The Royal Thai Gardens opened on the 4th April 2008 and is the result of my passion and love for Thai food. Having lived on the Costa Blanca for in excess of 8 years. I have constantly searched for an authentic Thai restaurant locally, only to be constantly disappointed.
I have had to travel to the UK, Hungary, Russia and even Thailand to experience good Thai food, which was an extremely long distance to eat Thai food. After much research, I decided the only was to enjoy authentic Thai food was to open my own Thai restaurant.
I realised to do this I needed Thai food experts, and they should be Thai nationals. Fortunately I found two great Thai food experts here in Spain. Jom from Chaeng Mai, Thailand, who has opened Thai restaurants in Bangkok, Phuket, Marbella, Sweden and Germany. Jom's good friend Pi-Jo from Chantaburi, Thailand who has worked in Thai kitchens in Chantaburi, Bangkok, Germany and Spain.
Their first task was to cook for me in my own home. I found all the fresh ingredients they requested to make authentic Thai food, and I sat down to my favourite soup, Tom Yam Goon.......and then a green curry with jasmine rice. It was exactly as if I was back in Bangkok. The dream was becoming a reality.
We then found the location for the first Royal Thai Gardens and after some months refurbishing the restaurant, we opened. We pride ourselves on our authentic Thai food, comfort and personal, friendly service which you would find if you travelled to Thailand. We sincerely hope you agree.
We hope you enjoy your evening at the Royal Thai Gardens.
Linda and I live in the Hondon area and regularly drive over the hill to Guardamar either to visit the excellent market or to go to the bank. This is quite a routine drive through Albetera, past Almoradi and into Guardamar.Then one day a few months ago, the drive suddenly became exciting – just by the turn off to Rojales clearly visible from the road there was a building in the process of being renovated with a sign saying “Royal Thai Gardens Restaurant”.
I have lived and worked in Thailand and can honestly say that Thai food is probably my favourite food – originally we moved here from Leeds where we had a couple of excellent Thai restaurants but I had never found an authentic Thai restaurant here in Spain. Sure there are plenty of Chinese restaurants that include Thai food on their menu but believe me I can only describe that food as the “Chinese version”.
Several times we drove down from the main road to check on the progress of The Royal Thai Gardens Restaurant – until one day in April we found that the doors had opened – in we went. We were immediately greeted by the owner – the flamboyant Englishman Nick Shaw – it was impossible to miss him – he was the guy in shorts wearing a really loud Hawaiian shirt. My first reaction was it's an English restaurant making its own version of Thai food.
This misgiving was soon put to sleep during my first conversation with Nick – it turns out he has lived in Spain for several years and is quite a successful entrepreneur. His personal favourite food is Thai and as he found none available decided to open his own restaurant – with one major difference – it had to serve authentic Thai food.
His determination is clearly visible, the Restaurant Manager is Thai, his Head Waitress is Thai, the Chef is Thai and Nick assured us that all his herbs and spices were flown in from Thailand. This was all very impressive, but as the old saying is “the proof of the pudding is.....etc.”.
We ordered lunch and whilst it was being individually prepared Nick showed us around. The Royal Thai Gardens can only be described as wonderful – there is a very nice cocktail bar and three separate eating areas. There is an air-conditioned formal dining room, a glass enclosed annex and a most beautiful Terrace with a fountain in the middle which can be completely open or is easily rearranged by a series of blinds to accommodate the sun. No expense has been spared on this beautiful restaurant it is certainly the nicest I have eaten in – in Spain.
However, in my opinion, the only reason to go to any restaurant is the food! As Nick promised the food is genuine authentic Thai. I will always remember on that first day having wonderful Thai fishcakes to start and then duck in red Thai curry and fish in a sweet chilli sauce – the food was perfect in flavour in presentation and truly authentic Thai. An additional bonus for me is that they serve Singha beer from Thailand.
To be honest Linda and I were so impressed with all aspects of the Royal Thai Gardens that after only one visit we were so convinced that we asked the Chef if he would do a traditional Thai buffet for our forthcoming wedding. On 27th June we took 24 guests and the most beautiful Thai buffet was served to us on the terrace. All of our guests loved the place and the food and several have already returned on their own.
All the staff are so friendly and helpful, visitors are always greeted with a smile and the Thai greeting of “Sawadeeka”. There is no need to worry if you don't know what to order, they will happily explain the menu to you – although not on the menu the Chef even prepared a special vegetarian meal for one of our guests and she publicly declared it was her best vegetarian meal EVER.
The menu is extensive with great choices and at the moment Linda and I are regular visitors – the word is now getting around and after such a short time The Royal Thai Gardens has built itself an excellent reputation so that it is necessary to book a table on a weekend.
If you have never tried Thai food don't be worried it's not “hot” but it's made with delicate spices that produce a beautiful taste in the mouth. It's also well worth a lunchtime visit – the restaurant now does a Menu del Dia – and it gives you the opportunity to both see the restaurant and sample the excellent food.
Linda and I are not food critics or Gourmet chefs we are just two people from Leeds who are delighted that the Royal Thai Gardens Restaurant has opened in our area.