Bangkok Belly -
Chris S Contemporary Thai restaurant with Singha on tap. That alone fills a gap in the market for this part of East London.
The layout and decor is an improvement on what was there before. There are two unisex toilets for customers accessible without having to traverse the kitchen.
The food was excellent. Portion sizes are on the large side. Prawn crackers, 2 starters, 2 mains inc rice and a veg side, was too much for 2 adults.
Starter menu is very exciting. We went for beef balls and pork belly to share.
Beef balls were decent. A bit like Thai spice kofta balls. Actually better not dipped in sweet chilli sauce. Wish we had gone for the sausage though, but was fearing a pork overload.
Pork belly was excellent. The texture was the perfect mix of crispy without being hard, tender meat and fluffy fat.
For main I had the chilli and basil stir fry pork. It was also excellent. Unusually there are no options for another meat as part of this dish. That was a similar theme across the menu, the meat, fish or tofu alternative options were limited or nonexistent. This is no bad thing if you’re a flexible diner, as it allows the menu to be a little bit longer than it otherwise would be.
Main dishes do have enough veg in there, so the Thai vegetable side ended up too much for two people. It was also very good, particularly the broccoli.
When we go again as a couple, we would be tempted to get the pork belly to share to start, then skip the veg side. That said, there were starters and sides we would really like to taste, so might have to be gluttons and over order again because what we had was so good.
We went in mid January not long after it opened on Saturday evening and was surprised by how it was not full. I fear the stigma of filling Sing Buri’s old slot is keeping people away, particularly with the new competition from Mum Loves Thai down the road.
Personally, I actually prefer Bangkok Belly to old Sing Buri for setting, the staff are much more pleasant, seating is less crowded and they serve beer on tap. I can’t judge the food completely but I would say that they are noticeably better with pork than old Sing Buri and marginally better with pork than new sing Buri.
I think this will end up very popular, so would advise that you visit soon. If you have dietary requirements, I would advise that you check the menu before booking.
