Time for Thai - Edinburgh - Boys Eat Scotland

Raymond’s brother and girlfriend were visiting Edinburgh for the weekend and they both love Thai food so it was the ideal opportunity to try a different Edinburgh Thai restaurant from our usual suspects. On their last two visits we dined at Port of Siam and also Chaophraya, so we had high expectations that Time for Thai would live up to our previous two Thai meals in the city. (Port of Siam is currently closed)

Time for Thai is very conveniently situated in the city centre, so it would have been rude not to go into town a wee bit early and pop into Tigerlily for cocktails! Cocktails finished and we were eagerly awaiting our meal.

The last time we visited Time for Thai we left with a stonking great bill, most of which ended up being wine! Whether it’s great customer service or a ploy to sell more wine, the waiters were continually topping up the wine glasses and replacing the bottles. This time we were much more aware of the topping up procedure and it wasn’t a problem – we just moved the bottle out of the waiters reach!

The menu is extensive, but consensus was to go for the “Thai Banquet for 4” for £29.95 per person (with your choice of mains) which felt like a good deal, and kept things simple.

Mixed Sharing Platter

We started off with the “Mixed Sharing Starter” which included vegetable and rice spring rolls, shredded pork neck, fish cakes and Thai style fried prawns in blankets. We enjoyed each of the options except the fish cakes. Whilst the spring rolls, pork neck and prawns were lovely and crisp and light the texture of the fish cakes wasn’t really our cup of tea. The dish was lovingly presented and an excellent start to the meal.

As part of our banquet we had a salad course of grilled sirloin in a traditional thai dressing with dried chilli and roasted galanga rice. I normally wouldn’t opt for a salad course, but this was a real treat. The sirloin was extremely tender with deep and wonderful flavours and the chilli added a nice kick giving tingly lips but the sweeter thai dressing ensured that it didn’t overpower the dish.

Grilled Sirloin Salad

We each decided to choose a different main course and then just share. It worked out just fine with no fights and everyone got what they wanted, with the opportunity to try everyone elses dish.

The main courses all arrived piping hot and were a hit! I had opted for the chicken, mushrooms and cashew nuts, and there was a nice balance between the amounts of chicken, veg and nuts. The dish wasn’t overflowing with sauce, but the sauce that was there was delicious. The vegetables were lovely, fresh and crisp. Raymond had the red curry of roast duck with apple in coconut milk and Thai herbs that tasted fragrant and delicious.

All in all we thoroughly enjoyed our evening (big thumbs up from our visitors) and the banquet menu made for a reasonably priced night. Time for Thai is certainly up there with Edinburgh’s other Thai restaurants and we would definitely go back.