The Thai Orchid is situated in such a fantastic location, within Henley Square and facing the sea. The restaurant has two dining areas, the main indoor dining area and semi-indoor dining area. If you’re seated in the semi-indoor dining area and you’re sitting in the right spot, you can get nice views of the sea. Of course, since the restaurant is facing west, it can also get very hot.

The staff here are friendly and inviting, and the service is exceptional. When I asked for a glass of water, the waiter brought one over straight away. The restaurant offers all your traditional Thai dishes and the atmosphere is relaxed. The menu pricing is on par with other Thai restaurants, but the added bonus of this place is the close proximity to the beach. The decor here is traditional, and the place itself is very well presented. The table I was sitting at was clean.

Tonight, I ordered the Massaman Beef Curry. The dish came out 15 minutes after ordering and was nicely presented. The beef was lean, well flavoured and came in generous proportions. While the dish was very nice, at certain times during the meal, I felt like I was eating a Thai Red Curry. Some pieces of beef were slightly charred. This is caused by the combination of high heat and lack of stirring during the cooking process. The steamed rice was average at best. The rice was lukewarm and it tasted like it had been sitting in a rice cooker all day.

One thing that annoyed me about the semi-indoor dining area was its close proximity to where smokers congregate. As the place has windows open in this dining area, you can smell the passive smoke from outside. This really did affect the dining experience. This restaurant certainly has a lot going for it, and it does a lot of things well, unfortunately, this wasn’t the best Massaman Beef Curry I’ve ever had. I might try something else next time.

WHERE: Henley Square, Henley Beach