| Ambiance: |  (4 / 5) |
| Service: | (4 / 5) |
| Value for money: | (4 / 5) |
| Toilets: | (4 / 5) |
For our monthly catch ups, Hayley and I tend to meet in Ringwood as its almost half way between Bournemouth and Salisbury. We usually opt for Prezzo or one of the local pubs but this time, with a Taste Card in hand, I searched for something different. Lemongrass came up as one of the three Taste Card offerings in Ringwood and with 50% off, we couldn’t say no. Also, Hayley had never eaten Thai before so it seemed like a good opportunity for her to try it out.
Our first issue (as always) was actually finding it. After walking up and down the street for a good five minutes, we realised that we weren’t looking up high enough as the restaurant is actually situated on the first floor, on top of a shop. We stupidly nearly walked into the kitchen/back door exit with me saying ‘wow, this seems like a bizarre find’ before realising that there was a much nicer, customer entrance so we went for that instead.
For a Tuesday evening, I’d expected it to be pretty empty so I was quite surprised when we walked into a restaurant with quite a few people already eating. The venue was massive and has been really well decorated with a consistent Thai décor. We were seated immediately and given free prawn crackers with our menus. You can’t not smile at free food can you?!
The Menu & Free Prawn Crackers!
We were both really impressed with the menus; from its yummy sounding starters, to its soups, stir fries, curry dishes and sides. There was definitely something for everyone. There are also specials if you’d like to make the ordering process even harder. We decided on Holy Basil Duck, Jungle Seafood Curry and a portion of sticky rice. I’d asked for the Jungle Curry ‘hot’ rather than ‘seriously hot’ as described as I didn’t particularly want a night spent with my mouth being on fire.
Our food arrived within fifteen minutes and was placed in between us with two large side plates. I quite liked this concept as, even though we’d ordered separately, we were given the option to share. All other Thais, Indians and Chinese – take note! Taking a spoonful of my jungle curry, which looked more like a soup than a curry, I think I was literally almost blown away. It was SO hot! My mouth started burning, my eyes started watering and my nose started running. I immediately called the waitress for more water and napkins and set myself the challenge to make it through the fire.
Hayley was finding it all quite amusing and turned down my offer of trying my food, saying “it looks too hot for me!” Ha. Luckily, I got to try some of hers and wow, it was delicious. The duck was crispy on the edge but softly cooked in the middle and the accompanying sauce was stickily sweet but had a nice kick of chilli. Unfortunately, our first portion of sticky rice was quite disappointing. It was verging on being congealed and we could hardly spoon a portion out, let alone see the individual granules of rice. We asked for another one and within minutes, we were presented with an apology and some steaming, much less congealed looking sticky rice.
After my tenth spoonful of my very own Man vs Food mission, I realised the jungle curry wasn’t getting any less hot so I opted for Plan B. I took all the yummy, perfectly cooked pieces of king prawn, squid, mussel and various vegetables out of the dish, served it over the rice and drizzled some of Hayley’s milder sauce over the top. So yes, I created my own dish but the results were very tasty and at least I could eat it! More importantly, Hayley loved her first Thai experience and said she’d love to go back!
The bill came alongside my second jug of water and we paid a grand total of £7.50 each (thanks Taste Card). However, despite it burning my mouth, I’d have been happy to pay the full whack as it was delicious food, great service and the restaurant had a great atmosphere.
Recommendation
For a Thai restaurant in England, this was a pretty good find. It offers truly authentic food and would be perfect for any occasion. The only downside is the location.
Extra Information:
Address: 17 Market Pl, Ringwood, Hampshire BH24 1AN
Website: www.lemongrassringwood.co.uk
Phone: 01425 478254
NTK: If you have a Taste Card and Gourmet Card, you’ll get a discount. If you’re in the area on a Wednesday, they do a Chinese and Thai buffet for £9.95
