iYara Thai Restaurant

In a Nutshell: A cozy, commendable find for quality Thai in Wimbledon.
My friend and I walked into iYara to peruse the menu, seeing if it struck our fancy among the nearby dining choices. Seconds later, a blonde, posh woman who must’ve finished her meal tells us, «This is the best place for Thai in South London, you won’t regret it» as she exited the restaurant.
*Well THAT’S a tall statement* I thought to myself.
While the jury is still out on my own verdict for iYara being South London’s Thai Champion (admittedly, this is my first Thai meal *in* South London), it is truly worthy of its cult following amongst its Wimbledon residents.
It’s instantly apparent after entering that this is a more «upscale» Thai destination– thoughtful décor, excellent Thai and London photography on the walls and fresh plants and flowers placed throughout the intimate room. The menu, with pages of striking black-​and-​white photography of Thai elephants in their native habitat, was a real treat.
What I Had:
BBQ Honey Pork, Starter
– GET THIS. It’s tender Thai-​grilled pork on skewers marinated with honey, garlic and coriander… and I wanted 8 more.
Duck Spring Rolls, Starter
–My friend and I agreed that the taste was different from what we expected– it was a lot more savoury and meaty than others I’ve experienced. The accompanying sauce helped much with the taste. Good but not as impressive as the BBQ Honey Pork.
Roasted Duck Curry, entrée
–Delicious. More basil in it than other duck curry dishes I’ve had, but it was a wonderful balance of sweet (it comes with pineapples), savory and spice. Not the greatest Thai dish I ever had, but it was undeniably great.
This place is not a hole-​in-​the-​wall and the prices reflect this. Though you can find cheaper Thai elsewhere, you’d be hard pressed to find the same level of quality, thoughtfulness and ambiance as iYara.
Highly recommended.
Golden Tip: I lucked out having dinner on a non-​busy Tuesday; don’t even think about a weekend dinner here without reservations, as non-​Wimbledonians are quickly catching on.

Friendly and warm service. Generous portions. Nice and chatty (in a nice way) owner. And the taste is something to remember. I was really surprised by the quality of the food!

A great selection of fantastic food and just the right level of service. Had a birthday meal here with friends and it all went very smoothly

I don’t know what it is that makes me so unbelievably happy each time I visit a Thai restaurant. Is it the food? Maybe … Or is it the Thai people who work there? Probably both :)
Maybe I’m wrong, but Iyara looks like a lovely, small restaurant run by a young couple who arrived in Europe not very long ago. How do I know it? Because they haven’t lost their Thai smiles yet :)
You probably won’t go to Iyara on a date, but it’s a perfect place for lunch. If you can’t live without decent Thai food, your budget is limited, and you miss Thailand every day — Iyara is just for you.
I have just one wish — please, oh please put the waterfall beef salad on the menu (and Thai cold tea with milk too).

I was on my way for a sushi lunch at Noodle Foodle on what I dub Wimbeldon’s ‘Oriental Row’ of restaurants when my Unilocal ‘new business to write about’ radar was alerted by Iyara’s white and green sign
Located on the site which used to house another Thai restaurant, Chang Thai, Iyara has finally opened its doors after a 6 month refurbishment project. Despite being taken over by completely new management, Iyara does have a funny link to its predecessor — Iyara is the traditional Thai word for elephant while ‘chang’ is the more modern term for elephant
On stepping into the restaurant, you do spot a few elephants and the whole place really shouts quality at you, down to the huge bouquets of fresh flowers on display. Nat, the owner actually sourced most of the decorations in Thailand and there are beautiful things to admire, from the paintings on the wall through the very pretty menu (of course with a elephant on the front) to the box which the bill arrives in
The menu is classical Thai and Nat is very hospitable and good at suggesting dishes if you’re not familiar with the cuisine. I always go with pad thai, which is my barometer for a Thai restaurant and I knew straightaway what I wanted for my other dish. I love som tam — Thai greeen papaya salad and it’s rare to see it on menus. So, when I spotted it here, I knew that this was a place serving proper Thai food and my belly started smiling before my face!
Incidentally, som tam means to pound and it was music to my ears to hear the sound of a heavy pestle and mortar in action in the kitchen, confirming that they were using the traditional way of preparing som tam
It wasn’t long before Nat was delivering 2 beautifully presented plates of food to my table. The key to Thai cooking is the contrast and blending of different flavours, which lends depth to the dish and this kitchen really understands this. There’s no fear in using bold flavours if you can temper it with a contrasting flavour and my tongue and palate were royally entertained by the different sweet, sour, salty and hot flavours working in harmony
The chicken pad thai was lovely with fragrant noodles topped with chicken and topped with peanuts. The som tam was great with proper green papaya, which is hard to source in the UK. It really is a wonderful combination of contrasting sweet, sour and hot flavours with crunchy nuts for texture
I passed on dessert because I had a large dinner coming up that evening. However, I was impressed to hear Nat recommend the mango rice pudding because Asian mangos are in season at the moment. Nice to see a Thai restaurant going seasonal. By the way, if you’ve not tasted an Asian mango, you MUST try it. So much more fragrant and sweet than supermarket mangos. They’re available in Tooting food shops at the moment
Iyara is a great addition to the WImbledon food scene. The authentic tasty Thai food served here deserves success

There are three noodle-​type places right next to each other here and they are all very good but I think Chang Thai is the best possibly because it specialises whereas the other two (Noodle Foodle and Slurp) both do a far more diverse menu. Great, cheap, authentic and what seem to be fresh ingredients my favourite Thai in Wimbledon by a mile.

This place is fab — only been there a few years but my girlfriend and I are regulars now! The food is a bit slow sometimes but worth it cos it’s really fresh and tasty. They do a really cheap set menu before 7 so we try to rush back after to make it in time!