Siam Garden

Siam Secret is one of those wonderfully mysterious Asian restaurants – the ones with no website – but an abundance of diners who hail from the same country as the cuisine. In this case, it’s Thai, but despite The European virtually guaranteeing to me on the walk there that it’s usually jam-packed with Thai diners, when we arrived the restaurant was virtually empty save for a table of two posh middle-aged white males getting heavily refreshed on wine and not much food at all in the restaurant’s quaint little courtyard, tucked well-away off the street. Hence the name ‘secret’, I guess.

The two men seemed happy in their own company and made a meal out of explaining to us that it was going to rain any minute and that we should dine inside (translate that to “leave us alone out here while we get to work on our fifth bottle of Chardonnay”) so we headed inside, as it did indeed look like the heavens were going to open. Once inside, and subjected to the deafening silence of a large, empty restaurant, we decided to take our chances with the drunks and weather and headed back out to a table in the courtyard.

It was a bit of a flying lunch so we didn’t deep-dive into Siam Secret’s menu, but we loved what we had. Calamari with chilli was probably the best squid I have eaten for a long while – huge, tender chunks, battered and slathered in a sticky and spicy dressing – disguising this starter as a meal in itself. Edamame were delicately seasoned and plentiful. Afterwards, The European took a chicken red curry with egg rice, with a heat so smoky and rich that even yours-truly – a lightweight – could happily eat it. The chicken was soft; not at all overdone and the egg rice, while not scintillating, was on point and very complimentary. I had noodles with minced beef – a rare foray into meat for me these days, but it was worth it; surprisingly light and refreshing for what was basically a ton of mince and noodles. Everything we ate did seem to be lovingly prepared and very obviously ‘proper’ Thai as opposed to a diluted British version of my favour Asian cuisine.

The scrumptious food was washed down with Singha beer, obviously, all delivered by a single server-cum-hostess who was running the show on this quiet Sunday afternoon. By the end of the meal we really felt for her as she was attracting the unwanted attention of the drunks, until they mercifully staggered off as we were settling up.

Siam Secret is not the cheapest quaint little Asian you will find in the city. If you’re thinking its style is like Mien Tay or Sông Quê on Kingsland Road then you’re a million miles away, not just in terms of distance and cuisine, but in ruggedness too. Siam Secret’s dining room, restrained menu offering and service are all greatly refined, but still comforting, traditional and easy-going. Well-recommended for a classy Asian lunch or dinner. Less so for middle-aged Eton alumni using the place as an upmarket version of Wetherspoons.

Siam Secret is literally across the road from Earl’s Court Station. Two starters, two mains and four beers came to around £fifty five.

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Jolly good thai place! I had the duck and the soft shell crab and I loved it! It's a bit sweet so you have to know to what you're going to. I recommend it to anyone

Great, everything was great!!. Right down the street from the Earl's Court station(& our hotel). There isn't much of a restaurant front to see from the street so after not being able to find the restaurant one night, we were determined the next.
It was a busy Friday night,we were without reservations but we were promptly seated by the very pleasant owner.
The staff, though run off their feet were very friendly and accommodating.
The sweet chili edamame were delicious, but the soft shell crab meal was sublime!
If I lived in London I would be there weekly.
A must visit!

We were looking for this place as it is not that easy to find but you really should not loose hope as when you will find this place you will have a time of your life.
It was a busy night when we went their but even after that the owner who in fact was very sweet happened to find a table for us.
The staff despite of being very busy were paying attention to everyone and looked trained.
I had The sweet Chilo edamame and it was superb according to me.

We happened upon this lovely place by accident during our recent trip to London.  It is one small doorway on the road, but such a wonderful delight of food and atmosphere.   I love the mix of the old world colonial style decor complete with elegant gold trimmed dinner plates, and the more contemporary silverware, serve ware and glass ware.  Even the bathroom is charming! The details add to the depth of the experience.  The food was delicious, rich in flavor and yet very much comfort food.  We enjoyed every dish!  My young daughters love Thai food and this was a real treat.  We had a beef dish and a chicken dish, and a curry dish plus appetizers and desserts.  My daughter had the Thai milk tea, and said that it was better than she had had before.  Everything we had was flavorful and we loved the touch of the coconut rice served in the coconut shell.  I fell in love with the green pancake dessert, which I had never had previously, but am so dying to have again!  If this place were around the corner, I would be there every week!  There was a lovely quote in the stairway wall on the way to the top floor that said something about sharing food which really touched my heart, and I hope that more people will find this hidden gem and share food at Siam Secret with their friends and family!

I found Siam Secret restaurant because I want something spicy in the afternoon. This restaurant is secret as their name. You need to look for the sign, otherwise you can't find it. The foods is good and affordable price. I cut one star out because of the service. When I walk-in I feel lose, I don't know where to go or should I seat anywhere. I wish the waitress pay more attention for new customer.

One of the best Thai restaurant I ever been and it’s like taking me to Thailand. Great environment with extremely helpful staff. Five stars services. The rest room so nice and well organised. With reasonable prices. Highly recommend.

Very classy thai restaurant, came in at 11:40am, had plenty of space. Food was great and tasty. Would go again next time.

Absolutely delicious! Everything we ordered was fantastic and authentic. Lovely service. Would absolutely eat here again.

It's a nice place, hidden in an alley (It has it's own street name). Hostess was not so very inviting though, missing the Thai smile on her. Rest of the staff are quite friendly. Service was fast and the food was okay. The kind of food that meets Thai standards, but nothing special. Be aware that the service fee (tip) is included in the total when you receive the bill.