Authentic Thai Food - cooked in the traditional way
Please note: Our menus are revised periodically. Therefore some
items listed on this website may not be available or may be priced incorrectly. Please
call us to check before ordering.
We hope you enjoy your Thai Orchid dining experience. To help you get the most from your visit
our knowledgeable staff are always on hand to offer advice and assistance. It also helps to know
a little about how the Thais prepare, select and eat their food.
Thai food is an essential ingredient in Thai culture and everyday life and is something taken very
seriously. Eating Thai food is very much a social occasion, the meal being shared with family and
friends. As a consequence Thai food has developed into a world class cuisine and is now the fastest
growing sector of the UK's food market.
Some people believe that all Thai food is simply hot and spicy but we assure you this not correct.
Even though some dishes can be very spicy, many are only mildly spiced and some not spicy at all.
Thai food is most certainly not simply anything!
Thai food contains a wide variety of herbs and spices which are used to enhance and improve
flavour and taste but never conceal it. Although the most important spice in Thai cooking is chilli
many others are used including coriander, sweet basil, garlic, ginger, pepper, mint, kaffir, lemongrass
and galangal.
Salt and pepper are not traditionally used at the table.Thais use fish sauce, chilli powder and a variety
of other sauces instead. We aim to serve your meal correctly seasoned but if you wish to adjust
it please ask our staff.
Thai food throughout Thailand is eaten with a spoon and fork although chopsticks are occasionally
used. A knife is unnecessary as all the food is either served in bite-sized pieces or can be easily
broken up with a fork.
Eating food 'Thai style' is somewhat different from a Western approach where you choose and eat
an appetiser and then a main course. The shortcomings of the Western way is that you only
get to try one dish, you tend to stick to 'old favourites' to be safe and if you do try something
different and don't like it there is little you can do.
'Thai style' is to eat with a number of people, order a number of different dishes and share them.
This is far more enjoyable as you can try several dishes and if you don't like a dish there are others
to choose from. It also enables you to be more adventurous when choosing dishes.
Have you ever thought that someone else's meal looks nicer or been tempted to try your
partners / friends meal or maybe not enjoyed your meal? Eating 'Thai style' avoids this completely
with the result being a more balanced and satisfying meal and an enjoyable social occasion.
Ordering Thai food is easy if you order the 'Thai style'. After reading our menu you may wish to
choose from our Banquet meals which have been created to provide maximum satisfaction for our
customers and also represent good value for money
Alternatively you may wish to each select a dish of personal preference trying to get a balance of
pork, chicken, beef and seafood dishes. Then select one or two additional dishes by mutual
consent say a vegetable or noodle dish and choose your rice.
If you are thinking of skipping the starters you will miss out on a big part of the Thai culinary
experience. If you wish or are unsure you can discuss your choice with our staff before you order.
At Thai Orchid your food is cooked to order to ensure it reaches the table hot and fresh. If eating
'Thai style' it is customary to commence eating as soon as the rice and one of the dishes has
arrived. Rest assured the others will arrive shortly as the chefs prepare food table by table. Relax
and enjoy your meal and if you haven't ordered enough simply add another dish. Unless we are
very busy we can quickly prepare this for you.