Reviews of The Begging Bowl

Interesting Thai small plates with incredible ingredients. We tried mainly vegetarian/vegan dishes and one Hake Dumpling Green Curry. The Betel Leaf with crunchy ingredients is a must. The food is top notch. The interiors a tad dated and worn. The only downside is that we sat in the conservatory and the doors were open so we were bothered by flies. However, we moved table and it was much better. The restaurant has been going strong for ten years and long may it continue.

One of the best Thai meals I’ve ever had. Fresh ingredients and fresh takes on traditional dishes. The whole fish is a treat. Went back again two days later. Loved every dish we had. Staff was attentive and warm. Gerry was particularly helpful and gave us advice on wine, cocktails and the menu. Did not steer us wrong! Will be back!

Amazing place, we totally loved it. We sat at the bar and both Jerry and the French guy with Italian accent (I can’t remember his name) were great and made us feel very welcomed. They made super good recommendations of food and cocktails. Everything was amazing and we cannot wait to go back and try the rest of the menu. The peanut and betel leaves and the duck curry our favourites.

The place is great, waiters are insanely friendly and everything about it is just beautiful and perfect. Food was great, we ordered too much and did not regret it. Menu is full of amazing and well thought out vegan options that my moany boyfriend managed to love. Shout goes to the shiitake broth and the pumpkin curry. All you can eat rice too which is a simple form of joy.

Finally got to come here and boy was it worth the wait. Great food. I mean, not oily, delicious flavours and a wonderful selection. We ordered nearly the entire menu and it did not disappoint. Great to come in a small group although we will be back for a date night too. Cocktails were slightly disappointing but stick with the wine and you’ll be fine!

Didn’t book so were sat at the bar and the bar staff were great company and made us a cocktail which wasn’t on the menu. The food was amazing, packed full a so many flavours. Quite spicy but delicious. Although they suggest 2-3 small plates per person we barely managed 3 between the two of us. Would highly recommend

We came here for New year's Eve and had the set menu. The portions were really generous and we left incredibly full. Every dish was packed with a unique flavour. The highlights were the betel leaf starter and the partridge salad, both of which were fresh and zesty. The only dish that left us wanting more was the massaman curry that could have been more tender. Lovely waiters and setting. The set menu cost £45 then plus drinks and service it came to £67 each

BUUUFF! The food is just insanely good. We were recommended the fish and even now (after a few months) I am still thinking about it and trying to figure out what was used. I honestly cannot fault this place at all. It was my first time there and arriving to this beautiful corner restaurant and having many dishes that catered for my pescatraian/vegan diet was fantastic. I just adore you guys, bravo!!

Fantastic Thai food. Very nice setting and welcoming staff. Meant to try it for ages but haven't managed until today. Tried clams, pickles and traditional Thai papaya salad. All amazing flavours, reminded me of last year's Thai holidays. We will definitely be coming back to sample the rest of the menu 👍👍 Ps. Very reasonable prices too.

𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 went to The Begging Bowl in Peckham last night after having it sat doing nothing on our Restaurant Lust list for years. It’s always a worry that places yearn to visit will be a let down but this wasn’t the case. We totally loved it, from the service to the cocktails. Our waitress (who’s name we didn’t catch - blonde, dungarees) was brilliant and so sweet, making us feel so welcome - these guys have nailed hospitality for sure. Everything we ate was delicious and surprisingly it was the veggie dishes that won Ade over whereas I was all over the pig cheek curry (just a shame it wasn’t a little larger). Oh and the aromas coming out of the kitchen and spilling out into the dining room we’re just gorgeous. Loved, loved, loved and we’re so jealous of our friend Vic who is lucky enough to have the Begging Bowl as her local. We 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 to go back and soon!

If ur a big fan of tapas,this one is tapas with a twist!its Thai tapas!the flavours of the dishes were beautiful.never thought vegetables can taste so good and the desserts,banana toffee pudding and coconut ice cream,to die for!only problem,portion sizes were too small even for tapas,anyway had a good experience

The Begging Bowl is a trendy Thai eatery in the posher (i.e. more unaffordable)/more gentrified part of Peckham, which originally opened to quite a few rave reviews in 2012. Being slightly less trendy ourselves (and not really being Peckham natives), it has taken this long to get over there to check it out. We arrived early on a Saturday evening to get a seat (they have a no reservations policy, apart from big groups) and it was pretty busy at that time already – so definitely, a popular place years after opening. Whether the travelling hardship was worth it remained to be seen.

Guest Blogger Rachel Mulrenan takes on the task of the 5th day of our challenge, marking the quarter way point!. For day 5 of the challenge I visited The Begging Bowl in Peckham, offering Thai street food with a twist. Following the uber popularity of Frank’s last year (who can forget those hour-long queues just to get in?), the spate of recent restaurant openings in the area (such as Peckham Bazaar, our day 6) and a recent article in ES Magazine proclaiming Peckham as ‘the’ new neighbourhood, SE15 is now firmly on the hipster scene.

It's a restaurant in an area of Peckham that used to be a dive but is now up and coming, that does Thai street food "but in a tapas style", with middle class waiters and only Meantime on tap.<br/><br/>You get the gist, you can picture the clientele.<br/><br/>Recommended 4 dishes per person, dishes ~£10 on average, is looking like it won't be the cheapest...<br/><br/>Though all somewhat forgiven if the food blows me away. <br/><br/>It didn't. There were some decent bits and pieces: spicy sausage and fish cakes v nice. Coconut prawn curry worth getting. But not particularly exquisite, and in pretty unfulfilling portions. Currys and soups taste OK but the dishes aren't so hearty and are mainly sauce, meaning I had to rinse dipping the unlimited rice in, just to quell hunger. <br/><br/>So yeah, nice, but not one to write home about, especially for that price.

Peckham is getting a lot of good reviews for it's up and coming restaurants which is why we went there to explore the area.<br/><br/>The Begging Bowl seemed like a great place to eat at because it was Thai cuisine (one of our favourite) and did not have a typical menu. The restaurant filled up fairly quickly on a weekday for lunch. Glad we got there early and did not have to wait for a table.<br/><br/>We ordered the sweet potato fritter which was delicious. The accompanying sauces were absolutely complimenting to the dish. We also ordered a pork dish (can't remember the name) which was fresh and full of flavour. It was something I had never tried before but I will definitely try again. The kids meal was approved (and gobbled up) by our toddler who can be choosy when it comes to anything other than pasta. <br/><br/>I got a Camden Hells lager which complimented the heat of the food very well. The staff were very good and gave us recommendations on what to order from the menu.<br/><br/>I would highly recommend eating at the Begging Bowl and I shall be going back there on my next visit to London for sure.

The begging bowl is an unassuming Thai restaurant which serves Thai street food in east Dulwich. It is creating a name for itself and slowly filtering into mainstream knowledge.I emphasis that this is Thai 'street' food because you will not peruse the menu and see your usual dishes that you order regularly at your favourite Thai restaurant.The staff are friendly and polite. However, if you are grabbing a quick lunch I advise you not to go there.....the restaurant is often packed to the brim and staff are rushed off their feet to say the least.Tables are close together so their is no real privacy and if you are tall or at least over 5.8, you will feel uncomfortable due to not being able to spread out.The food tastes fresh and light which is perfect for lunch. However, they encourage you to share the meal with whomever you are dining with. Do not be fooled, this was more of a stunt to drive the final bill up rather than a fresh perspective of tasting more dishes or a new philosophy on sharing well balanced food, as advertised. If I wanted to have a light meal with my family before a workout this would be the perfect place. But as an only child, the thought of sharing my food still evades me. As a working man you want your pounds to count and get your money's worth,which was not the case at begging bowl.Cost - £8 per dish (will need 3 or 4 dishes to feel satisfied)Group size -2 - 6Location - 168 Bellenden rd, London, Peckham, SE15 4BW.Carlstimeout rating - 6/10Writer - C.Y

Worse Service and taste ever!. I have been to many restaurants in my time all over the world and by far this was the worse experience with service and taste of food ever!! <br/><br/>1, Menu was very boring and had no instructions how to order<br/>2, Food was very slow arriving and making my child wait for hers whilst others were eating<br/>3, Waitress were rude and had a slight attitude when we ask questions <br/>3, Two of our dishes were taking forever that I cancelled my order, my friend finally received her's and the thai curry was scorching hot as well as tasting like it had 10 chillis in it!! WE LOVE SPICE and have experienced MANY SPICY foods but this you couldn't even eat, totally spoilt. <br/><br/>We could not wait to get out too snobby also!

The Begging Bowl serves Thai street food, and the modest sized menu (always a good thing in my book – I don’t like too much choice) is colour coded into four different price brackets, from £6.25 to £14.75, rather like Yo! Sushi. We started with two Thai lemonades which Joe found a bit too sweet but I very much enjoyed. We then ordered the set lunch menu – three dishes and rice for £12.50 each. A cured prawn salad was served alongside fish cakes with sweet chilli dipping sauce. The salad was the highlight of the meal – lightly cured pieces of seafood tossed with plenty of herbs, chilli, and chewy pieces of fried garlic (I think…). The fishcakes were slightly disappointing, heavy on the potato, light on an unidentifiable fish, and over relying on the sauce for flavour, but they did have a great texture.<br/><br/>Joe then had sweet soy marinated pork ribs, which looked incredible, and he very much enjoyed, gleefully licking the sticky sauce off his fingers at the end of the meal. As this was still within Lent (I gave up red meat and the Daily Mail side bar of shame), I swapped these for sweet potato and Thai basil fritters, which were lovely and crisp, and served with the same sauce as the fish cakes. Rather than the generic bowl of sticky msg-laden substance you often get, it had more of a light syrup consistency, and was served with floating pieces of cucumber, coriander, chilli and red onion. It was sweet, but not sickly, and had a good, back-of-the-throat kick to it. We were also given a bowl of jasmine rice, and a bamboo basket of unnecessary sticky rice – while it was perfectly nice, I think you only really need one type of rice with a meal.<br/><br/>We finished up with a pudding to share, taking a punt on a pandanas leaf granita with lemon grass syrup, pomelo, physillas and rambutan. No, I didn’t know what half those things were either. Pandanas is a dark green leaf with an aromatic, herby flavour to it, and the granita was a cleansing end to the meal, especially when soaked in a mouthful of sweet, pungent, lemongrass syrup. However, the accompaniments: physillas, a tomato looking, orange tasting fruit; pomelo, a small citrus fruit; and rambutan, lychee like in texture, but lacking any of the flavour punch of its sister, were all underwhelming, and when paired together, slightly odd. Despite continual protests from Joe that he wasn’t convinced by the dessert, he did keep eating it, as I did I, and I grew to like it more and more with every taste.<br/><br/>Our meal wasn’t perfect, but it was very enjoyable. The restaurant itself is a lovely light, casual space, with an orange, green and brown striped wooden wall at the back (that reminded me a little of The Rum Kitchen), and friendly staff. Our set lunch was fairly good value, but I did feel the portions were a bit on the small size, especially as I think Joe’s bowl of ribs was meant for the two of us to share (it wouldn’t have), and although we left full, I wasn’t quite satisfied. We will however be back, Joe probably sooner than I, and it was a good start to my South East London explorations.<br/><br/>After we left we picked up coffees at the delightful Anderson & Co just across the road. They serve excellent Square Mile coffee and I loved the lights and delicious looking cakes. Joe and I are already planning to come back for brunch sometime soon.

... A cured prawn salad was served alongside fish cakes with sweet chilli dipping sauce. The salad was the highlight of the meal – lightly cured pieces of seafood tossed with plenty of herbs, chilli, and chewy pieces of fried garlic (I think…). There were notes of hot, fresh and sharp in every single mouthful. The fishcakes were slightly disappointing, over relying on the sauce for flavour, but they did have a great texture...

There are VERY few restaurants which have impressed me so much that I returned the following day. The Begging Bowl in Peckham is one of the few. I’m not Thai, but anyone can tell you this isn’t “traditional” Thai cuisine. However, I’m more interested on whether the food tastes good. I can safely say, it does.

Where is the taste ?. I can only think the positive reviews are for dinner.<br/>Lunch dishes have little taste.<br/>The lunch menu lacks anything which would be considered filling all small portions and weak flavours.<br/>I had a green curry dish which was so limp and flavourless I could have mistaken it for a ready meal truly poor.

I expected the Begging Bowl to be a little rough around the edges, more hipster chic than polished, clean design. And yet it is the latter - a gleaming, neighborhood restaurant that wouldn't look out of place in one of London's more obviously gentrified areas. Its bright dining room is lit by a wall-length window leading to a pavement-side glassed in veranda. It's filled (literally - you may have to queue) with a hip, moneyed crowd, drawn by the promise of excellent and authentic Thai food. There are people better qualified than me to judge the cooking's authenticity. But I can confirm that it is excellent. The fat fishcakes, flecked with green chilies and herbs, are as fantastic as any you'll find in London. Lemon sole with southern Muslim curry is aromatic and rich with coconut, and our fish was perfectly cooked. The sour trout curry is delightfully fishy, although I would have liked a little more mooli as a

Top of my Peckham to do list was dinner at The Begging Bowl – a Thai Street Food restaurant loved by critics and locals. You can’t book (surprise surprise), but considering there were ten of us, we only had to wait an hour in the pub across the road. The menu is colour coded by price, with dishes ranging from £5.75 to £14.50. Our waiter recommended five dishes between two, along with as much free rice as we wanted. From the £5.75 options, Stir-Fry of Morning Glory was a crisp mix of greens, sweetened with soya sauce. It was our only vegetarian choice – meat and fish ruled this meal. Skipping a price band, Marinated Raw Salmon, Tiger Prawn with Minced Pork & Coconut Cream, a portion of Deep Fried Blythborough Farm Pork B

We started with the taste sensation that was a salad of grilled beef, roasted rice and baby gem lettuce. The tender beef was topped with crunchy roasted rice that has been ground more coarsely that I'm used to. What made the dish special was the dressing of fish sauce, lime, chilli and fresh mint in the salad. It was hot, sour, salty and refreshing all at the same time.