The Man and I recently visited The Basement Thai in Ashbourne, and there’s no prizes for guessing the location of it; yep, you guessed, it was downstairs, below pavement level. The building itself is located on a corner, so it doesn’t have the widest ‘viewing’ position as it is but, as they say, small is mighty.
Going down the stairs, we were warmly greeted by a young man with possibly the widest smile I’ve ever seen. We were shown to our table in the corner, on the upper level of the lower-level restaurant, if that makes sense! Basement Thai has a fantastic arched ceiling in both of its dining areas, which are split by the reception/bar space; in total, I would guess that Basement Thai seats about 50 people, so roughly two dozen in each side. When we visited, the other side was being decorated up for a wedding meal the next day, so ‘our side’ was pretty full.
Rich, deep red paint on the walls and ceiling creates an almost womb-like atmosphere; calming and serene, with this being accentuated by gentle lighting. Traditional prints and photos are on the walls, providing decoration without taking up space in this bijou setting; the only free-standing decorative item was a tall, faux flower ‘plant’. Each white, marble-effect table had a colourful faux Orchid on it, as well an adjustable level lamp. Rattan, high-back chairs had vivid Teal toned cushions on them to add an extra splash of colour to the restaurant.
Having got settled in with our drinks, large glass of Black Grenache (for me, £7.10) and a large bottle of Singha Thai Beer (His Nibs, £5.90) we began to nibble at the basket of spicy Thai Prawn Crackers. Much as I love Chinese ones, I do prefer the thicker robustness of the Thai variety: you get a much more satisfying crunch as you bite into them! Both of us dunked the crackers into the bowl of Sweet Chilli Dipping Sauce and began to study the menu in more detail.+
Tuesday-Thursday evenings, Basement Thai do an Early Bird menu: 2 courses are £16.95pp or you can have all 3 for £19.95pp – needless to say, our plan was to go all-in. At lunchtimes, Friday-Sunday, they also do a similar offer, though pricing is slightly different. You can find details at www.thebasementrestaurant.com
I started with Sweetcorn Cakes, served with Crunchy Peanuts and a Sweet Chilli Sauce, and His Nibs had the Chicken Satay Skewers. When the dishes came out, we both took a moment to appreciate the gorgeous presentation; decorative Carrot ‘flowers’ and finely shredded Cabbage salad added extra pops of colour to the plates. Each of my three Sweetcorn cakes were a good size and I smiled happily as they elicited a crunching sound to my bite. The vegetable and batter were both perfectly seasoned, and my senses applauded the contrast between the soft inner and crisp outer. Where the Sweetcorn is sweet (clue is in the name!), the dipping sauce was nicely tangy and the Peanut was earthy and rich.
His Nibs’ choice saw tender pieces of gently seasoned Chicken breast meat embedded on wooden skewers, sat snuggly next to each other. As well as the usual Peanut Satay dip, The Man Bird also had a beautifully tart selection of finely chopped, pickled veggies that really pinged in the mouth, contrasting boldly with the mellower Chicken. As with my dish, a side salad of shredded Cabbage and that Carrot art adorned His Nibs’ starter plate.
Next up were our choices of mains: King Prawn (£1.50 extra) Green Curry for me, and Beef Massaman Curry for The Man. The main course dishes are served with plain Rice or Egg Fried Rice as standard, though you can do as we did and order Coconut for £1 more per portion. By the team’s own admission, portion sizes for the mains are scaled down slightly from the usual main menu, but I have to say that you wouldn’t notice unless you’d been told! Deep bowls housed our mains, and I had seven or eight plump, juicy Prawns to savour that were all bathing in a marvellously spicy (though not lip-tingling) Green Chilli and Coconut Milk base. Crunchy Peppers and softened Aubergine added their gentle flavours to the dish, though the star of the show, for me, was the inclusion of pungent Thai Basil. As I took my last mouthful, I sighed happily and told The Man that this was the best Thai Green Curry I’ve had – ever! And it really was.
One of His Nibs’ favourite Thai dishes is Beef Massaman, and he looked as if he was enraptured by the one from Basement Thai’s kitchen. The flat slices of Beef were that tender that they melted on his tongue, and the whole baby potatoes had that starchiness that sucks up any liquid it’s cooked in. Needless to say, these spuds were far from humble; they were flavoursome rock-stars, baby!!Both of us dismantled our heart-shaped timbales of fluffy, Coconut-pimped rice and put the grains into our bowls of sauce, eager to eat every last scrap.
Our final course consisted of Coconut Green Pancakes for me, and Sticky Rice with Banana for His Nibs, both of which came with a generous scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream. Green Pancakes always sound as if they could come from a Dr. Seuss book to me, and their hue is a curious one, to be sure! However, they say not to judge a book by its cover, and if you can get past the colour oddity, you’ll be rewarded with a superbly sweet, Coconutty morsel that really is tasty. Served warm, the Pancakes were beginning to soften the Ice Cream, and the mix of tastes and temperatures made for a great conclusion to my meal. I really liked the addition of a wedge of fresh Orange to cleanse my palate, right at the end.
Anything with Banana or Toffee in is pretty much guaranteed to be ordered by His Nibs, and he was definitely a happy chap as he tucked into the soft, fragrant dessert that was his Sticky Rice with Banana. Rather than serve the fruit as a separate layer, Basement Thai actually incorporate the Banana within the rice and cook them together. The result is a dessert that packs a hefty wallop of flavour in a relatively small volume of food, which is perfect as a final course to a meal, isn’t it?
Throughout the evening, the service had been totally spot-on – as had the food. Nothing had been too much trouble for the serving team and, wherever we looked, happy faces could be seen. At one point, The Man had dropped his napkin and hadn’t noticed (neither had I, to be fair); as if by magic, the lovely young man appeared with a fresh one, picking the errant one up as he did so. Now, I don’t know about you, but I think that level of service is pretty impressive?
Hot Wings are very happily given to this Ashbourne eaterie; Basement Thai, you were amazing. To book a table, which I would definitely do given the smaller size of the venue, call 01335 300305. The Basement Thai is closed on Mondays, open Tues-Thurs 5pm-9.30pm, and Fri-Sun Noon-2.30pm and then 5pm-9.30pm.
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