Fine Thai Dining at Chaophraya

A few weeks back I was very kindly invited along to Chaophraya in the Grey Quarter of Eldon Square to sample their menu. If you've seen some of my preview blog posts, you'll know I'm a massive foodie! I was quite exciting to go along with Ruth & Kayleigh as I haven't tried any of the restaurants in the new Grey Quarter.

As soon as you get to Chaophraya you are greeted by some beautiful statues (I love the elephants!). We made our way up the stairs catching up with each other, at the top you're greeted by a member of staff. Now unfortunately there was a mix up about our booking for the evening - definitely not a good start, especially that we're reviewing them. After some wait we were finally seated in a booth where we made ourselves comfortable & grabbed our cameras.

I have to say the decor in here is absolutely stunning, especially the flowers dotted around the room && the mood lighting. I love the tiny few details that they've put in, especially this quilted booth - super comfortable. 

Whilst we ordered drinks and browsed the extensive menu (there is a lot to choose from), they brought a bowl of crackers && sweet chilli dip for us to snack on.

I finally decided on what I wanted, the chicken tacos. Unfortunately they had none in the restaurant (I wasn't a happy bunny) so I opted for the chicken satay. A classic dish of chicken bamboo skewers, carefully grilled over charcoal, served with homemade peanut sauce & vegetable relish.

We didn't actually have to wait that long for our starters && I have to say their presentation skills are amazing. I love when restaurants put that extra effort in with your meals. The chicken was perfectly cooked && the peanut sauce had the perfect chilli kick to it, so super packed with flavour.

I was thoroughly impressed with the starter so I had high expectations for the main course. I decided to stick with chicken for my main and order the chicken with cashews a popular traditional dish of stir-fried crispy chicken with cashew nuts, onions, peppers, spring onions with a roasted red chilli sauce & crispy chilli.

This is one of my all time favourite dishes, I actually loved everything about this meal. All the peppers && onions were cooked so they weren't soggy- there's nothing worse than soggy onion on your plate. This dish has a kick & I mean a kick, so if you don't like spice I would not recommend this for you.

Finally onto dessert. There's plenty of choice for everyone, so I decided to go for the white chocolate box (I've heard how amazing it is), but again they didn't have any left - I'm super disappointed now. I then went for the sticky toffee pudding with salted caramel ice cream a traditional British dessert that's been tweaked with a hint of ginger and Lemond, adding a little Thai twist.

this literally melted in the mouth. I wasn't too sure on the ice cream but the pudding itself was really tasty && not dry at all.

Overall, it was bit of a rollercoaster but the food I did manage to eat was pretty darn tasty. All in all this came to £28.50, so this isn't a casual restaurant - it's definitely somewhere to go on an anniversary or birthday. The price definitely reflects on the venue itself, it does feel very luxurious inside, some of the decor pieces are insanely beautiful. I think I'll definitely try it again but be a bit more adventurous of what meals I pick.

Have any of you guys tried Chaophraya yet?

What did you try??

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