Chai's Garden Thai Restaurant

To the west of Telegraph Hill Park, Chai Garden Thai Restaurant and Café is in a converted stable block, with an entrance around the side of the pub. The team are serving fragrant dishes of familiar and exotic Thai dishes to Lewisham’s locals with an eye for classic Thai cuisine, served in the traditional small-plate style. Don’t let the name fool you, there’s little about this beauty that instills tranquil contemplation over a cup of tea – Chai Garden is wild.

The presentation of this little place in London’s Nunhead can't be faulted – neither the food nor the dining room. There’s been a spate of average-or-less Thai places springing up south of the river, but this restaurant really stands on its own, sprawling seductively across the pub’s garden. The dining room is beautifully adorned with huge windows, giving a hot-and-heavy summer vibe – even in winter. All this and we haven’t got to the food yet. Brace yourselves.

The food at Chai Garden in Nunhead is London’s Lewisham is a sight to behold. The food is fragrant, inviting exotic and other, and when it arrives it is enough to bring even the most birdlike eater out in gluttonous, lascivious sweats. There are tiny, delectable bites of Thai duck, Penang chicken, and satay galore which will leave you begging for more. There is a large range of drinks available, including Thai beers, wines, or drinks on draft direct from the pub next door, which will help to cool your passions before you leave. Service is relaxed (though food is only served when it’s ready, so is a little patch-work) and the atmosphere is very chilled, with hints of local music plinking in the background. The Chai Garden is a mistress you’re unlikely to forget in a hurry despite London and Lewisham’s abundance of decent Thai restaurants.