Last night was an evening we’ve been looking forward to for a while now. Isarn is an unassuming little place from the outside and many people manage to walk right past it without noticing. Others, looking for a nice eatery on Upper Street tend to be distracted by either Gallipoli, with its dark, opulent Mediterranean look, next door or upmarket Carluccio’s across the road.
This just makes Isarn a hidden gem. The Thai food on offer is well presented, delicious and generously portioned and the décor is certainly not the sort you would find in a normal Thai restaurant, with funky butterfly motif lights and cow skin chairs.
The service is always exemplary and attentive, with a charming welcome and goodbye from the waitresses, and there is never a disapproving eye if you choose tap water instead of vino. In fact the waitresses go above and beyond the call of duty in this respect; they never leave a glass half empty and are always checking to ensure you have a full glass. The free prawn crackers also deserve a mention as they are crunchy, flavoursome, distinctly more-ish and miles away from the greasy, ricepaper-like efforts in other places. They really work a treat when you’re ravenous.
The starters are fab, especially the mixed starter for two – you cannot go wrong with that – and for vegetarians the papaya spring rolls deserve a mention – crisp, tasty and light with a great dipping sauce. Ooh my mouth is watering just thinking about it!
Last night three of us passed on the starters to leave room for our mains, but Alex decided on a baked scallop with soya. He was disappointed to discover that the £4.50 only gave him one, but we all dug in anyway. I didn’t have any of the scallop myself but he enjoyed it and the sauce, which I did try, was so amazing I could have easily eaten it as a soup. Wonderful stuff.
Our mains quickly arrived – pak choi with oyster sauce, mange tout with tofu and baby corn (tasty with a surprising kick), fried red snapper (which we collectively agreed was lovely), sirloin steak with chilli and garlic and pork with chilli, garlic and lime (scrumptious). We also went for the brown jasmine and egg fried rice.
We cleared the lot and were trying to be cool about the desserts which, we remembered from last time, were amazing.
It didn’t take long to decide on vanilla crème brulée, raspberry and chocolate pudding and two portions of strawberry ice cream. All were to die for and we wondered aloud how it was that a Thai restaurant could achieve such greatness with their desserts? We didn’t spend too much time pondering though as we were enjoying eating them with our lovely heart shaped spoons too much!
However, despite how it may seem from my comments, things are not always perfect here and there are some drawbacks. The wine and other drinks are expensive, which is why we stuck to tap water and when the bill arrives it automatically includes a service charge. Although it states it is discretionary, it’s actually not as once it’s on the bill they refuse to take it off and there is no use arguing – I’ve seen it happen. Saying that though, there is nothing whatsoever wrong with the service in my opinion; just watch out if you’re not normally a tipper or for any reason you don’t want to give them the full 12.5%.
Anyway, for us it was another marvellous evening out and as I said above, I do love Isarn.
I recently realised that in a whole year of DC I had not given a score above 8. I immediately thought of the stingy markers on CDWM when you’re forced to shout at the TV, ‘but you just said it was sooo much better than last night and yet you marked it the same – what are you DOING?!?!’.
I even marked Isarn a measly 8 initially, but considering how much I like it and after reiterating that thought to myself after last night’s yummy meal, I hereby award it a 9!
As I've been asked; if this is how I feel about Isarn, what mind-blowing place is going to get the honour of a 10? I'm wondering myself!
TTFN,
Stinge
Emma W, Emma B and Alex. Me behind the camera :-)
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