TimeOut London Eating & Drinking 2008

The four branches of Patara are all in prime sites, and consequently attract customers more gilded than a reclining Buhda. But standard can be variable; we have found this Oxford Circus branch to be the best, and fellow diners seem to agree because booking is essential. It has a friendly relaxed vibe, decent chill-out music, great service and very appealing design, from clever lighting, Indian sculptures and expensive looking partitions to the lovely brown crockery. Our waitress seemed to know every dish off by heart, and could describe the ingredients and heat levels without hesitation. A dish of stewed beef check had been cut into thin slices, then sautéed with Thai basil and whole black peppercorns; the coconut curry sauce was salty, but good. Black cod was the best dish, but brown jasmine rice was nothing special. There are plenty of offbeat pairings and ingredients, from ‘tacos’ you fill with fry-up of bean-sprouts, chicken and prawn, to wild boar meat or a Thai-style tuna tartar. The set lunches seem good value, but corners are cut; our dish of crabmeat in an aromatic yellow curry contained a lot more onion and celery than crab.