Review: Thaikhun, George Street, Oxford

Where to take a restaurateur? They are all terrible food snobs and even on their nights off are never really off duty.

Out of their comfort zone was therefore my solution as I wheeled my friend Lucie out for a well earned evening of culinary debauchery.

If you haven’t passed Thaikhun yet, it has taken up the cursed site of the former Old Orleans restaurant on George Street in Oxford, where the last two restaurants Fire & Stone and Cleaver, sank without a trace, Cleaver within a year.

I could tell however as soon as we arrived at the new Thai street food venue that she wasn’t convinced.

She made all the right noises, taking in the fantastically exotic and exciting decor, which looked more like a Thai theme park than a restaurant, complete with tuk-tuks and seats made up of bathtubs.

She even eyed up its vast interior, which was absolutely heaving when we arrived mid-week, as we were greeted by the charming staff.

The cocktails shut her up momentarily.

The Good Time Girl (vanilla vodka and butterscotch schnapps blended with pineapple juice and passion fruit liqueur) came with hundreds and thousands coating the rim, like a liquid Fab ice lolly in a glass, which only marginally outflanked the Coconut Mojito served with mint leaves and limes muddled with rum and coconut liqueur.

But you could tell she wasn’t expecting much from the food, and even when the menu arrived thought it was all gimmick, expecting a Harvester-style selection no doubt.

She even protested that we had ordered too much, with no idea of the gorging and greed that was about to ensue.

And all the while I sat there with a smug little smile on my face, knowing that as soon as she bit into the small fish balls flavoured with coriander and lemongrass, the see-through vermicelli-wrapped tofu and fresh veg rolls, the perfectly cooked squid, or the crispy corncakes – so sticky they stuck to your teeth, that she would be a convert.

“I need a bib,” she managed half an hour later, almost panting, now well into her second street food platter, and showing no sign of abating. Boy it was good, eating a little bit of this and that, all fresh, novel and delicious.

Two cocktails down, with our own Singha beer tower on tap positioned on the table, we washed our starter selection down, accompanied by a stunning satay which I finished off with a teaspoon and some fiery chilli sauce, and it was all sublime.

Next up we were slightly more abstemious, opting for the tom yum gai soup (flavoured with lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, roasted chilli, mushrooms and sliced chicken for £6.95), one of my all time favourites, whose creamy, rich, fragrant broth absolutely hit the mark.

The “som tum grub”, was a seafood, ginger and papaya salad which zinged on the tongue, the fresh ingredients bursting off the plate. We also delved into the traditional Thai green curry (£8.95) despite the staff teasing us about how boring we were, and the more exotic marinated seabass, wrapped in banana leaf and served with a chilli and coriander crust, a real novelty and beautifully presented.

The Phad Kee Mao (Wok stir fried rice noodles with prawns, mussels and squid. £8.95) was another find, again the seafood perfectly cooked, the mussels fresh, bouncy and juicy, each dish proving vibrant, proud and wonderfully tasty.

We didn’t manage dessert, for obvious reasons, although the Thai banana fritters with ice cream were a close contender, and reluctantly we paid the bill and wound our way home, our heads still full of the hustle, bustle, noise, smells and colours that explemplify Thaikun.

What a fabulous introduction to Thai food, so often restricted to tablecloth restaurants where meals can turn into rather grand affairs. Thaikhun has made Thai cuisine fun, but not at the expense of the menu.

In fact, with the introduction of Oli’s Thai in East Oxford’s Magdalen Road, Sasi’s day-time, fast food, offerings in the Covered Market, and now Thaikhun, Oxford is having something of a Thai street food renaissance.

So perhaps, instead of trying to impress our foodies with Michelin star affairs, we should just opt for somewhere unpretentious and delicious, and in this case Thaikhun certainly fitted the bill. All I’m planning now is when to go back.

The particulars

Thaikhun
36 George Street, Oxford
01865 591960 thaikhun.co.uk

Opening times: noon to last food orders 10.30pm, seven days a week
Owner: Kim Kaewkraikhot who ran a street food stall in Bangkok and has now brought the concept over here
Parking? No, it’s central Oxford
In ten words: A social, fun and delicious night out in central Oxford.