Dinner at Chaophraya, Glasgow

I've been to Chaophraya a few times and really love it, so I was very excited to get an invite to the launch of their new menu. The press release that came along with the invite really had me super excited. It stated that "Chaophraya have transformed it's dining experience, with the introduction of a revolutionary new menu, heightened service levels and a full change to its logo and signage. Chaophraya's new menu is set to deliver a sophisticated edge to Thai dining, by offering a mix of eclectic and contemporary dishes inspired by tastes from across the Thai regions". 

If you have never been to Chaophraya in Glasgow it is a must visit. From the moment you walk in the door it is just sheer luxury, you get a lovely warm welcome from the staff and the decor in the restaurant is just out of this world. It has to be the nicest looking restaurant in Glasgow. 

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So we walked into Chaophraya and were greeted with the warmest of welcomes that I have come to expect. We were shown to our table - a lovely booth on the raised area and given our menu's. Our drinks order was taken. And we got to sit back and pour over the new menu. 

Food

So the new menu is a mix of old favourites and new dishes. Straight away my eye was drawn to my favourite, the Massaman Lamb curry but I was adamant that I was going to try a new dish. There are loads to choose from, and the menu is still very extensive so you will need to spend some time looking over it. 

After talking through the menu with our waitress Gina, I decided to go for the Thai Chicken Tacos and the Chicken with Plum Sauce. My friend Wendy went for the Vegetable Tempura and the Green Vegetable Curry. We won’t talk dessert until later...

My starter was so pretty, I nearly didn’t want to eat it but boy am I glad I did. It was so tasty, really really flavoursome, the tacos were lovely and soft too. Wendy loved her tempura, she said it was so tasty and that it was a huge portion.

My main dish again was so pretty and my initial reaction was that it was a huge portion. I had thought that the plum sauce might be a little heavy but it was surprisingly a really light dish. The texture and flavour were great. I just went for jasmine rice with it and that was delicious but I was completely jealous of Wendy’s coconut rice – how pretty does this look??

Both of Wendy’s dishes were beautifully presented – her curry came in a cast iron pot and her rice ... what can I say about her rice, it just made me green with envy. Wendy really enjoyed her curry. Again this was another very decent portion.

So on to the desserts – I will start this by saying I really enjoyed my dessert and so did Wendy. However the dessert I had was my second choice, I had looked for the Chocolate Bombe (as I had seen it advertised on Facebook and it looked awesome) but unfortunately a supplier let them down on the day and there was no chocolate bombe when they had a room full of bloggers (I kinda felt sorry for them). Anyway in the end I went for the Mango Meringue Roll and Wendy went for the Coconut Panna Cotta. Both our dishes were delicious. I think we were both very full at this stage but we did manage to squeeze the dessert in (all of the dessert). Food rating 4/5.

Service
Service was exceptional here, from the moment I walked in until I was walking out the front door. I have grown to expect this kind of service here and it wasn’t just laid on because there were a lot of bloggers there. Gina, our waitress was great, really helpful and able to answer any questions we put to her. A special mention must go to Grant, who got an awful hard time from me over the chocolate bombe. I got to chat to John on the way out (and again I showed him the tears in my eyes from not being able to get the bombe). Service rating 4.5/5.

Atmosphere
This place is stunning, I love it, it is so pretty. There is a lovely tranquil feeling here, even when the restaurant is full it always feels nice and peaceful. There is such a softness about the staff, I really don’t know how to put it in words but they just fit in with the surrounds. Obviously the restaurant was full so there was plenty of chat about the place. Atmosphere rating 4.5/5.

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Price
As I was invited to sample Chaophraya’s dishes I did not pay for my meal so I'm not going to rate the price aspect of it. However from looking at the menu I would say that everything is very reasonably priced, certainly for the quality and quantity of food. 

Last Words
So at this stage I guess you know that I like this place - the restaurant is so elegant and sophisticated, however it doesn't have the the price tag normally associated with those features. This place has it all great food, service and atmosphere. It is somewhere that you should definitely try out. Total rating: 17.5 out of 20 (I converted 13 out of 15 into a figure out of 20 (and rounded it) so it is in line with all my other reviews).  

Date Visited: Thursday, 15 September 2016

Restaurant Details:
Chaophraya,
The Townhouse,
Nelson Mandela Place,
Glasgow,
G1 2LL.

Website: click HERE
Telephone: 0141 332 0041

Finally, whilst I was invited to try out the new menu at Chaophraya and did not have to pay for my meal my review is unbiased and independent and a true reflection of my experience on the night.

Thanks a mil for reading.

Emma mai xx

* this mark beside a photo represents that it is an official photo from Chaophraya Thai - I thought this was the best way to show you the restaurant. All the food photos are my own.