Koh Thai Tapas takes an idea most people file under Spain and applies it to Thai cooking: lots of small plates, ordered a few at a time, shared across the table and topped up as you go. The kitchen is run by Thai chefs and the food itself is the real thing — it is only the format that has been rethought. The group started in Dorset in 2009 and was among the first to serve Thai food this way, and the small-plates approach has defined it ever since.
The food
Order the way the name suggests, several small dishes rather than one plate each. Chicken satay, sweetcorn cakes and mussels turn up among the starters; curries and stir-fries anchor the mains; and there are Thai specialities such as tom yum soup for anyone who wants the heat turned up. Gluten-free and vegan dishes are marked throughout, so a mixed table is easy to feed without anyone missing out. Cocktails run alongside the food, some leaning on Thai flavours and others straight classics.
The setting
The tapas format sets the tempo. Plates arrive as they are ready rather than in strict courses, which keeps the table busy and the evening loose. It suits a group better than a hushed dinner for two, though it works for both, and it rewards the kind of meal where you settle in over a few rounds of small plates and a cocktail or two rather than rush a single course. The cooking does the talking; the room is there to keep it informal.
Where it is
This branch sits in Westbourne, the village-like quarter west of the town centre with its Victorian arcade and a run of independent shops and cafés. Chines Coffee House is close by for the morning after, and Chez Fred, the neighbourhood’s long-standing chippy, is a short walk away if Thai is not the mood. If you are staying in or near Westbourne, it is an easy walk home once dinner is done.
Good to know
Group bookings are taken, which is the useful thing to know given how the sharing menu works — a larger table can graze across far more of it. The kitchen is set up for families too, the small-plate style letting children try a bit of everything. Opening hours vary and lunch runs only on some days, so check current times before you go. For more places to eat nearby, browse the town’s restaurants.
