Friendly Thai, Whetstone: a victim of its own success

Saturday 16th Feb
On the site of what used to be La Tavola restaurant (now resurrected as 36 a couple of miles away) is a relatively recent arrival to the multiple eating opportunities of Whetstone High Road (which is a surprise also). We had heard good reports from friends, and whilst we knew it might be crowded, it was a place we wanted to try.
I went in on Thursday night to book in person, so I saw that at about 10 p.m. on that night, for Saturday, there were only a couple of names in the diary. By the time we arrived on Saturday night, they were full, and remained so. You can check out the restaurant and their menu on www.friendlythai.co.uk/ . The problem with giving your restaurant that sort of name is that it gives a level of expectation that you must live up to.
The menu is fairly extensive, and from what we could tell, meals were freshly cooked. The problem is that when crowded, it seems that they cannot cope with the numbers, and we found (as has been documented in other reviews) that the service is slooooooow.
We ordered a set meal as we thought it should not challenge them too much: this is what it says

"SET MENU MENU FOR 2 @ £16.50 PER PERSON
APPERTIZERS
Chicken Satay, Veggie Spring Rolls, Prawns wrapped in Crispy Pastry,
Marinated Chicken in Pandanus Leaves, Minced Prawns on Toast
MAIN COURSE
Freshwater Prawns or Lamb or Duck with Sweet Tamarind Sauce,Green or Red Curry with Chicken,
Steamed Mixed Vegetables in Oyster Sauce or stir fried chicken in chilli, Steamed Thai Jasmine Rice"

We opted for the lamb with Tamarind, the chicken and red curry.
There was a fairly acceptable house wine at £12.95 per bottle. We had to wait a substantial time for the appetizers, but when they came they were quite impressive:

These were hot, scoring an impressive 9 on the CHOF scale, interesting, and a good quantity for the two of us.It was at this point that something struck me. Despite the assertion on the web site that authentic ingredients whenever possible, the food did not have the aroma and true taste of Thailand. I am basing this comment on a couple of past trips to Thailand, and having been stranded in Bangkok when a plane broke down in recent times when I was taken to the BUA restaurant 

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Asia/Thailand/Central_Eastern_Thailand/Bangkok-1445238/Restaurants-Bangkok-Bua_Restaurant-BR-1.html If you want a good restaurant to go to in Bangkok, I would unreservedly recommend that one. The aroma of Thailand is very special and permeates the country and the food especially. This was Thai for for English tastes, which is not exactly a criticism, but don't expect to relive your holiday.(On the other hand there were no visible cockroaches and we did not get diarrhoea which is always a risk on Bangkok).
After a long wait, our main courses came. I have a photo of empty plates, but that is not very interesting.
This is the result of our order:

Once again, the food was hot scoring a 9. Whilst spicy, the curry lacked the kick which it might have. The lamb was a little sweet (something noted by others). Each dish was well cooked, having a distinct flavour and the mix on the set menu gave a good overview of what might be possible. The a la carte menu looks far more exciting, and we look forward to another visit. It looks like Saturday is the big night, as we were offered a coupon for !5% discount on the bill if we came back on Monday through Thursday. Tempting. I get the feeling that the Saturday night rush may not have shown this place to best advantage.

For desert, although we did not need one, I had banana fritter with ice cream. For some bizarre reason, Movenpick Swiss Icecream is the franchise for deserts, and gave the dish a distinctly western flavour.

My wife had the Ramboutan (rather like a large lychee) stuffed with pineapple, which was a bit of a disappointment as it lacked the piquant flavour of both, and may possibly have come from a tin, but on the other hand, there may have been someone in the kitchen stuffing them by hand.

Overall a positive experience which needs a second try mid-week if possible. However, it lacked the authentic taste of Thailand, but where in North London can you find that?: possibly nowhere.

Post script:

Went there a few weeks later on a Sunday night. Much better- quieter and the food was even better. Still got fairly full, but not the mayhem of a Saturday. We suspect that some of the mix ups may be related to one member of staff whose English is not quite up to restaurant standard. No hesitation about recommending a return visit.