Siam Secret is one of those wonderfully mysterious Asian restaurants – the ones with no website – but an abundance of diners who hail from the same country as the cuisine. In this case, it’s Thai, but despite The European virtually guaranteeing to me on the walk there that it’s usually jam-packed with Thai diners, when we arrived the restaurant was virtually empty save for a table of two posh middle-aged white males getting heavily refreshed on wine and not much food at all in the restaurant’s quaint little courtyard, tucked well-away off the street. Hence the name ‘secret’, I guess.
The two men seemed happy in their own company and made a meal out of explaining to us that it was going to rain any minute and that we should dine inside (translate that to “leave us alone out here while we get to work on our fifth bottle of Chardonnay”) so we headed inside, as it did indeed look like the heavens were going to open. Once inside, and subjected to the deafening silence of a large, empty restaurant, we decided to take our chances with the drunks and weather and headed back out to a table in the courtyard.
It was a bit of a flying lunch so we didn’t deep-dive into Siam Secret’s menu, but we loved what we had. Calamari with chilli was probably the best squid I have eaten for a long while – huge, tender chunks, battered and slathered in a sticky and spicy dressing – disguising this starter as a meal in itself. Edamame were delicately seasoned and plentiful. Afterwards, The European took a chicken red curry with egg rice, with a heat so smoky and rich that even yours-truly – a lightweight – could happily eat it. The chicken was soft; not at all overdone and the egg rice, while not scintillating, was on point and very complimentary. I had noodles with minced beef – a rare foray into meat for me these days, but it was worth it; surprisingly light and refreshing for what was basically a ton of mince and noodles. Everything we ate did seem to be lovingly prepared and very obviously ‘proper’ Thai as opposed to a diluted British version of my favour Asian cuisine.
The scrumptious food was washed down with Singha beer, obviously, all delivered by a single server-cum-hostess who was running the show on this quiet Sunday afternoon. By the end of the meal we really felt for her as she was attracting the unwanted attention of the drunks, until they mercifully staggered off as we were settling up.
Siam Secret is not the cheapest quaint little Asian you will find in the city. If you’re thinking its style is like Mien Tay or Sông Quê on Kingsland Road then you’re a million miles away, not just in terms of distance and cuisine, but in ruggedness too. Siam Secret’s dining room, restrained menu offering and service are all greatly refined, but still comforting, traditional and easy-going. Well-recommended for a classy Asian lunch or dinner. Less so for middle-aged Eton alumni using the place as an upmarket version of Wetherspoons.
Siam Secret is literally across the road from Earl’s Court Station. Two starters, two mains and four beers came to around £fifty five.
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Small doorway leading to comfortable-sized dining hall. The ambience and decor were lovely. The restaurant that got me hooked to Pad Thai ever since! Pad thai was amazing and of decent portion size, tom yam goong portion was small and not as special. Service was great. Overall recommended!
Tomás Torre Do Valle
+3.5
Jolly good thai place! I had the duck and the soft shell crab and I loved it! It's a bit sweet so you have to know to what you're going to. I recommend it to anyone
This is an excellent place to have Thai food in Earls Court. Food here is just amazing. The fried soft-shell crab is delicious, the pork ribs are tender and tasty and the best best best is served as desert - Siam secret pancake (do not leave this restaurant without trying it!
Great, everything was great!!. Right down the street from the Earl's Court station(& our hotel). There isn't much of a restaurant front to see from the street so after not being able to find the restaurant one night, we were determined the next.
It was a busy Friday night,we were without reservations but we were promptly seated by the very pleasant owner.
The staff, though run off their feet were very friendly and accommodating.
The sweet chili edamame were delicious, but the soft shell crab meal was sublime!
If I lived in London I would be there weekly.
A must visit!
Hidden from the main street and nearly missed it, a great little restaurant with very friendly staff. Very clean, decore and ambience very nice and best of all delicious food at great prices. Will go back again!
This restaurant is a little hidden from the main street but I didn't have much trouble in find this great little restaurant. The ambiance was great and the staff was pretty cool as well. Most of the dishes we ordered tasted amazing and the prices are pretty mediocre. I would recommend this place to everyone and would love to visit this place again.
We were looking for this place as it is not that easy to find but you really should not loose hope as when you will find this place you will have a time of your life.
It was a busy night when we went their but even after that the owner who in fact was very sweet happened to find a table for us.
The staff despite of being very busy were paying attention to everyone and looked trained.
I had The sweet Chilo edamame and it was superb according to me.
Being half Thai and having lived in Thailand for most of my life I can hopefully say I am a good judge of whether a place serves good authentic Thai food, and I must say this place certainly does! I have been to this restaurant numerous times and their standard of food had always been very consistent. I always order my standards of Thai iced tea, green curry and their Siam Secret fried rice which is absolutely delicious.
On top of great thai food at a reasonable price, service is impeccable with the always friendly and attentive waiters. A few of them even remember my name now, thats how often I visit this restaurant. This place is right by Earl's Court station, true to its name of Siam Secret its tucked away by the main street and easy to miss with a little pathway lit with fairy lights leading to the restaurant. If you're looking for good Thai food around Kensington, give Siam Secret a try!
We happened upon this lovely place by accident during our recent trip to London. It is one small doorway on the road, but such a wonderful delight of food and atmosphere. I love the mix of the old world colonial style decor complete with elegant gold trimmed dinner plates, and the more contemporary silverware, serve ware and glass ware. Even the bathroom is charming! The details add to the depth of the experience. The food was delicious, rich in flavor and yet very much comfort food. We enjoyed every dish! My young daughters love Thai food and this was a real treat. We had a beef dish and a chicken dish, and a curry dish plus appetizers and desserts. My daughter had the Thai milk tea, and said that it was better than she had had before. Everything we had was flavorful and we loved the touch of the coconut rice served in the coconut shell. I fell in love with the green pancake dessert, which I had never had previously, but am so dying to have again! If this place were around the corner, I would be there every week! There was a lovely quote in the stairway wall on the way to the top floor that said something about sharing food which really touched my heart, and I hope that more people will find this hidden gem and share food at Siam Secret with their friends and family!
I found Siam Secret restaurant because I want something spicy in the afternoon. This restaurant is secret as their name. You need to look for the sign, otherwise you can't find it. The foods is good and affordable price. I cut one star out because of the service. When I walk-in I feel lose, I don't know where to go or should I seat anywhere. I wish the waitress pay more attention for new customer.
So stoked to find this little gem hidden in between buildings. Don't let the tiny entrance fool you, you'll be surprised to see how big it is inside. This place is great for big groups and kids. There's even a cosy corner for couples or singles who want to have their own space.
We ordered (2 pax):
1) Steam rice
2) Steam sea bass with sweet sour sauce
3) Stir fried chicken with ginger and oyster
4) Stir fried mix vegetables
5) Tom Yum mushroom soul
6) Glass of red
7) Pot of lemongrass tea
We definitely over ordered and were stuffed by the end of it. The portions are generous so you might want to probably go with a starter and two dishes if you're a couple. I would recommend the sea bass but probably deep fried. The restaurant is run by Thais so you'll be happy to know that the food is authentically Thai, which also means a little bit on the sweeter side.
Including service charge and drinks, our bill came up to circa £50. Which is pretty decent for the amount of food we ordered, especially with the fresh fish (£17).
One of the best Thai restaurant I ever been and it’s like taking me to Thailand. Great environment with extremely helpful staff. Five stars services. The rest room so nice and well organised. With reasonable prices. Highly recommend.
The food was really tasty here. Excellent food!! The meat was marinated well and the pork rib is juicy and soft!! But the kingprawn is a bit expensive which cost us approx £11 with 4 'king' prawn (The price is average but some of the dish comes in too small portion.) The restaurant is lovely (cosy and warm) and well decorated. The owner is really friendly and polite but the head waitress was really rude toward us (same things go to the other). But this is still the best Thai restaurant you can find in kensington. Worth to visit here again. 👍👍
Very classy thai restaurant, came in at 11:40am, had plenty of space. Food was great and tasty. Would go again next time.
Really lovely dinner , casual but food and staff are prefect really good thai.
Absolutely delicious! Everything we ordered was fantastic and authentic. Lovely service. Would absolutely eat here again.
One of my favourite Thai food restaurants in Kensington, delicious food and reasonable price.
It's a nice place, hidden in an alley (It has it's own street name). Hostess was not so very inviting though, missing the Thai smile on her. Rest of the staff are quite friendly. Service was fast and the food was okay. The kind of food that meets Thai standards, but nothing special. Be aware that the service fee (tip) is included in the total when you receive the bill.
Lovely Tom Ka Soup, Green and Red Curry. Cosy familiar. All good. Happy
Great food, nice and spicy! One of the best thai joints...
Lovely little Thai restaurant! Like other people have said, the interior could do with a refurbishment... But I feel like it adds to the restaurant's charm! The food was delicious and served in plentiful portions (without being over facing), the staff were friendly and it wasn't on the expensive side either. 10/10 would recommend.
I've always been appreciative of the great taste and sophisticated nature of Thai food, and this place is the top Thai restaurant I've been to.
The food is fresh, clearly using quality ingredients, and perfectly cooked.
The staff is amazing! Friendly, helpful, classy, and genuine.
And surprisingly, the prices are very low - despite the top quality. Thank you!
We have been going to this restaurant for over 14 years. Food is always amazing. Family run business. If there is a dish you want but not on the menu, they will do their best to have the chef make it for you.
Inside is small and dated. But it's the food we love. In the summer you can also sit outside. London's little secret.
So good I didn’t even have time to take pictures of the food!
The fresh vegetarian rolls were tasty and the spicy sauce when really well with them. The best part was the pad Thai, I never ate a better fried tofu (and pad Thai is my go-to Thai food).
Go in, you won’t be disappointed plus the restaurant is cute with attentive staff and good atmosphere.
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