For a taste of Thailand, Siam Bistro has got to be up there with the best restaurants in North Devon. Highly recommended for a great meal out (or in!).

Why it’s on my list

I’m always on the look-out for new places to eat, and I was starting to see a trend in conversations  – the village of Braunton, a few miles from Barnstaple, was coming up again and again.

In my mind, Braunton is a gateway to some of North Devon’s best beaches, a place you travel through, rather than travel to (except for some fabulous Squires fish and chips!). But it is now fast becoming a foodie hub in North Devon, with lots of great restaurants, cafes and bars. Top of my list to pay a visit to – Siam Bistro, for tasty Thai cuisine.

Restaurant Information

Website: thesiambistro.co.uk 

Location: The Siam Bistro, 2 Cross Tree Centre, Caen Street, Braunton, EX33 1AA

Type: Thai restaurant and take-away

Opening times: Monday to Saturday from 5pm – 9.30pm (take-away pre-orders from 10am)

To book: book a table or order a takeaway on their website, or call 01271 816567

Overall verdict

I thought Siam Bistro’s food was simply delicious and I would go again in a heartbeat. The portion size was good, the dishes flavourful, and there was so much to choose from on the menu. I really must go again (and again) to try the dishes that made my shortlist.

What I had

My husband and I teamed up for this and ordered food we both wanted to try.

To start I had goong soh-beng-tort, which are prawns in a crispy Japanese batter, served with sweet chili sauce. My husband had chicken satay skewers, which is called gai satay.

For our main course I had pad nam pung, which was crispy half duck in a honey sauce with sauteed onions, served on a cast iron sizzling platter. It came with a choice of rice – plain steamed, egg fried, sticky or coconut – I chose the coconut rice.

My husband chose chicken massaman curry with sticky rice. There are a number of options for the curry – vegetables/tofu, chicken, rump of beef, and prawn, squid or seafood.

Lastly, for dessert I went for banana fritters, whilst my husband had a caramel parfait. We went with some friends and I was very glad that some of them ventured to have the most interesting thing on the dessert menu – deep-fried ice cream!

The best

As I thought it would be, my duck dish was absolutely sublime.The sweet honey sauce paired really well with the duck. To have it come out on a sizzling platter made a show of it too.

The desserts were also really tasty, we were so glad we had a little room left. Both the caramel parfait and banana fritters were delicious. I personally have a soft spot for banana fritters from my days working in my dad’s Chinese takeaway. The deep-fried ice cream was certainly fascinating and something different to try, and the ice cream held it together inside, it wasn’t a puddle! But I preferred our choices – more flavours.

Not the best

I’m used to Thai restaurants serving food in a sharer style, where you have an empty plate in front of you and then the dishes are all put in the middle for people to help themselves. With Siam Bistro, your food is delivered more as individual dishes – you can see with my husband’s massaman curry that the curry and rice are on the same plate. That didn’t matter much for us really as my husband and I still shared everything, it just meant we didn’t go halfsies quite as much as usual.

The venue

I love the way that Siam Bistro is decorated and furnished. It feels fun, welcoming and friendly, bright and airy too. The giant map on the wall is fascinating, I found myself looking at it all the time and trying to improve my geography! They fitted our group of nine in easily.

Top tip

Leave room for dessert – yum.