If you haven’t already heard, Rosa’s Thai has made it to Oxford! It’s now located on George Street. We were kindly invited to try out some summer specials.

What we ate:

• Pandan chicken and sriracha sauce (£7.50)
• Honey-marinated pork skewers (£7.00)
• Soft shell crab salad (£13.50)
• Crispy tamarind duck (£18.00)
• Chocolate brownie (£5.00)
• Thai churros (£5.00)
• Boozy Thai iced tea (£7.25)

What I thought:

The pandan chicken was GORGE. Bursting with flavour, perfectly tender, and just left me wanting more. When I realised the recipe for it is available in the Rosa’s Thai recipe book, I was overjoyed – I want to make it once a week. No notes.

Similar vibes with the pork skewers, crispy yet succulent, packed with flavour, and served with a tangy and tart tamarind dipping sauce.

I fancied myself a healthy gal on this night so opted for the crab salad instead of a curry. The crab was nice and crispy, but I thought the salad itself could’ve been more exciting. It needed something to bring it together and make it pop a bit more – perhaps also needed a wider variety of textures.

The duck was beautifully cooked and served under a sticky tamarind sauce which complemented it wonderfully.

We washed all this down with a few boozy iced teas which were punchy, not too sweet, and dangerously drinkable. The kind of cocktail where you can’t taste the alcohol but then you stand up feeling a lil woozy. Lovely stuff.

We didn’t reeeeally have room for dessert, but the waiter persuaded us (not that hard to do really). I’m not usually a fan of coconut in sweet things, but the coconut ice cream worked well with the brownie and lifted the dish.

I’ve absolutely loved churros since I can remember, and these didn’t disappoint. Crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and the sweet sauce was the perfect companion for it. Let’s just say we had heavy legs cycling home afterwards.

What I felt:

Overall, a really lovely vibe. Something I think that Rosa’s does well, even though it’s now a very successful chain restaurant with over 30 restaurants, is it still feels like a lovely small local business. The decor, the friendly and chatty people working there, the pictures of the founder (Saiphin) on the walls. It all feels lovely and cosy and somewhere you could pop in regularly for a quick bite, or a long slow meal across an evening.

We’d love to hear if you’ve been since it opened, and what you thought! Let us know in the comments.

Rosa’s Thai
27-29 George St, Oxford OX1 2AU

Bitten were guests of Rosa’s Thai, and all views are our own