I might be Yorkshire born and bred, raging for Yorkshire puddings and downing gravy for breakfast (you know, all those stereotypes that Southerners love to paint us with), but I’m an absolute sucker for Thai food. Sunday roast aside, it really is my favourite cuisine.
So naturally, when I heard that Rosa’s Thai Cafe was opening in my local city of York, I was pretty blooming buzzing.
It’s a successful chain that’s been taking the UK by storm for a number of years now, and finally, Thai lovers can get a taste of the Rosa’s hype right here in Yorkshire. Opening its first North Yorkshire restaurant following success in Leeds, Rosa’s Thai Cafe is a glistening new addition to York’s ever-growing dining scene, which in recent years has benefitted from other big-city-born additions such as Manchester-founded Impossible, London’s The Ivy and Leeds’ Manahatta.
Serving up authentic dishes ranging from curries and noodles to grilled meats and salads, guests can enjoy a warming taste of Thailand in the historic city, making Asian food more accessible than ever thanks to Rosa’s friendly, welcoming atmosphere and central location.
For those who are maybe new to Thai food, Rosa’s non-intimidating service and atmosphere makes it the perfect venue to dip your toes – or for those well acquainted already with Eastern cuisine already, a casual, laid-back date night that’s easy-going enough for a Monday night meal.
Offering a little something for everyone, Rosa’s varied menu brings Thai classics centre-stage – not only serving up dishes for the seasoned diners such as drunken noodles and pineapple curry, but offering the heartiest of Thai cuisine, such as the classic green curry and pad Thai.
For us, it was all about the big happy hug that was the red curry and drunken noodles, alongside Thai calamari – deep-fried squid with tempura batter and sweet chilli – and the most moreish honey marinated pork skewers served with a tamarind dipping sauce (which, may I add, we loved so much we were dipping our salads into it!).
Perfectly balancing the heat with the cocktail of flavours, I found myself picking up my bowl of Thai red curry and jasmine rice and shovelling it down, embracing it like I hadn’t eaten a good meal in days. I had, of course, but it was so delicious, I couldn’t help but get stuck in. The drunken noodles went down quite a treat, too, helping us wash down a fair few Thai-PA’s to counteract the punchy spice that the dish is famed for. It’s what beer’s for, after all?
The fun thankfully didn’t stop at the food either, with Thai-infused flavours meandering their way through the drinks menu – including a ‘Thai-PA’ packed with lemongrass and lime flavours, as well as themed cocktails infused with transportive flavours such as ginger, coriander, lychee and coconut water.
Rosa’s menu injects plenty of authenticity throughout, not only with its flavours, but its values, too – designing the whole thing with family sharing at the heart of it. Whether you like to try a bit of everything or hog a dish all to yourself, anything goes at Rosa’s – and everything is prepared to ensure there are extra side plates so that you can have a taste of everything. And boy, did we.
Rosa’s Thai Cafe is open now in York and you can find them at 1 Coney St, York, YO1 9QL.
[Featured image: Rosa’s Thai Cafe]
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