Mantanah Thai Cuisine

General information

By Time out editor:From the outside, Mantanah looks like a neighbourhood takeaway; in fact, it's a gem of a restaurant, offering strong, contrasting flavours from across Thailand. Within, there is minimal decoration: café furniture, a few faded photographs of the Thai royal family, a tiny garden fishpond. But the menu would put any kind of furnishings in the shade.

Do try the regional specialities. Kang tai pla is a hot, pungent, southern Thailand-style curry of tilapia fillet with bamboo shoots, yellow aubergine and green beans in a turmeric-based sauce. Som tam, a salad of shredded green papaya and carrot, accented with dried shrimps, peanuts and tomatoes, is a bold combination of hot, sour and fish flavours from the east. There's also an impressive array of vegetable dishes. We chose morning glory stir-fried in black bean sauce: the ideal sweet and nutty accompaniment. King prawns stir-fried with coriander, pepper, garlic and onions featured plentiful shellfish, perfectly cooked.

Take advantage of the friendly service, if you can. The chef often emerges from the kitchen to take your order; put yourself in his hands and you'll get a well-crafted feast for a very reasonable price.