Chaophraya - A Tasteem Review

I am self admittedly way behind on my @tasteem reviews of late. I have a bunch of them to write up and I will get on the case soon.

With a name like ‘Chaophyara’, you might guess this is a Thai restaurant, something that is not especially common in the UK outside the cities, compared to Chinese and Cantonese diners.

While it is not my first visit, the previous ones were years ago and so my memory has faded somewhat on what my previous impressions were.

Being based in central Manchester is a good thing, but located on a back street not so good. I guess the building was maybe a hotel once and while it’s not hard to find, you do need to look.

We had arrived too late for the early bird menu and so I figured on just consuming a main course.

The place is quite plush inside with while leather seats and polished wooden tables. Menus always seem to come in different sizes and shapes and the Chaophyara ones are long, skinny, solid and distinctive.

After some deliberation with @bingbabe we decided to share a starter of Thai Fish Cakes at £7.95, followed by Prawn Red Curry (me) at £13.95, Grilled Sea Bass (@bingbabe) at £17.45 and Pad Thai Chicken (@dismayedworld) at £10.95.

Like many restaurants, rice is extra which I find an annoyance, and so we needed a Sticky Rice and an Egg Fried Rice as accompaniments.

All the food came together as requested as I’m not a big fan of making the experience last longer than necessary. I’m here to eat and not especially take in the atmosphere.

The Fish Cakes I thought quite tasty but for £7.95 were small in portion size. Granted this is a starter and we were sharing it, but just FOUR small pieces?

A little more would have been nice. As far as taste goes, they were decent but I have had better.

I can’t review @dismayedworld’s, Pad Thai Chicken as she didn’t give me the opportunity to try any.

They originally handed her a dish that contained nuts, which needed to be replaced as she has a nut allergy. We really should have mentioned this beforehand to the staff.

Fair play to the restaurant, the whole dish was replaced and the nuts not simply scraped off the plate.

This is taken very seriously in the UK due to past fatalities at various other restaurants.

Other than that we heard very little from her besides the predictable, ‘Yeah it was good’.

My Prawn Red Curry was suitably spicy but not overbearing.

There were a decent amount of prawns included and the Sticky Rice which was supplied in a plastic bag and tasty, though @dismayedworld stole part of it for herself.

I struggled to spot @bingbabe’s, Grilled Sea Bass under the accompaniment of garnish plonked on top of it all, but she was pulling good faces, though again I didn’t take a bite of it.

I would say that it looked like a small portion considering the price paid.

Service was quick and prompt at Chaophyara and like most Thai waitress, the staff were friendly and accommodating.

A few more customers arrived during our meal but it never got unduly busy. The atmosphere was serene, and the music relatively quiet and unobtrusive.

At £67 for THREE, Chaophyara is not unduly expensive or cheap and if the food quality really stuck out in my mind as fantastic I would recommend a revisit.

As things stand, I would place it as above average and a restaurant to visit occasionally if you are partial to Thai cuisine.

---

Restaurant Information

Chaophraya

19 Chapel Walks, Manchester M2 1HN, UK

---

Chaophraya - A Tasteem Review
This post participated in the Tasteem contest Where to eat for my blind date?

What is Tasteem?