The Pepper Tree
Thai
19 Clapham Common South Side, SW4 7AB
££
Having just been in South East Asia for 4 months, I honestly thought I would never want to look at a Pad Thai or Green Curry again. Alas, less that a week after my return I'm back at local Thai The Pepper Tree - a double winner in Time Out's love London Awards and a Clapham favourite.
Specialising in anything from spring rolls to steamed dim sum, The Pepper Tree is reasonably priced and set in an unpretentious diner environment. Prices for starters come in at around £3-£5, whilst mains are anywhere between £6-£12. They also have the addition of traditional Thai beers Chang and Singha (£3.95) and some Thai twists on traditional cocktails; I went for a Lychee Mai Tai (£6.75). Service is simple and the turnaround is fast, so don't expect to have a languid romantic dinner here, but rather a quick bite before a movie or casual catch up with mates before heading over to the pub.
On this particular visit there was the addition of a specials menu, which included pork and prawn fried wontons (£4.25). Salivating at the memory of some five star wonton's I had back in Kanchanaburi, I ordered these without hesitation along with a Prawn Pad Thai (£9.95) after much deliberation between that and the Beef Penang curry (£8.45).
The wontons were crunchy but not very light, however, despite the texture being a bit floury the insides were perfect. The prawn and pork hadn't been mixed together too much as it so often is in these deep fried parcel dreams - instead there was a ball of pork embedded with chunks of prawn: just how it should be. If there's one things The Pepper Tree is good for, it's portion sizes, and by heck they don't scrimp when it comes to their Pad Thai. A large plate completely covered with deliciousness arrived, and, although at first doubtful over whether or not I'd manage it, it was polished off all too easily.
Now, of course no Pad Thai is going to rival that of Thailand itself (especially when you're paying 80p for it over there), but The Pepper Tree does come close. The flavours are all there, and it had generous helping of gigantic butterfly prawns. Despite the impressive size, however, these were slightly overdone and the Pad Thai itself did require quite a bit of extra sauce to escape being on the dry side. I have also tried the Penang curry a while back, which is delicious. So in short, I made the wrong decision. Damn.
Go to The Pepper Tree for good Thai food in a setting which is probably as close to authentic Thai dining as Clapham can get. The food is fast, but that doesn't mean it's not delicately put together and delicious. Fresh ingredients, casual surroundings and decent prices - You can see why The Pepper Tree is a two-time winner.
OVERALL RATING: ****
http://www.thepeppertree.co.uk/
