Nahm, The Halkin, Belgravia

Mr Oil and Mr Vinegar have been to The Halkin, a bijou, highly-rated hotel in Belgravia which is also home to Nahm, the only Michelin-starred Thai restaurant in Europe.

MrO: It’s a long time since our previous visit. I reckon it must be five years. Can’t think why.
MrV: At least five years. Last time, my wife complained for two days afterwards about the stink of garlic.
MrO: Mine too. So did my friends. I can’t recall which was the offending dish that time, but it must have had at least a dozen cloves of garlic in it.
MrV: Marvellous.
MrO: I didn’t see anything quite like that on the menu this time. But the food we had was extraordinary.
MrV: The starters were certainly up to scratch. That mii grop dish of noodles, prawns and beansprouts was very satisfactory.
MrO: I liked the basket of woven egg surrounding it. That other starter was very different, too...
MrV: Ah yes, King Dong. I thought he was a famous actor in films of, er, questionable taste.
MrO: He is. The dish you refer to is yam king dong, as you well know. Haven’t you got past the stage of snickering at Thai names yet?
MrV: Like prik num?
MrO: Anyway, I thought that squid and pork salad was fabulous.
MrV: It was, it was. If only Thai main courses could live up to the starters. I’ve often noticed that the main courses are usually a let-down in Thai restaurants. There must be a reason for it. Perhaps it’s because they eat lots of small dishes and their cuisine is designed around that.
MrO: Maybe we should try eating nothing but starters some time. Except that then we would have missed the red curry of quail with peanuts...
MrV: ...and holy basil, whatever that may be.
MrO: Thais attach all sorts of adjectives to their food. Nahm is not Thai, food, you notice, but Royal Thai Cuisine.
MrV: What that means is anybody’s guess. I’ve searched the internet for the difference between Royal Thai and Thai cooking, but can’t find one.
MrO: I think Royal Thai just means extra fancy. They all love their royal family above all else. But getting back to the red curry quails, they were pretty special.
MrV: They were but I was very disappointed with the stir-fried crab and pork. I chose it thinking it just might be the highlight of the meal.
MrO: It was rather bland, wasn’t it?
MrV: The pork was tender enough but all I could taste was it and the oriental sauce. No taste of crab whatever. Strange that pork worked with squid but not with crab, which has a stronger taste than squid. Maybe they forgot to put the crab in.
MrO: Overall, though, It’s a lovely place. Very discreet and quietly opulent.
MrV: Spare us your poncey descriptions. It’s a good place, despite one or two drawbacks, and I’d like to go back, whatever the wife says. She complained again this time about the garlic smell.
MrO: Mine too. In fact, she refused to be in the same room as me for two days afterwards.
MrV: Mine too. Such peace. On reflection, we should go back very soon.

Mr Oil and Mr Vinegar ate two courses each, washed down with two vodka-and-tonics, a bottle of water, a bottle of Chianti (Castello di Querceto, ‘Cignale’ 2003, £90) and two cups of coffee, at a total cost of about £210.

Nahm
The Halkin
Halkin Street
London
SW1X 7DJ

+44 (0)207 333 1234

res@nahm.como.bz
http://www.halkin.como.bz/eat-and-drink/nahm