First review of Brother Thai’s permanent street restaurant in Cardiff – Karen Price

There is nothing better than attending a festival or pop-up event and seeing your favorite food vendor show up.

Brother Thai has been a staple of the street food scene for many years and their roast beef is legendary – the only downside is the fact that if you miss the opportunity, you miss it.

But not anymore. Because the company has just opened the doors of its first permanent restaurant in Cardiff, which will undoubtedly delight fans like me who adore these aforementioned rotis. You can read more about the new restaurant here.

Read more:James Sommerin opens a new gourmet restaurant in Penarth

It is based on the busy Whitchurch Road in Cardiff, which has become a veritable gastronomic hub with places like Society Standard, Got Beef and Mint & Mustard already attracting punters and new openings underway including the Alex Gooch bakery.

Brother Thai has moved into the former Cocorrico pastry house and the decor is simple but elegant with black wood and white painted walls, wooden tables, banquettes, soft lighting and an open kitchen to the back .

We arrived the first night and the tables were all full. Before showing us our seats we had to do some tracking and tracing and we were offered hand sanitizer.

We went through the paper menus on the table and the sticky roast beef that always makes us salivate was, of course, on it. They were listed alongside four other rotis – Thai Basil Chicken, Roasted Jackfruit, Chicken Red Curry, and Sticky Vegan Beef (all priced at £ 9).

There were also three rice bowls – beef pad, Thai fried chicken satay, and vegan sticky beef (all priced at £ 11) – and three sides of Thai fried chicken (£ 8), jackfruit panko satay (£ 7) and spicy cascade salad (£ 5).

There is an amazing selection of bottled beers, wines and cocktails, but as my friend and I were driving we had to stick to the non-alcoholic drinks.

We decided to share a selection of dishes so we ordered the Red Curry Chicken Roti, Thai Fried Chicken Satay Rice Bowl, Thai Fried Chicken, and the Sticky Roast Beef.

The service was friendly and efficient, in keeping with the Brother Thai philosophy which has been refined over half a decade of working on the street food festival circuit.

So already a big check mark – then the food came in and our experience just got even better.

Ok, so let’s get rid of the famous sticky roast beef first – luckily, as always, it didn’t disappoint. The roti itself was hot, crisp, and flaky and it was wrapped with beautifully tender meat in a sticky sweet coating but with a nice kick too.

The new red curry chicken roti was a great second choice – lots of chicken pieces and the red curry flavor held on.

The fried chicken was the perfect side dish – large chunks of tender, boneless chicken (bonus) that were perfectly sticky and slightly crunchy and topped with just enough gloopy sauce. They were served with two large slices of fresh cucumber which cleans the palate well.

On the final dish – and dare we say a rival for the sticky roast beef …

The Thai Fried Chicken Pad Satay bowl basically looked like the side dish above, but topped with one of the best satay sauces we’ve tasted – creamy, thick, and full of flavor. The jasmine rice that came with it was fragrant and sticky.

Overall the meal was a feast for your senses and the presentation was top notch and at just £ 43 for all four courses and two soft drinks we thought it was a good deal.

A small complaint? After the sweet spiciness of the food, we craved something sweet to end the evening, but unfortunately there weren’t any desserts on offer yet. According to our server, they plan to introduce them soon, which will be a real icing on the cake.

It had been a long time, but Brother Thai’s first restaurant was well worth the wait. We will return.

Brother Thai is on Whitchurch Road, Cardiff. For more details visit their Facebook page here.