3 /5 Richard Williams: Its a pity to have to rate this place as 3 stars as there were so many positives, but alas also some negatives.
The positives - The pond etc inside the restaurant is lovely, all of the food was very good. Service was efficient and friendly.
The negatives - the wine that we chose was very average to say the least and was vastly overpriced at £24. The alcohol content was much lower than shown on the wine list which we didnt notice until it was too late to send it back. A 10% service charge is automatically added to the bill which is a practice that I do not agree with. I always tip good service at a rate that I think is appropriate. So we basically paid £2.40 for someone to carry our overpriced bottle of wine from the bar to our table and then leave us to pour it ourselves.
I would probably go back as the food was so good but would request that no service charge is added and avoid the wine.
5 /5 Martine Cunningham: What a meal!! Went to celebrate husbands 50th birthday. Food did not disappoint. Service was amazing, and they even prepared a special pudding complete with candle and sang to him! Memorable evening, and food to die for! Will definately be going back.
5 /5 Rachael Hoffmann: Four of us went last night and had the best Thai food we’ve had in ages, if far outweighed our expectations. We ordered 4 separate starters, all excellent, lightest tempura vegetables and beautifully flavoured soup. We also ordered stir fry and curries and were excellent. Lovely restaurant and atmosphere and staff were very sweet and attentive. Thank you!
1 /5 Natalie Gosden: We thought we would treat ourselves to a thai takeaway, a treat as takeaways and going out now is so expensive. We ordered Massaman Lamb Curry and Pad Thai from Yum Yum Thai in Petersfield. The lamb was dry and tasteless as was the Massaman sauce itself and the Pad Thai was ok. The veg spring rolls were not cripsy but chewy. No depth of flavour and actually in hindsight a Tesco Thai Meal in a Box would have had the same effect. Very disappointing, wont be hurrying back to order.
3 /5 Raul: This place used to be named the “Lemongrass” and it used to be busy all the time. For whatever reason, the restaurant was pretty empty when we dined.
I would avoid the Shinga beer from the tap that costs £6.50 a pint - it tasted watered down. Best stick to the bottles!
The food itself tasted delicious and was served quickly. We had the set course menu “B” that gave us a variety of dishes that we would normally not have ordered.
Overall, pleasant, but lacking atmosphere.
Tiffany Ng Wonderful food, enjoyed in an excellent setting. Very well decorated for Christmas. We moved tables to be under the tree in the Center of the venue which was lovely. Some Of the tables with benches by the wall were a bit close together so it was hard to hear. The menu changes daily but we enjoyed the snacks, and for main we had scallops, bavette steak and stonefish. Would recommend.
Louise OReilly Fantastic neighbourhood bakery offering a delicious selection of pastries and baked goods. They also serve excellent quality coffee. A great venue for meeting up with a friend, very dog and child friendly.
Stella West Spacious cafe with friendly staff and good food. Very dog friendly and welcoming. Wheelchair/ buggy accessible. No toilet in there is the only downside!
J H My partner and I were so excited to be able to find a Korean restaurant that I(gluten and dairy free) and he(vegan) could enjoy together. He ordered the tofu jajjangmyeon and the gyoza to start and I the seafood bibimbap and had a honey plum tea. I also ordered the chilli chicken starter (definitely a decent spice to it) sorry I didn’t get pictures of the teas or starters. The food was delicious and as someone with intolerances I felt well taken care of. I left there having of course eaten far too much and groaned happily all the way back to where we were staying. The hostess was so kind and we had a lovely conversation with her and her husband about discovering their restaurant through Morgan (howtocoeliac on ig) and how pleased we were to be able to try their beautiful food, and how they came to adapting their menu. The restaurant has a small front with few tables but there are more tables at the back of the restaurant too. The atmosphere is very cosy with the dim lighting and dark walls and the music was fun. I wish I had had space to eat more, or time to have gone back again before leaving but I will definitely be making the trip there again when back in London.
Stephanie Ellis Here’s a polished Google-style review you can copy and paste:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I had a fantastic experience at Elai in Basingstoke! The staff are so friendly and welcoming from the moment you walk in, and the whole setting has a relaxed vibe with nice, chilled music in the background. They were really helpful when I was choosing from their wide variety of dishes and even tailored a curry to be the perfect medium spice for me. The naan bread was absolutely amazing, and with such a great selection on the menu there’s definitely something for everyone. Highly recommend! Will definitely visit again when I am next in the area.