THESE days Thai, Chinese and Indian restaurants can be divided into two camps – the ultra-modern, minimalist establishments with wood floors and leather-backed chairs and the traditional, ornate places that feel like you’ve been welcomed into someone’s lounge.

Sukho Thai falls firmly into the latter category, with a warm, cosy feel, traditional music and ornaments on every available surface.

Personally, I quite like that but it’s clearly not to everybody’s taste – we visited on what should have been a busy Friday evening to find that only two other tables were taken.

The service was efficient, if not overly friendly, and we were given a basket of delicious spicy crackers to nibble on as we decided what to order.

The menu is vast, offering a choice of six set menus or a wide variety of individual starters, mains and side dishes.

We settled on starters of pork spare ribs marinated in honey and spices and minced pork dumplings with soy sauce and topped with fried garlic and then followed that with a chicken masaman curry and chicken with cashew nuts and roasted dry chillies. We also ordered a vegetarian pad thai and plain rice.

The food arrived promptly and was plentiful – two portions could easily have been shared between three or four. We were soon fighting over the ribs, which were little bite-sized pieces of heaven, amongst the best I’ve eaten.

They were deliciously tender and full of flavour with just a minimal coating of sticky sauce. The dumplings seemed slightly bland in comparison but benefited from the soy sauce and garlic topping.

The extent of our over-ordering became clear when the main courses arrived. The masaman curry was just as it should be, big on flavour thanks to the coconut sweetness and a hint of lemongrass, and plenty of peanuts adding extra texture.

It’s a mild curry which manages to avoid feeling too heavy or rich. The chicken with cashew nuts provided a good, savoury contrast although we felt it safer to avoid the roasted whole chillies which made us wonder quite how much they added to the dish.

But the generous portions meant we hardly made a dent in the pad thai, which was virtually a meal in itself.

That was a shame because I felt the sticky noodles with peanuts and vegetables were delicious, although my husband didn’t like the slightly gluey texture of the ribbon noodles.

By this time we were the only ones left in the restaurant and didn’t feel like lingering with a coffee. I don’t know whether it was unusual for Sukho Thai to be so quiet but I’d certainly encourage more people to try their authentic-tasting food.

This is an independent review by a reporter without the cooperation of the establishment.

My Sukho Thai bill:
Pint of beer and small house wine £7.90
Spare ribs £4.75
Minced pork dumplings £4.75
Chicken Masaman curry £6.95
Chicken with Cashew Nuts £6.95
Pad Thai £7.15
Plain rice £2.45
TOTAL: £40.90

Ratings board

Location ***

Atmosphere *

Value for money ****

Quality of food ****

Service ***

Comfort ***

Family friendly ***

Menu choice *****

Overal rating ***

Recommend to a friend? yes