THE Lonely Planet guide states that one of the best things about Thailand is “the warm hospitality of its citizenry”.

However, when my girlfriend and I visited the Thai Restaurant in Poole last weekend, there was little to suggest such hospitality had found its way here.

Although it was a Saturday night, there were only two members of staff working and it was a few minutes before we were even acknowledged by them.

When we were eventually addressed there seemed to be some confusion as to whether there was a table available.

So we waited longer, before they concluded that there was.

We persevered with the service as the restaurant was busy, however it really started to grate when a group of diners, who arrived five minutes after us, were served their drinks before we were even asked if we wanted any.

Unwilling to wait any longer, I ordered two Chang beers at the bar.

Happily, things did start to improve. Another waitress appeared, which upped the staff numbers to three and meant our food order was taken sooner.

We chose the Thai mixed appetisers for two to start (£15), followed by a lamb gang gae massaman curry (£7.50) and a portion of rice (£2.50) for me and the pad Thai (£7.50) for my girlfriend.

We agreed that the main courses weren’t bad value for money but felt the starter was rather pricey.

Nevertheless it was a delicious selection of appetisers, consisting of tempura king prawns, pork ribs, spring rolls, what looked like mini Cornish pasties and a divine sweet chilli dip.

The main courses were also excellent. The massaman (lamb, peanuts, potatoes and onions in a coconut curry sauce) was sublime. It oozed authenticity, had a mild kick to it and proved to be a dish to savour.

The pad Thai (noodles, king prawns, bean sprouts, spring onions, crushed peanuts) was also very good, although my girlfriend was slightly disappointed to discover that there were only three prawns in the dish – although the rich array of flavours offered something in the way of conciliation.

Overall the food was top drawer – it’s just a shame the service wasn’t.