Naamyaa

This was my second visit to Naamyaa, which is clearly being designed for a roll-out of branches in due course, just as happened with Busaba Eathai, also founded by Alan Yau. The dining room is much lighter than the relative gloom of Busaba branches, and the dining room feels casual yet still carefully designed.

Mackerel salad (£11.50) was pleasant, the fish mixed in with red peppers roasted over charcoal, coriander and other herbs, with a pleasant lightly spiced dressing, though the fish itself did not have a lot of flavour (13/20). This was better than crispy salmon salad (£9), whose skin was actually rather flabby rather than crispy, and where the dressing had a surprisingly high chilli quotient that overwhelmed everything else (11/20).

Duck curry (£11.50) with potato was enjoyable, the meat tender, the potato still retaining some texture, the fairly mild curry sauce not dominating the duck (13/20). Prawn green curry (£10.50) was pleasant, the shellfish tender, though the curry itself was not as rich and complex as this can be in a top Thai restaurant (12/20). Bak choi (£5.20) was acceptable, but the texture was just a little more watery than I would have liked (11/20).

Service from our Slovakian waiter was excellent, and the bill including drinks came to a modest £33 a head. Although Naamyaa is not the very best Thai food that you can find in London, it is generally very competent and is priced reasonably. Over the two visits my main issue has been a lack of consistency, with some dishes genuinely good, others lacklustre, so 12/20 feels like the right overall score.

Further reviews: 11th Jan 2013