Paolina’s Thai Cafe

Amazing find. Very authentic food. Loved the fact that it is family owned and not a chain. Prices were reasonable and service was fairly quick. Only complaint was that the place was a tad loud and quite cold.

We heard about this great thai café just around the corner from the office so five of us went down after work. It’s a cosy little place tucked away from the bustle of kings cross. We got a nice table and ordered. I got the Chicken tom yam and Gai med mamuang with sticky rice. the food was good. Everone else liked theirs and so i think we may become regulars as the prices are really good for kings cross.

Definitely a hole-​in-​the-​wall, but it was pretty packed on a Friday night, so we figured the locals must be on to something! It’s BYOB with a £1 corkage fee per person which is a great deal. We sat outside (two small tables, the rest are inside and downstairs) and ordered Tom Poh Taek soup, Pad Cha Talay (seafood stir fry), Kang Pa (beef curry), and an egg fried rice.
The soup was great — hot and sour, with tons of flavor, and very spicy! Absolutely clears out your sinuses but is also delicious from the lemongrass and coconut. If you usually get the same Thai soups, try this one. The seafood stir fry was our favorite dish, while it didn’t blow me away, it was very flavorful and actually reminded me a bit of Chinese food in terms of the flavor of the sauce. The beef curry was our least favorite — not as spicy as advertised, and quite boring flavor-​wise despite being advertised as hot and spicy.
Both curry and stir fry were very «wet» dishes, almost soupy, so hard to eat on your plate. Better really for one person to eat them and you can just add the rice to the bowl, instead of spooning out small portions. But we managed!
Overall, I thought it was good Thai food, though I’ve undoubtedly had better. If I lived in the neighborhood I’d get takeaway here, but frankly I don’t see a reason to go out of your way. I’m not sure what I’m missing, but I didn’t really see what was so special about it. It is pretty cheap, though the portions aren’t huge — you won’t have any leftovers. Cash only!

Food was delicious! Great little whole in the wall. Definitely recommend this place.

I’m slightly disappointed by Paolina’s Thai Café. I got takeaway, and while the food itself wasn’t bad, it certainly wasn’t memorable. Also the portion size was shockingly small, so I came away still a bit hungry. Perhaps I would’ve gotten more if I had sat in instead of taking it away?
However, the most egregious part of the meal was actually when it was being prepared. The kitchen lies exposed to the customers, and it makes for a pretty neat scene while you wait for your food. The one chef that was preparing my food seemed friendly and knowledgeable enough, and my food came out rather quickly.
When he was packing my food, he started to make another customer’s dish. AT THIS MOMENT, he decided to PICK HIS NOSE, wipe it on his apron, and continued cooking without sanitizing his fingers. I was disgusted and almost had a mind to throw away my food, out of fear that he might have done it earlier without me watching.
That one moment has probably turned me off this place for good. Rather disturbing display of the sanitary conditions, or lack thereof, in this one-​man kitchen.

Its a nice little family run Thai joint. Not a place you would generally come across but its cheap and relaxed. It ain’t a chain so don’t expect a fancy décor however, it great to grab a quick bite (something after work maybe). There is a inner and outer searing area, inner can cater for a group of 6 max. seated together, more can do but not ideal, although the place can hold about 30 people in total. They don’t except reservations neither do they do delivery’s (but yes do have takeaway).
If you are unsure what to order — spicy, mild, sweet and sour), do ask as they provide personalised suggestions (which is great). All the meat/​seafood dishes availabke can be made in Vegetarian.
Last tip, get some cash before popping in to avoid rush for cash machine after a good meal (since they don’t accept cards).

First time coming here and it was so good! Didn’t wait long and the pad Thai was so good! The hot and sour soup is also good, considering going back for dinner as well!

I’m from the US and I got takeout from here tonight… best red curry I’ve had here! And the lemongrass soup was to die for! Delicious flavor. Love how cozy it is inside as well.

On my own in London for work and very happy to have found this gem of a place. Had been curry with rice, awesome

Hole in the wall thai walking distance from kings cross station. Just visiting for a week to london but decided to come back here for a second pad seeyu beef and banana fritter with ice cream.
As good as it gets for cheap eats in London from what i have seem this week. The only drawback is that things could move a bit faster in terms of service and food. Both times i was there an hour although i ate and wanted to pay quickly

Cheap and cheerful. Probably not the highest-​quality ingredients, but one guy in a tiny kitchen making good Thai food to order. Casual and cheerful and low-​key. There is nothing not to like if you want some home cooking.

Maybe I’m used to the thai food here in the states, but I was pretty disappointed with the Pad Kee Mao, Drunken noodles, the noodles were bland and flavorless.

Not necessarily the cheap spot it once was, but truly fresh and flavorful Thai food made in a seriously tiny open kitchen right at the entrance. You can see that they know what they’re doing and not skimping/​shortcutting on any of the layers of flavor that makes Thai so wonderful. Main dishes of curry range between £6 and £9 depending on your meat, but this adds up as the portions are not huge, and don’t include rice which is £3+ Regardless, the food is yumminess, so that’s the price you have to pay!

I’m a big fan of this place. It looks dingy from the outside, but don’t be afraid, walk on in!
I absolutely adore Thai food. It’s so hard to find a place in central London that is both affordable and serves high-​quality food; luckily, this is one of them! I come here at least three times a week.
The green curry with vegetables is excellent, and the pad thai with prawns is alright.
I also appreciate that the restaurant has an open kitchen, which I’m always a fan of because I’m a real stickler for cleanliness and open kitchens make me feel that the restaurant has nothing to hide.
Tip: this place is cash only.

Okay, why isn’t there more review on this Thai place located off Kings cross?
Oh– my– god. (with Friend’s Janice’s accent). Delicious thai food freshly cooked right next to you in the store. This place deserves more rave and praise!
Don’t get put off by the small store front, say hello to a few step down and a few bigger long tables! All their noodle dishes are well made with affordable pricing. Not the cheapest thai, but for what you get, and its portions, it’s not a bad deal.
Also once saw a group celebrating a birthday dinner here, so, there you go. It is big enough to cater more than 10+ people!
Do try their thai ice tea! Yum!

A friend who has lived in London for ages brought us out for one of our first restaurant meals after moving here from Toronto. We were not disappointed! The food was delicious and inexpensive. Plus, we saved money bringing out own beer with no corking fee!
I got the prawn pad thai and hubs got chicken pad thai. Both were great.
My only complaint (which, really, I could have voiced at the time but didn’t) was that my pad thai (1 of 3 we ordered) was much smaller than the orders given to my dining partners. Not sure if that’s just because I’m a small woman or if it was an accident. (When I used to live in Guatemala, my portion sizes when I ate out would frequently be «sized to fit» my tiny frame. Unfortunately for me, I eat a lot more than one would expect for my wee-​ness!) Luckily, my fiancé had already eaten before we went out so I was able to finish his equally yummy dish.

Very cheap & cheerful. You wouldn’t expect it to look at but a little gem in Kings Cross. The food was great & really reasonable: 2 starters, 2 mains, rice & soft drinks was £26 (not including tip). Will definitely go back! Oh, & it’s BYOB.

Don’t be fooled by the dodgy exterior, this place does a banging Chicken Pad Thai! It’s very cheap but the food is really good quality and the little old couple who run it are super friendly. If you are in the area, this is the only Thai place to go.

When I first entered this establishment (I can’t call it a restaurant) I thought I might find some old sex-​workers sitting in the corner, eating thai food before their shift on the streets of Kings Cross.
It’s charming, in a slightly run down and uncared for sort of way, but don’t worry cos it’s clean and safe (no food poisioning just yet).
Average Thai food if you can look past the exterior, interior and strange set up.
Not for dates. Not somewhere I’d go out of my way for. But it’s alright if your stuck for anything else to eat.
Recommend the Pad thai… it’s pretty decent.

if this is the paolina’s i think it is, it’s really close to dinwiddy house on pentonville road and pretty much the BEST thai food i’ve ever had. pad see ew, gyoza and chicken satay. AMAZING. humongous portions, and their food was so so good.
i went to SOAS for my third year of undergraduate and lived at dinwiddy house. we used to frequent paolina’s and sit in their downstairs room w/​the tables that were too close together at least once a week. ok so here’s the thing — the food was good but the ambience wasn’t even close by a longshot. and service was always so slow. however, they were SUPER friendly and it was really close to our school. so we returned frequently.
paolina’s is the type of place you go to all the time with your best friends because it’s close to your heart. because it’s got comfort food. because they always make you feel welcome and smile big and you leave full and happy. you don’t really notice the stained linens or cramped bathroom (which you sortof have to climb your way into) or the fact that your table is pretty much touching the table next to it. you sortof just gloss over all these things. because paolina’s is the type of place you can make your own «spot». and who doesn’t love having a restaurant to call their own spot.