[AD] I love Thai food. I spent a month backpacking around Thailand after finishing university and ever since I’ve had regular cravings for it. I’d been to the Thai Pavilion once when I first moved to Chesterfield and then, what with having a baby, the lockdowns etc, it turned into something we’d just have as a takeaway, probably on a monthly basis. I was delighted to be invited to review Thai Pavilion Chesterfield, situated on historical Glumangate.
Since my last visit, many years ago, the décor at the Thai Pavilion had had a huge refresh. Traditional Thai décor complimented beautifully by colourful upholstered chairs, and the restaurant felt light and airy. Sipping a cold Singha beer, we perused the menu.
Although I eat Thai food, a lot, I am dreadful for picking the same thing. My routine order would be either chicken satay or fishcakes and then a green curry with vegetables (and I ask for no tofu because I just don’t like it) and occasionally a Pad Thai. The green curry is soooooo good here that I always struggle not to order it. But since I’d been invited to review the restaurant, it seemed only appropriate to explore a bit more of the menu.
We decided to try one of the set menus, of which there are four, including one vegetarian, which is the cheapest at £20.95 per person for a minimum of two people. We opted for the Bangkok set menu, priced at £24.95 each.
This starts with a Thai Platter, an assortment of popular appetisers. This is a great place to start if you are less familiar with Thai food or just want to try a bit of everything. The Thai Pavilion platter consists of chicken satay (we loved the lightly spiced, gorgeously tender chicken breast dunked into creamy, satay sauce), pork spare ribs in a barbecue sauce, prawn tempura, prawn and chicken toast, served with sweet chilli and satay sauce. There’s also a vegetarian platter.
The main courses on the Bangkok menu consist of a beef red curry, stir fried roasted duck, stir fried prawns with cashew nuts and a choice of either egg fried or steamed jasmine rice. I am such a die hard green curry fan, I did wonder whether I would miss it, but everything was so delicious and it was actually much more enjoyable for trying new dishes (a lesson in life if ever there was one!).
Pad med ma-muang – big juicy prawns fried in a light batter, and sauteed with cashew nuts, roasted chilli, onion, spring onion, carrot, red and green pepper in a sweet soy sauce.
Stir fried, roasted duck with chilli and vegetables.
A flavoursome red curry with tender, thin strips of beef.
Thai Pavilion Chesterfield
My friend Kate and I both enjoyed all of the dishes, everything was really tasty and the meat was particularly nice (I can be really fussy with meat).
We finished with a jasmine tea. I was a little disappointed to see a tea bag rather than real jasmine, but the cuteness of the elephant shaped teapot softened the blow.
Service was great throughout. The restaurant was pretty busy and there was only one waitress who did an amazing job at servicing the whole room. Consequently, we had a little wait for each course but I actually quite like that as it makes the overall experience last a bit longer and you can really savour each course.
Overall we had a wonderful time and I will definitely be back! Highly recommend!
Go for:
Authentic Thai food and lovely service in pleasant surroundings.
Details:
Thai Pavilion, 37 Glumangate, Chesterfield, S40 1TX, Telephone 01246 211 111
Park at ‘the doughnut’ (don’t forget your residents parking pass, for free evening parking) or Saltergate multi storey.
One reply on “Thai Pavilion Chesterfield REVIEW”
Oh I love Thai food, it looks so good!