With just four tables and sixteen covers, the newly opened Chilli Basil on City Road must surely be Cardiff’s smallest restaurant. (Answers on the back of a postcard please or the comment section below if you can think of anywhere tinier.) Whilst this Thai restaurant’s Lilliputian proportions mean there may often be a wait for a table, you can always pass the time with a pre-dinner cocktail across the road in Milgi’s or take advantage of Chilli Basil’s home delivery service instead. Neither are exactly hardships. quarter of the restaurant As Chilli Basil don’t have an alcohol license we ordered a clutch of interesting soft drinks. For me, a tamarind juice with a familiar sweetness and tang. For a friend, a snowglobe like coconut juice with floating bits of white pulp. Mrs G ordered a pot of Jasmine tea. Chilli Basil’s menu is packed with all the usual Thai restaurant classics. Salads, curries, soups and stir-fries are all present and correct. A bowl of crisp and ultra-prawny prawn crackers (£1) kicked off the meal. In case you're wondering, the ultra-prawniness is a good thing in my book. A bowl of chicken Tom Yum (£3) was a great example of one Thai cuisine's most famous dishes. Tender chicken, mild spring onions and mushrooms bobbed in the fragrant and sour broth - heady with lemongrass, coriander and lime. A pretty looking dish of chicken and prawn dumplings was very tasty but didn’t have a huge depth of flavour. The thin dumpling cases (£3.50) contained a finely minced filling topped with toasted peanuts. In contrast, a green papaya salad was loaded with flavour (£6). Shreds of fruit and carrot, al dente green beans and sweet cherry tomatoes were bathed in a wildly hot and sour citrusy dressing. Crunchy peanuts added textural contrast whilst some overly chewy dried baby shrimps were the only negative.  Onto the mains…. A delicious duck yellow curry (£6.49) was laden with soft meat and a vibrant vegetables (carrot, courgette, aubergine, peppers and bamboo shoots)

The owner of the restaurant is Burmese and is a chef who cooks Thai food himself. The taste is not very different much in Thailand, but the taste is made easier for people in England to eat. You can inform the chef what level of spiciness you want. The shop is small The shop can accommodate approximately 15 customers at a time. The owner and his wife are very friendly and nice and the service is good.