Riverside Thai
Shop 2/42 Harris St
Pyrmont, Sydney
What an incredible addition to the Pyrmont food scene. This suburb has countless Thai restaurants, but few with such a sophisticated and considered menu as Riverside Thai. The décor matches the chef’s vision for the restaurant - relaxed, modern and fresh. The timber panelling and soft mood lighting feels more like a luxury hotel you might walk into in Thailand, rather than a restaurant. The staff are very welcoming and knowledgeable about the food, so if you’re not sure what to order (and it’s a tough choice), just ask them for a recommendation.
We started the evening with a couple of traditional Thai drinks. The coconut juice was nutty, fresh and sweet and the pieces of coconut were a lovely surprise to eat at the end. The milk tea was a perfect balance of the bitterness of the tea and the sweetness of the milk, which proved to be a bit of a lifeline when we got to the spicy dishes a bit later on.
First up was the slow cooked duck breast which was so beautifully cooked. The ginger pickle and vinegar sauce were flavoursome but delicate enough that it didn’t overpower the taste of the duck. Paired with a light salad for some crunch and a little chilli to add some heat, this was a cracker of a dish to start our menu with.
Next up was the Octopus Salad. Be warned, the chilli in this packs a punch. This was a modern take on the Thai Beef Salad, and it was just as good. This dish was a lovely blend of flavours and textures, with crunchy salad and cashew nuts paired with beautiful and tender marinated baby octopus, it was an absolute winner.
Our favourite dish of the evening was the Mussaman Osso Bucco, another clever and modern take on a Thai classic. The chef makes the curry paste from scratch to help draw a greater depth of flavour in the curry and has replaced the traditional shank meat with Osso Bucco to give the dish another dimension with the chewier texture of the meat. Served on the bone and with potatoes and braised onion, this was a super tasty and hearty dish which was perfect for the cold winter’s night that it was.
The final dish we selected was the Barramundi Fillet with Green Mango Salad - not a dish we would traditionally order but on recommendation from our waitress, we were glad we did. The Barramundi fillet was lightly fried and cooked perfectly that it just fell apart on the fork. The green mango salad with chilli, mint, shallot and red onion was a light and fresh accompaniment to a delicate fish which was full of flavour.
There are so many dishes left to try at Riverside Thai, we will definitely be back to work our way through the list of Signature Dishes. If going with a group, we recommend getting a couple of different dishes and sharing - you’ll definitely have order envy if you don’t! A huge than you to chef Paul and the team at Riverside Thai for hosting us, we had a wonderful evening.
The Viscountesses dined as guests of Riverside Thai.