Longrain

It must be hard to maintain the specialness of a night at Longrain when every street corner now has a cheap and cheerful Thai diner, but the team here has the necessary smarts. Even with the Bunker Bar downstairs working as a wait-list, the long, almost-too-wide communal tables and high stools along the bar heave every night with a cocktail-sipping, hipster-sneaker-wearing crowd. The menu has evolved since original chef Martin Boetz’s departure; an elegant grilled tuna belly salad comes with caramelised pork and tangy nam jim dressing; a weightier goat curry, the meat cooked on the bone has a rich, dense sauce smoothed with yoghurt. Ignore at your peril the much-loved eggnet salad of twisty prawns, sweet pork and peanuts, and ditto the dessert of young coconut jelly, tapioca and mango layered in a glass and topped with toasted shaved coconut.

And … Ask about the famous stick drinks.

THE LOW-DOWN
Vibe Big buzzy New York Asian bar.
Best bit Cocktails and Thai food have a natural synergy. Who knew?
Worst bit Waiting in the bar.