Everyone who’s ever eaten at Busaba Eathai has raved about it. I’ve been here once before and though the food was good I honestly didn’t think it had anything special over any of the other myriad of Thai restaurants available at London so it has always puzzled me that the lines out the door can often go down the block and around the corner. Which is where it went just after we joined the line. Tonight we got to the Wardour Street restaurant at about 7pm and the line was fairly reasonable with about ten or so parties before us but it didn’t take long before the line behind us had more than quadrupled. People are willing to wait though, a surprisng thing in hurried London, as the food is that good and in all honesty the turnover inside the restaurant is reasonble and the wait not that long – for us it was about half an hour.

The restaurant is overwhelmingly buzzy and loud once you get inside. Its not exactly the kind of place which encourages intimate dining and dates though I guess you could use the excuse of the inability to hear each other to snuggle right up close to each other to speak! heh heh. It is also communal style dining so you will definitely be sharing the table with others. Even in a group conversation is difficult and between the four of us, Pauline, Caroline, Leah we barely said a word at dinner it was that loud. Or it could have been we were so hungry we just wanted to eat our food as quickly as possible!

Busaba is known for its speed, reasonable prices and consistent quality. The service was pretty good tonight – friendly and quick (once our waitress turned up.) Food arrived pretty quickly too which was pleasing. We shared chicken satay (chicken thighs rather than chicken skewers which were okay but nowhere as good as those at Awana and Mango Tree) and vegetable spring rolls which were delicious. I opted for a Pad kwetio (rice stick noodle with smoked chicken, prawn and holy basil) which was indeed hot – but didn’t have as much flavour as I was expecting. Three good sized prawns and heaps of chicken though. With drinks (not including service) the meal was £15 each which isn’t too bad. Surprisingly, or maybe not so surprisingly as its sister chain Wagamama does the same thing, service is not automatically added to the bill which makes a pleasant change.

As food goes I guess its pretty good Thai though in all honesty nothing out of the ordinary. The options on the menu are fairly diverse with both typical and not so typical options. Service is also quick and friendly. My only objection is just how loud it gets in the restaurant which makes conversation really difficult. Go for a quick meal option.