Sangthai Reviews | York Evening Press

You can't miss the Sangthai Restaurant as you drive along the A19 at Escrick. Banners by the roadside signal the way into this new outlet, nestling inside the country charms of the Church Cottage Hotel. The restaurant, which opened four months ago, is the latest project of hotel owner Robert Malpas and is named after his Thai wife, Saengthai.

The hotel is a sprawling, stone cottage, full of English country charm, and seems an odd place to locate a Thai restaurant. But the omens were good. I'd called a couple of times to make a booking and been told it was full.

I'd booked for three people, but in the end there were four of us. I didn't envisage this would be a problem, but I was wrong.

"Oh the table will be too small" said the waitress. "And we're fully booked so there are no more tables."

But quick-thinking rescued the evening. She suggested we eat in the lounge, where people had pre-dinner drinks. We were shown to a large glass dining table and a bamboo screen was placed around us to shield us. It felt like out own private dining room and when I later checked out the restaurant I was secretly pleased at our 'relocation'. The main room was long and narrow with tables in rows and a chintzy décor, more a guest house breakfast room.

In contrast, the lounge was painted in warming reds and yellows, and felt more like a restaurant.

The menu was a pleasure to read. The choice was considerable: salads, soups and stir-fires alongside curries and seafood dishes.

For starters, we decided to pick'n'mix and ordered Tod Mun Pla (Thai fishcakes), Tung Tong (Golden parcels of minced pork and veg deep-fried in wanton parcels), Gung Shup Pang Tod (Tiger prawns in a light crispy batter) and Si Ou (a northern Thai and sausage) - all at £4.95 each.

The dishes arrived promptly and were all served with a sweet dipping sauce.

The prawns - four in all - were large, fresh and still full of flavour, although the batter was a little heavy. Nevertheless, when dipped into the sweet sauce, they were very moreish and I reluctantly let the others tuck in.

My generosity was reciprocated and I helped myself to their dishes - particularly the sausage which had a soft texture wonderfully flavoured with lime and chilli. The golden parcels were nice too: the crunch of the wanton giving way to a tasty, soft filling, enhanced again by the sweet sauce.

Thai fishcakes are not my favourite because the texture can be rubbery and the flavours bland. I found these were better than average, but still not a winner.

For main courses, we chose some Thai chicken curries, a red, green and one with coconut, potato and peanut (all £6.95), and Pla Lad Prik, which is fried seabass coated in a chilli and sweet tamarind sauce (£10.50).

We ordered plain rice and a noodle dish, Pat Thai (£5.95) - another favourite.

The curries came in huge bowls, full of chicken, beancurd and vegetables in a creamy, soupy sauce, infused with the very best of Thai flavourings: coconut, limes and chilli. They were excellent.

These dishes are spicy and we had to gulp down a few glasses of water. However, the menu states the chef will make meals less spicy.

The Pat Thai was equally good: a mountain of stir-fried noodles with bean sprouts, ground peanuts, egg and chicken all coated in a tangy light sauce.

Our only disappointment was the fish. A kitchen cock-up meant we got salmon stir-fried with celery and a sweet and hot sauce, which was tasty enough, but not what we ordered.

When we told our waitress she returned later with a surprise - the seabass dish in a take-away box. "The chef send his apologies and made this for you to take home" she said.

Full up, we passed on desserts (£3.50), although we were tempted by crispy banana in syrup, sliced banana in coconut cream and tropical-flavoured ice creams made by Burgess and Son of Market Weighton.

Our bill for four, including a couple of rounds of drinks, came to £84, good value, given the quality of the food and the good-sized portions.

The service was polite, friendly and faultless, until perhaps the end when there was a bit of a delay in settling the bill.

A call to owner Robert afterwards revealed he has plans to revamp the chintzy restaurant area, which I was glad to hear. He also said booking was essential for Friday and Saturday nights.

And just in case you were wondering, we had the seabass for supper the following evening and it was superb.