saturday, December 12, 2009

Went here last night having had a look on the web for Thai food in Elephant & Castle and were pleasantly surprised. We shared a couple of starters which were fine and then had green curry and stir-fried scallops. The curry was hot and very tasty (ask for it a little lighter on the chilli if you don't like really hot food) but the scallops were excellent. Washed down with a few beers, it was a great meal. The service, however, was impeccable which resulted in a cheap meal becoming more expensive on account of a well deserved tip!
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9 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Friday, July 31, 2009

Elephant & Castle isn't exactly known for its restaurants so discovering Lye Torng was a real surprise. I've eaten plenty of Thai food in London over the years and this is of a very high standard. The bar area is nice to sit and have a drink in before dinner and the prices seem reasonable to me. The curries and seafood dishes are particularly good. One small complaint is that service can be a little slow at times but that's only a minor niggle!
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8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, February 03, 2009

I live near this restaurant. The bargain lunch menu is served until 5pm. My favourite dish on this menu is the prawn Penang dry curry (not actually dry, quite moist in fact!) On the main menu served all day and evening my favourite is the beef Massaman curry which looks rather dull but is in fact quite delicious, with excellent tender chunks of beef in a superb sauce. Their pad thai is worth travelling for too. I have been coming here for years and would recommend it.
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10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Monday, December 10, 2007