Zaap Thai- The Streets of Bangkok Come to Nottingham

One of Nottingham’s latest restaurants to open in the city centre is Zaap. Offering Thai street food in a unique setting modelled on the streets of Thailand. The environment feels almost like you could be in the hustle and bustle of downtown Bangkok among the alleyways riding on a Tuktuk. We love our South-East Asian food and the excuse to try something new for a bit of a review

Zaap- Thai Street Food, Nottingham

The menu takes you through a selection of Thai curries, soups, noddles and varieties that should give everyone plenty of debate on what you’re going to eat. With Krib Krub promising to work well as finger food for dipping and devouring

Last Wednesday saw the Nottingham Food Lovers invited to visit Zaap for a VIP Preview night and as suckers for trying something new we jumped at the chance. Invites for drinks and nibbles are always nice and we hoped for the chance to see just what the menu offered. With the chefs being bought in direct from Thailand it's going to be hard to find more authentic food in Nottingham. 

Looking Out From the Teaq Garden at Zaap Thai, Nottingham

Inside Zaap is an array of scenes from Thailand you'd expect top see all merging together well. The designer must have been a little bit nuts but adding together booths in the form of Tuktuks you walk in to a decor that resembles the bustling backstreets of Bangkok before the restaurant flows into a unique section resembling Maeklong Railway Market (including a lifesize train mock up) as well as a tea garden type area which looks like it would be a great area for group parties. 

Maeklong Station But in the Heart of Nottingham

Dining in Front of the Train- Zaap Thai, Nottingham

Everything at Zaap seems well thought out and authentic with lots going on. The interior itself could easily keep the conversation flowing for a relaxed date or group of friends getting together. There's so much going on that you won't struggle for conversation starters.

More of the interior at Zaap Nottingham

Re-sused Coffe Sacks make for comfortable seating

Lots of Light on the Streets of Bangkok- Zaap Nottingham 

Thai Beer and Nibbles

On entry to Zaap we were welcomed with a bottle of Sincha Thai Beer- Very nice and incredibly easy to drink. After a guided tour we were treated to a selection of nibbles from the menu. We feasted on a hearty selection which we were happy to dip into some amazing Thai Sweet Chili Sauce which was so good we would actually consider drinking it.

• Kiew Tod- Crispy wantons with minced chicken- well worth trying
• Tod Mun Pla- Thai Fishcakes which almost had the consistency of a thick omelet, I think I could eat these all day!
• Tod Mun Khow Phod- Corn cakes which make for a great vegetarian option
• Sai Grog Zaap- Thai Sour Pork Sausages- short, chunky bundles of piggy heaven.

Thai Nibbles. Kiew Tod, Tod Mun Pla and Sai Grog Zaap

Having been in town hitting the shops for the afternoon by this point in the evening we were starting to get seriously hungry. So decided we would sample a few items from the main menu.

After much debate we eventually opted for a trio of the Gang Panaeng, Hoy Tod and Pad Pak Bung Fai Daeng Moo Krob. I've never tried a Panaeng curry and neither of us have had the other dishes on the menu so always worth trying something new.

The Gang Panaeng is a rich Panaeng curry with lime leaves. Being a seafood lover I was always going to ask for it with prawns (£8.50) although pork and chicken were options. The Hoy Tod is a crispy pan fried mussel pancake on a bed of beansprouts which didn't sound quite as filling as it genuinely was. Pad Pak Bung Fai Daeng Moo Krob is stir fired morning glory (water spinach which is very popular in Thailand) with Moo Krob- Belly Pork. All came out nicely cooked with beautifully crisp crackling on the belly pork and very flavoursome.

With many main courses costing around £8-9 Zaap seems to represent good value for money. The meals were of a sensible size and generously filling. I think we would consider 3 meals between the two of us in future as we have pretty big appetites. There were a large number of vegetarian options to keep us all satisfied (and for those pescatarians out there). 

Gang Panaeng, Hoy Tod and Pad Pak Bung Fai Daeng Moo Krob at Zaap Nottingham

We had a fantastic experience at Zaap, Nottingham and will definitely be back in future. It's the kind of resaturant that adds something new and unique to the city which we're sure could well bring foodies in from further afield. 

Zaap Thai Nottingham

Unit B Bromley Place (Next to Oaks)

Nottingham NG1 6JG

Open daily 11am to 12 am

No need to book but if you want to hire an area of the restaurant for a party it'd be best to contact them on 0115 9470 204 or email nottingham@zaapthai.co.uk

Dine in your very own Tuktuk at Zaap

Spices Galore!