August Supper Club – The Blue Elephant

Being my birthday month and all, it seemed quite fitting that I should have to organise this months Supper Club. Each month, through random selection, one of us gets to organise where the group will dine. In the past, we've mixed it up in Brick lane with an Indian, gone Turkish in Oxford street, eaten Polish in Kensington, Italian in Wandsworth, Japanese in Chelsea, Pizza in Covent Garden and had a pretty average meal in Piccadilly. Who says you need a British passport to get around the world?

Anyway, as I was saying earlier, I had to organise Supper Club this month, so we ended up going to The Blue Elephant in Fulham. Now The Blue Elephant has been rated in Londons Top 10 restaurants for quite some time now and once you've gone there it's very easy to understand why. As you walk through the main entrance, the chaos of Fulham High Street dissappears quickly behind you, and thank the pope for that because Fulham high street is a bustling, busy and strangely frustrating part of town at the best of times. Instantly you feel as if you could actually be IN Thailand. The décor is that convincing. Shrubbery, vines and foliage hang and burst out from every conceivable cranny to create a very convincing Thai jungle scene. It's as if you've by mistake stepped onto the set of 'Missing in Action' but without the bloodshed, gunfire and of course Chuck Norris. The faint trickle of water and soft ambient music eases the senses, it's kind of darkish, candle-lit and surprisingly fresh and cool. The restaurant is 'naturally' bissected by a small stream (The River Kwai?) and dotted with little ponds fulled with Koi fish. Navigating your way round there can be a little tricky but it's great fun.

The food was excellent, I had a 'Samui Crab' starter (A mixture of chicken and crab served in the shell of a crab) and a super hot 'Thai Green Chicken curry' which had an incredibly high Chicken count. Robyn also had the Samui Crab starter but went for a Chicken stir-fry main. Overall everyone seemed very happy with their meals.

It has to be said though that The Blue Elephant is not your average, everyday restaurant. It should be reserved only for special ocassions. We were fortunate enough to eat off a pretty well priced set-menu (thanks to Top-table) but if you wanted to dine there normally, your meal and drinks would cost in the neighbourhood of £50, probably more. Dave reckoned it would be worth it just for the 'cute' Thai waitresses. Whichever way you look at it I reckon it would be worth every cent…

Shuz