Craving a good Thai meal but your dinner date feels like a steak? No need to draw (paper) straws- Thai Rock in Pott’s Point caters to both tastes while creating an environment where you can kick back and spend an entire evening without having to research a second venue to kick onto.
Husband and wife owners Stephanie and David Boyd combine their tastes and cultures in offering both Thai cuisine (curries, noodles, rices) and standard Western dishes (burgers, steaks, salad, chips). The family affair also brings (literally!) to the table the talents of their two gorgeous children: son Dylan runs the bar and serves a mean gin and tonic. We are impressed by the choice with 125 gins stocked to date (with Dylan’s guidance I get a deliciously sweet Brockmans Gin with fresh berries and Fevertree Mediterranean Tonic Water and my date imbibes a more bitter, but equally tasty, Skully Oriental Citrus). Daughter Chelsea is head waitress and the other coolest kid on the block. She is both friendly and able to make quick, convincing suggestions as we deliberate over the expansive menu.
Tonight David is our host and joins us with a glass of wine between passages around the other tables, making sure everyone is happy, nourished and hydrated. Hailing from the Scottish highlands, he’s naturally chatty and hospitable. He has to cover some ground too – Thai Rock has cosier rooms at the front but also a large bar area to relax at and too more expansive rooms that could easily cater for large gatherings. But our host returns regularly for great banter. By the time we’re sucking down our entrés (succulent scallops and golden, crisp money bags), we feel part of the family.
We decide to continue to stick to the Thai side of the menu tonight. The dishes originate from the villages near Stephanie’s home region of Isan in northeast Thailand close to Cambodia and Laos.
Tipped off by Chelsea, we go for the duck curry (don’t got past it- the sauce is out of this world), the barramundi (delicate and delicious, lifted with ginger, chilli and a sublime lemon grass sauce) and a vegetarian rice served in half a pineapple.
As for the wine selection, David seems to know his drops so we let him match our meals, starting light with the Catalina Sounds Pinot Noir, getting more rounded with the Yangarra Estate Grenache/Shiraz / Mourvèdre blend and finishing with the bolder Keith Tulloch McKelvie Shiraz to while digesting on the back terrace. No complaints.
Our eyes were bigger than our stomachs in the food department so we leave the dessert, deciding it’s a good excuse to return and try the fried ice cream, the mango gelato with white sticky rice, or perhaps the coconut panna cotta.
Bidding farewell, we run out fingers over the golden good luck tree on the wall before heading back into the night, wondering how so many hours had disappeared but with the warm sensation of having spent the evening with old family friends.
