Restaurant review

Mai Thai Restaurant
The Fountain
34 The Green, Rowlands Castle.

THE FOUNTAIN Inn is an attractive former coaching inn overlooking the village green. The Mai Thai Restaurant lies to the right of a central archway beyond which is the main pub car park. The restaurant is spread between two rooms, one adjoining the courtyard and one overlooking the green. We were lucky to get a table at the bow window with a view of the green as the sun went down.
The furnishing and decoration of both rooms is simple and tasteful, with the front room bright and cheerful and adorned with ethnic articles, paintings and hats. The side room is furnished in Regency style with softer lighting and a more intimate atmosphere.
The Mai Thai has an extensive menu with truly something for everybody, but we found it almost impossible to make up our minds. The compromise was to order from a series of set meals, and we chose the Silver Thai Banquet, a very reasonably priced offer at £15.50 each which included a starter, four main courses, plus a dessert and coffee.
The starter was a special Mai Thai Platter which comprised chicken satay, spare ribs, spring rolls, meat patties, filo prawns and sesame toast. There were two of each for the pair of us to relish, and they were all superb and quite filling. The main courses arrived after we had sufficient time to digest our starters and were ready to start again. Phad Thai Noodles, Green Chicken Curry, Cashew Nut Chicken, and Thai Mixed Vegetables arrived accompanied by two large bowls of boiled rice. The noodles came in a peanut sauce with plenty of large juicy prawns and large chunks of chicken.
The curry presented an entirely contrasting meal with the chicken soaked in a sauce containing coconut milk, kaffir lime, coriander and baby aubergines. Very spicy compared to the other dishes, but full of subtle flavours. Anyone allergic to nuts would obviously have a problem with Thai cuisine as our third dish contained cashew nuts. Fortunately we had no such problem and tucked in to another delicious meal. We also shared the mixed vegetables, including carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, onions and mangetout, again cooked to perfection. We were actually able to offer our compliments to the chef when Thai-born Sara came out of her kitchen to see if everything was to our satisfaction. The answer was a resounding yes - we have eaten at many Thai restaurants and the standard of cooking here was certainly superior to most if not all. In terms of value, the bill for £31 for beautifully cooked food in such pleasant surroundings was exceptional. The service too was friendly and efficient so it is a restaurant to recommend with enthusiasm.
We had bought our drinks at the bar in the main pub across the courtyard, where we returned after our meal to enjoy a jam session featuring local musicians, a regular feature at a very friendly and atmospheric pub. Food is also available in the pub at lunchtime and in the evenings; there is also B&B accommodation above the restaurant. Advance booking is necessary, particularly at weekends - the number to ring is 02392 412291.  (©Peter Ashton 2003)
 

If you would like your restaurant reviewed click here

Looking for a different review? Click here for our archive