Wara Thai Cafe for Thai Street Food in Chippenham

Having spent our Sunday morning shopping, we were craving a hearty meal and initially hoped for our usual goat curry fix from Yanni’s in Chippenham. Unfortunately, they were closed, leading us to finally try Wara Thai Cafe, a spot we’ve had our eye on during previous visits to the area.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by friendly staff and promptly seated, a great start for our dining experience. The interior was clean and new. Minimalistic and in natural tones, this modern looking cafe or restaurant will appeal to the young and small families. We were the first customers in so the place was quiet but it did not take long before other customers joined us.

Starters

We decided to start with a trio of dishes:

Chicken and Prawn Toast: A delightful blend of minced chicken and prawn, seasoned with Thai herbs, sprinkled with sesame seeds, and served alongside a sweet chilli dip.

Salt and Pepper Pork Ribs: Deep-fried pork belly tossed with garlic, spring onions, and sea salt on a bed of chopped lettuce, paired perfectly with a sweet chilli dip. The small slices of pork belly were crispy and tasty and pairs well with the dipping sauce.

Tom Kha Soup: A rich, aromatic coconut milk soup flavoured with mushrooms, galangal, lemongrass, lime leaves, and red onion, enhanced by a drizzle of chilli oil and topped with coriander. We chose chicken as the main protein, though prawn and mushroom options were also available. This is our firm favourite, and we order this whenever we are at a Thai. As such it has become a dish for which we form an opinion on a restaurant by. I have to say, the use of fresh ingredients and fullness of the flavour allowed this dish to hit the mark.

Each starter was cooked beautifully, capturing authentic Thai flavours. Being particular about Asian cuisine, we were pleased with the balance of seasoning and presentation.

What We’ll Try Next Time

Our visit left us curious about other starters we didn’t have room for, such as:

Tom Yum: The famous hot and sour Thai soup with mushrooms, tomato, lemongrass, and roasted chillies.
Sweet Chilli Sauce Chicken Wings: Southern Thai-style fried chicken wings coated in sweet chilli sauce.

The cafe also offers a “Thai Tapas” option where you can order light bites individually or bundled into a trio. Options include chicken satay, pork dumplings, Thai fish cakes, and vegetable tempura.

Mains

For the main course, we ordered:

Massaman Curry (Beef): A medium-spiced coconut milk curry with potatoes, carrots, onions, cashew nuts, and fried onions. While flavourful, the potatoes were slightly undercooked, and the portion of beef was sparse. We would have liked it more if there were more slices of beef and smaller pieces of chopped potatoes.

Stir Fried Cashew Nuts (Battered Chicken): Cashew nuts stir-fried with onions, spring onions, mushrooms, carrots, and peppers in a roasted red chilli sauce. The battered chicken pieces were large and tasty but disappointingly, no cashew nuts were found in the dish despite its name.

Pad Thai (Chicken, No Beansprouts): Rice noodles stir-fried with eggs, sweet turnips, spring onions, carrots, and tamarind sauce. The portion was generous and included plenty of chicken slices, meeting the preferences of our picky eater, who also asked for no beansprouts in her Pad Thai.

Dessert

Though we were tempted by the Mango Sticky Rice, we were simply too full to indulge further.

Chef’s Specials & Future Orders

The Chef’s Special menu caught our eye and will be on our radar for future visits. Dishes like Pineapple Duck Red Curry, Tamarind Duck, and Sea Bass in Creamy Red Curry Sauce sound particularly inviting.

For those seeking more casual street food options, the Noodles and Rice section offers plenty of choices, including Pad See Ew, Chow Mein, Fried Rice, and the visually enticing Special Pineapple Fried Rice served in a pineapple shell.

Verdict

Wara Thai Cafe delivered an overall positive experience with authentic Thai flavours, friendly service, and a diverse menu. While a few details like the absence of cashew nuts in the stir fry and slightly undercooked potatoes in the curry could be improved, we were satisfied and look forward to returning for another round of flavourful dishes.