Khun Pakin Thai
Thai restaurant · Hammersmith Broadway ·
Authentic Thai food with Isan spice, beer garden, and pub setting
Authentic Thai food with Isan spice, beer garden, and pub setting
"London has a wonderful tradition of Thai food in pubs and Khun Pakin Thai, the restaurant inside The Salutation in Hammersmith, is one of the most impressive. The Isan-style dishes have an electric potential about them, with slaps of lemongrass and jolts of bird’s-eye chilli alongside squeezes of lime. Lean on the spicier versions of dishes like som tam and follow the lead of friends and families demolishing crispy squid. There’s a roomy beer garden in the back, too." - heidi lauth beasley, jake missing, sinead cranna
"The speciality Isan dishes from Khun Pakin Thai’s menu all have exhilarating marinades and unapologetic shocks of bird’s-eye chilli that grows every time you wipe your brow throughout a meal. The Thai kitchen inside The Salutation pub in Hammersmith is popular among locals and expats, both those with an interest in sinking pints, and others whose sole focus is on kapow mu sub kai dao with an enlivening som tum salad on the side." - heidi lauth beasley, jake missing
"The Salutation has two main USPs. The first is its hidden, pretty sizable beer garden. Very nice for a crisp lager. The second, and much more important one, is Khun Pakin Thai. This Thai kitchen is a destination thanks to the brilliant, unforgiving Isan spicing of some of its dishes. Tables are filled with groups of friends and family dabbing their brows while spooning the last of the kung chae nam pla’s fizzing marinade. Those raw prawns are excellent and you should pay attention to anything in the Isan part of the menu." - heidi lauth beasley, jake missing, rianne shlebak, sinead cranna
"There's a longstanding affair between pubs and Thai food. As a result, London has Khun Pakin Thai, a lively kitchen inside The Salutation in Hammersmith that’s producing some invigorating Isan-style dishes. video credit: Jake Missing Humming with families and friends, Khun Pakin Thai has the potential to blow your socks off should you order correctly. When possible, go spicy. Your server will ask what level of spice you prefer (some dishes vary from one to four, others only have two and five, say) and generally, the higher the number, the better. The kung chae nam pla is a brilliant raw prawn salad and the dressing is positively fizzing with heat and acidity. Other things, like the pad kee mao with prawns, are a little one-dimensional in comparison. But ask for the spice level to be ramped up and we have no doubt that would change. Food Rundown E-Sarn Sausage These plump balls of fermented sausage are an excellent drinking snack. Have a bite, throw a peanut in your mouth while you’re at it, and chomp on some fresh ginger afterwards. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Tom Yum Soup With Chicken This bowl of tom yum is pungent with lemongrass and with fat chunks of mushroom and chicken breast. It’s one to clear your airways. photo credit: Jake Missing Kung Chae Nam Pla A terrific plate of fat, buttery raw king prawns are dressed in an electric sauce full of chilli and lime. Every prawn has a slice of raw garlic on top of it. Which is something we really appreciate. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Pad Kee Mao These fat noodles are pleasant but disappointingly one-note compared to other dishes. photo credit: Jake Missing Som Tum Thai There’s no doubt that Khun Pakin has all kinds of spicy multitudes. It’s clear on this classic som tum they went easy on us. It’s a refreshing respite, but we’d prefer it to have a sharper kick. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Kapow Mu Sub Kai Dao This one’s hard not to shovel. The rice is fluffy, the crisp fried egg has a perfectly runny yolk, and pork mince and holy basil stir-fry is deliciously salty and spicy. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch" - Jake Missing
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