Sunday 17 February 2013

Kaosarn - St John's Hill SW11

I have been so frustrated at my inability to fit updating this blog into the rest of my (wage slavery) life - in an ideal world of course I wouldn't need to work and I could spend my days sipping flat whites, eating great food, travelling, reading books, watching movies and being a blogger-extraordinaire.  That day may come (he says hopefully) but right now this l'il ol' blog of mine has been taking a poor second place and I am determined to redress the balance a little.  I have about 20 "almost posts" that may need to be revisited but for now I thought a close to home post about a fab new eatery in Battersea would be a good start.  I am a big fan of Brixton Village Market but have never been to one of its most popular eateries,  Kaosarn - although ever since reading Jay Rayner's glowing review it has been on my "must visit" list.  Luckily for me the Kaosarn crew decided to open a second outpost on St John's Hill - a street which (to the delights of those of us who live nearby) is getting better and better by the day (Kaosarn joins nearby Birdhouse, Ben's Canteen and Powder Keg Diplomacy for great food/coffee/boozing destinations).  The other half and I called in for lunch today and it

was really great.  The space itself is simple, unfussy and welcoming - we were immediately won over by the fact that the back wall has the same wallpaper that we once used in our living room (that sounded way too middle class - sorry).  Anyway, I ended up ordering the most bog standard Thai selections ever and felt a bit embarrassed but my theory was, let's test how these guys do the basics, so chicken satay followed by prawn Pad Thai for me!  I can happily report that both were delicious, fresh and perfectly made.  In fact I am fairly confident in saying it is one of the best Pad Thais I have ever had.  The other half was more adventurous - a sea bream dish with aubergines was spicy and super tasty.  The good news for those up
 for some alcohol with their meal (we'd been constantly boozing for the last 2 days so were going dry today) is that it is BYO - this concept used to be really common in Australia (although not any more I am told) but is a novelty here.  So you could go to Kaosarn, get fantastic freshly made Thai food for under a tenner a dish and get to bring your own wine.  How good is that?  To top it all off - the lovely Giselle is a wonderful, welcoming front of house and makes you feel like you are her favourite customers.  We loved Kaosarn and can't wait to go back and be a bit more adventurous with the menu. Kaosarn on Urbanspoon