Phuket Pavilion

The 2013 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).

This review is taken from the 2011 edition.

Veteran restaurateur Bill Parkinson has been in the business for 46 years and it shows. Service is a speciality: he wants people to relax while they eat. If you’re enjoying his pre-theatre menu before heading across the road to the Playhouse you might not have time to spare, but the kitchen’s consistent quality and the reassuringly recognisable Thai décor – ornate down to the cutlery, the tank of brightly coloured fish and the delicately carved carrot garnish – should go a long way to calming you down. The Pavilion has a large menu that features all the favourites: a subtle satay chicken, beautiful massaman curries and a whole steamed sea bass, simply and ideally steamed with ginger and soy. Go a little off-piste and you’ll find Phuket ob moh din, a coconut-sweet hot pot with fat scallops, enormous green mussels and tender squid, or the theatrically named Weeping Tiger. This house special of Scottish sirloin is char-grilled to your preference, cocking a cheeky Scottish wink at a rich Thai whisky sauce. Spoon that over coconut rice and you’re in danger of losing yourself in these culinary delights and missing your show.

• High point: Try the beef, hand-selected by butcher John Gilmour
• Low point: It’s far more about the savoury than the puddings here