Let’s Eat, Neutral Bay

It was Carl’s birthday and being a work day, he could only find 40 minutes to celebrate.  Rather than sit at his desk and count how many people on facebook had wished him a happy birthday, he rang me and said he had a 40-minute window where ‘we could do something if you like’.

Poor guy.  Hadn’t even had time to accept his mother’s call when she phoned to wish him a happy birthday.  So I rearranged my plans and met him at Let’s Eat, a BYO Thai restaurant in Neutral Bay.

On the corner of Wycombe Road and Yeo Street

On the corner of Wycombe Road and Yeo Street


The restaurant has a modern interior with not too many nik-naks which is refreshing – have I told you I’m not keen on clutter?   The modern interior is quite minimal with a polished concrete floor and dark-stained wooden tables with banquettes along the walls.  You can see all the wok-action through the glass partition that separates the front and back of house.  The door to the street was kept open and as it wasn’t a warm day and as there was no heating inside the restaurant, we were comfortable but a little cold.

A modern interior

A modern interior

We arrived just before midday and the restaurant was empty but within minutes the place was filling up with diners and people ordering takeaway.  I’m sure the local office workers frequent the restaurant as there is a lunch special where you can order anything from a two-page menu for just $9.50.

The restaurant has a view through to the kitchen

The restaurant has a view through to the kitchen

While all the dishes on the menu read like standard Thai fare, the cooking here is much more interesting.  You won’t find crinkle-cut vegetables or common vegetables in the dishes but rather ingredients like morning glory, seaweed, holy basil, wood fungus, Chinese celery and Thai eggplants.

I'm not surprised there's a chilli on the logo

I’m not surprised there’s a chilli on the logo

Now we only had 40-minutes so it was on with the ordering very quickly.  We started with a plate of spring rolls.  I know we’ve all seen spring rolls plenty of times before so I won’t go on except to say that these had clearly come straight from the deep-fryer as they were too hot to touch.  The sauce was refreshingly pleasant as it edged towards acidic with a kick of vinegar rather than being overly sweet.  It would have been nice to have a bit more sauce, if only to help cool down the spring rolls.

Spring Rolls $5.50

Spring Rolls $5.50

We ordered two main courses from the lunch menu and both arrived promptly.  Carl had the Penang chicken curry.  I did ask him to choose something a little more interesting but he refused.  ‘I like Penang chicken curry’, he said.  This was a very generous serving  for a lunchtime meal and Carl had trouble getting through it.  Not really – he always manages to clear his plate!  The curry had a little heat and a great peanut flavour with a touch of tamarind and Kaffir lime leaves that made it refreshing.

Lunch special - Penang Chicken Curry

Lunch special – Penang Chicken Curry.  Oh dear – there’s a chip in the plate!

I ordered the Kouy Tiew Pad Kee Mao which was stir-fried flat rice noodles with egg, holy basil, chilli and Chinese broccoli with soy sauce.  This dish was definitely spicy.  So spicy I had to order another bottle of water.  But I don’t mind spicy food and found that especially with the cold weather, it was lovely to have something that warmed me up.  There was a lot of Thai basil in the dish and I always find that compliments the chilli really well.

Kouy Tiew Pad Kee Mao

Kouy Tiew Pad Kee Mao

In less than 40-minutes we had our celebratory lunch that cost less than $30.00.

Let’s Eat is a restaurant that serves modern Thai cuisine in a modern setting.  Prices are very reasonable especially at lunchtime.

Verdict:  I’ll be back.

Let’s Eat:  48 Yeo Street, Neutral Bay (Cnr Wycombe Road and Yeo Street)

Ph:  9908 8990

14.05.07.5If you liked this post, you’re welcome to share it!

Comments

  1. Forty minutes and all for $30. That is efficient. Hopefully he gets time to celebrate a little more on the weekend.
    Carolyn

  2. Lets Eat = AWESOME! Hmmm… think Im a little bit lame, every free minute I have on my birthday is sadly spent on FB seeing who loves me. Ooops. Better check myself on that one. 🙂 What a bargain. Wish we had a Lets Eat in the Berra.

  3. Yum! I love a Thai lunch just like this one. And penang curry is my favorite. Happy birthday to Carl!

  4. Yay! Happy Birthday, Carl. I love panang chicken curry so we’d both be boring together. I’m very happy to hear you loved your meal, Charlie!

  5. Happy birthday, Carl! How sweet that you two could lunch together at what looks to be a fabulous place with food I know I would love.

  6. Curry!!! And the setup is so cozy and classy at the same time. A must-visit soon…

    Julie
    Gourmet Getaways

  7. I love the decor of the place and the food looks scrumptious! So glad you had a great birthday celebration for your hubby! 🙂 xo

  8. Happy Birthday to Carl! sounds like you picked the perfect place for speed eating. And the food sounds pretty good, too. Fun post — thanks.

  9. Happy Birthday to Carl!

    We usually start with beef satay as our appetizer and the lunch portions are also more than we can manage. So we take leftovers home. 🙂

  10. Those are some humungasaurous portions! What a great deal for the price! Happy belated birthday to Carl!

  11. Happy Birthday to Carl! You were very kind letting him order what he wanted to order on his birthday 😉

  12. Aw, so sweet to have a little lunchtime birthday meal with your sweetie 🙂 Sounds like it was a good one!

  13. Happy Birthday Carl! With 40 minutes, it sounds like you had a good meal and celebration! 🙂 All your choices look delicious – I love Thai curry and flat noodles! P.S. Wonder why they didn’t name the restaurant more… Thai or elegant… lol.

  14. That’s a pretty neat meal, and quick too! Happy Birthday to Carl! I love Thai food, so I would be happy celebrating my birthday eating Panang curry 🙂

  15. Haha I’m always telling will to order something more exciting too! Love the decor. Quite a change from some Thai restaurants. Those used to be my favourite noodles but I still haven’t had them sine I got food poisoning on out honeymoon. One day I’ll be able to stomach them I hope.

  16. Happy birthday to Carl! Glad you could squeeze in a short celebratory meal 🙂

  17. Oh, bless his heart! I hope his boss gives him some time off!

    hillcountryprincess.com

  18. 40 minute birthday celebration windows are definitely meant for stretching out over the weekend though…maybe over the rest of the week if need be. Month? 🙂

  19. You made the most of the time you had! I like a nice place that’s comfortable and not pretentious, but delivers good food quickly. Sometimes, especially at noon, that’s exactly what we need. Maybe you’ll find another time for a more elaborate meal, but this sounds really good to me. You’re right, the serving portions seem really generous. I hope Carl felt very loved on his birthday! 🙂

  20. Not bad for a quick 40 minute date. I love Thai food and always get generous servings.

  21. It would have been a shame not to celebrate a birthday … love the look of the restaurant and the food looked yummy! I like eating at places with lots of other diners … I always think it’s a sign that the food is great.

  22. Ahh so sad to have to work so much on your birthday! I am glad you had time to celebrate with him, even for just a short break!

  23. Happy birthday to Carl!! Sounds like a great cheap lunch. I too like clean, uncluttered Asian restaurants!

  24. Happy Birthday to Carl!! And we love the branch in Marrickville. Good to know that they’ve got a version north side too 🙂

  25. Such a nice restaurant Charlie…I love Thai food…oh yes…happy birthday to Carl 😀
    Hope you are having a great week!

  26. Now that’s impressive Charlie, price and time conditions met with deliciousness! Happy birthday Carl- and I do hope he remembered to call his mother! Xox

  27. Happy Birthday to Carl! That is very a reasonable lunch and the Penang Chicken Curry looks delicous!

  28. Looks great considering it was all whizzed together in less than 40 minutes! I do wonder though… what’s “BYO”… in England it means “Bring your own”, so I’m not sure what it means here, unless it’s referring to alcohol? (Surely not “bring your own food”! :D)

Leave a Reply to Judit + Corina @WineDineDaily Cancel reply

*