65
Oxford 2020/21
THAI
Thai
38 Magdalen Road, Oxford, OX4 1RB
01865 790223
OLI’S THAI
Oli’s Thai is a small but
exceptionally busy restaurant in
the backstreets of east Oxford.
The place is wildly popular,
although
entirely
without
attitude or pretence. Within
moments of arriving, you’ll see
why. It’s a small, unpretentious
room, with no more than six
tables, and a few single spots
facing onto the street. Spoons,
forks and napkins sit in a
glass on the table and David
Thompson tomes squat on a
shelf next to large plastic pots
of chilli paste and fish sauce.
Regulars wander in, greeting
the owners and sitting in the
same places they did last week,
and the week before that. Try
the crisp chickpea salad to
start, very un-Thai in its main
ingredient, but utterly authentic
in its spicing. It’s a dish of rare
poise and balance, sweet and
tart waltzing together in perfect
harmony. The menu is small
but accomplished: 12 dishes
including dessert to choose
from, all mouthwateringly fresh
and delicious. The lemongrass
mieng comes as a series
of mieng leaves, with the
lemongrass stuffing placed in
the middle and some peanuts,
shrimp and chilli to distribute
by hand, while the confit duck
panang curry is simply a
revelation.
