It was a sad day indeed when the legendary Blue Elephant shut its doors in Fulham Broadway (our previous glowing reviews are here and
here). It had been long known for its excellent food, served in extremely
exotic surroundings (it had a Koi river, people!) and was a bit of an
institution. However, a collective sigh of relief was breathed when they
reported they weren’t closing down, but simply moving premises, to a riverside
location in Imperial Wharf, conveniently, for me at least, just a stone’s throw
from my face. Obviously, I had to go check it out.
The new venue has a totally different vibe from the last.
What was once dense jungle, dark woods, scattered flowers and flowing water is
now much more slick, elegant and pared back. The ambience is undeniably exotic,
and very Thai: you still feel like you’re on holiday (there’s plenty of light,
and although no koi river, the actual Thames is right outside), but you feel
more like you’re in a 5 star restaurant than a rainforest.
The looks may have changed, but in substance the Blue
Elephant is just the same as ever. This food is expensive, but it is top notch,
expert and creative Thai cuisine, full of delicious, fresh and surprising
flavours and the cocktail list is the perfect exotic complement. We kicked off
proceedings with the fantastically refreshing (and fairly potent) Golden Ice
Tea and the sweet ‘n’ sharp Passionfruit Mojito, before cleansing our palates
with the complementary Tom Kah Soup amuse bouche. I always find an amuse bouche
a nice touch (particularly when you’ve spent a fortune on the main) and the
soup did not disappoint. Although not the most inventive soup, it was coconut
smooth, yet sharp and zingy – you can buy this as a starter dish, so I’d
definitely recommend it.
The starters were certainly adventurous: we ate wild catch
tiger prawn and crispy catfish and mango salad. The prawns were really spot on,
and the chilli mango element of my salad was really delicious, however, there
seemed to be a bit much crispy and not enough catfish for my tastes. Still: in
principle a gorgeous dish, and I hope I was just a bit unlucky.
But if I didn’t get enough fish in my starter, my main
certainly made up for it. My Pla Rad Prik (deep fried whole seabass topped with
garlic, chilli, sweet basil and red curry paste) was huge, packed with meat and
flavour. Although it didn’t come with any accompaniments, there was enough
flavours and textures in that dish to set you up for the evening alone. The boy’s
lamb chops with red rice stir fry, wild basil, garlic and black pepper was also
quite an exciting dish: very spicy, but full of contrasting and interesting
tastes.
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The bill did come in at rather a lot, but the Blue Elephant
still serves the finest and most exciting Thai food I’ve tasted in West London.
The riverside location feels elegant and gracefully luxurious (even if it lacks
the wow factor of the previous premises), and for a special occasion I can
still give it a wholehearted thumbs up.
The Blue Elephant
The Boulevard
Imperial Wharf
Townmead Road
London SW6 2UB
