Thaikhun

Been here a few times and the food is great and service is always on point! Lovely menu. Everything sounds so tasty!

My everyday place to go for that Thai spices craving. Delicious food with warm welcoming and casual atmosphere. A great place to chill with friends after work. Interior really takes you to the streets of Thailand and authentic food adds to the experience.
I really love the staff’s uniform and would ask them for those fancy pyjamas. Staff is really helpful and involving.
One of the places in Manchester which offers a variety of food for vegetarians.

I love the outside of Thaikhun. They have really attempted to bring elements of Thailand into the restaurant and amidst the stark high rises, this is a wonderful splash of colour and comfort. I especially like the three-​wheeled bike parked outside.
The inside is an odd mix of Thai related items within an industrial interior. It’s not uncomfortable and in some ways I feel it matches the restaurant quite well, serving authentic Thai street food whilst being placed in an up-​market part of Manchester. I like the high windows on one side of the otherwise dimly lit restaurant.
The menu is quite extensive. There’s a good mix of spicy and non-​spicy food and a lot of the menu items can be made vegetarian on request. There’s a lot to try if you are adventurous enough!
The Thai prawn crackers were a special offer at the time (I assume not all the time!) and given for free if you showed the staff that you had posted about being in Thaikhun on social media. I really love Thai style prawn crackers, much better than Chinese ones and the sweet chilli sauce was a perfect balance of sweetness and spiciness.
We ordered the Moo ping — grilled pork skewers; this was a really nice starter; the pork was well cooked and the marinade was heavenly complimented by the chilli dip. I cannot fault this. The som tum is a classic Thai dish and the perfect balance to compliment our other dish, which was fried. I’ve ordered the som tum from here before and I felt it was made better then. This was slightly over-​dressed and I felt like they ran out of ingredients as the beans and cucumber slices were oddly placed. It was still nice but definitely caught this on a bad day.
We also ordered the plla samun prai — whole deep fried sea bream with a tangy salad of red onions, lime, lemongrass, palm sugar, fish sauce and ginger, topped with peanuts, red chilli and fresh coriander. What can I say, this dish was Thailand in a plate. You had sweetness, spiciness, sourness and saltiness all in one plate and what an amazing shaped plate at that! The sea bream was fried well keeping the crispiness of the batter whilst retaining the moistness of the fish, and the salad was to die for with the right balance of flavours. This is Thai food, unapologetic and in your face.
The staff and service could definitely be improved on. Each time I went (3 times in total at the time of writing this), the staff have been rather unobservant, forgetful or curt with their responses. Overall, I really like this place and it’s my favourite Thai place in Manchester. I’ll definitely be coming back.

I went to Thaikun recently with my partner. We both love asian food and wanted to try something different as we usually head to Tampopo and we’d heard good things about Thaikun, even though it is a chain.
It was a Sunday afternoon and Manchester was very busy, we were worried we’d struggle for a seat but the place is a lot bigger on the inside than the out, so we were seated pretty quickly. If it was summer I’d definitely be up for sitting in the extensive outside area though!
The menu had a great set of options, we decided to go for a share platter for a starter as we couldn’t decide. The prawn toast was wonderful, whole prawns, much nicer than a takeaway place. My partner loved the satay, however the red curried corn cakes we weren’t much of a fan of. For mains I had the Geang Phed Ped a red curry with duck and fragrant rice for a side, this was delicious! My partner had the Khao Moo Deng Moo Krob (BBQ pork) on noodles. This was tasty, but he was definitely very envious of my curry and stole rather a lot of the sauce to go with his noodles.
We had no problems with the service, although I would say the cocktails aren’t particularly impressive. I wish we’d just stuck with beer. Overall I’d definitely return as I had no issues.

I cannot recommend this place high enough, the food was amazing and the service was excellent too, I cannot fault it. We went at lunch time so only had an hour and we managed 2 courses with time to spare so it’s really good if you’re on a tight schedule. Will be returning soon!

Delicious Delight
Lets get my gripes out the way so I can splooge about rest of it. Firstly their floor plan is very odd not sure what the architect was thinking here not to mention the hard seating, surely we could afford simple cushions for the price bracket.
But I digress because my experience of this place was mainly a delightful surprise. The establishment is kind of humble from the outside something maybe they ought to change. Inside is warm and rustic with some beautiful lighting choices particularly the old fashioned bulbs.
Staff were friendly and alert making a newcomer feel comfortable and confident with what was on offer. The service speed was incredible, I think I waited less than 5 minutes for my meal, which was sweet, spicy and decently portioned. I absolutely love the efficiency of their unique table condiments and cutlery set up. You’ll see what I mean when you find out what’s under the coloured baskets on your visit but overall it makes for speedy hassle free service.
I think it’s a shame the location of this place isn’t great because I could easily see it becoming a smash hit with all kinds of folk from quick lunches to elaborate celebrations. There’s a lot on offer here and most of the food isn’t the kind to leave you bloated with regret. Definitely give it a chance because I think most will be very surprised at how superior this place is compared to many other famous contenders.

Seeing as tonight was my 4^th visit to Thaikhun, I thought it was best I should give it a review at last. The first visit was actually on a date which I quickly decided I didn’t want to be on, so I don’t remember too much apart from skipping the starter and dessert just to exit as quick as possible. But FYI it is a pretty good date place if you did want to be there, as it’s casual with a laid back vibe, and busy enough for it not to be too awkward, and in a good location for bars to go to after.
Anyway, the second time was so much better as 8 of us went, and shared one too many starter platters which had a selection of prawn toast, chicken satay skewers, fish cakes, spring rolls, pork and wontons. There variety was ideal for a large group who just wanted to pick at things before ordering a main.
I opted for masaman with coconut rice, and I have to say it’s one of the nicest masaman curries Iv had in the UK– so much so that I ordered this again the third time I went. It has a real kick to it but also keeps a creamy consistency, packed with lots of veg and potatoes.
On my visit tonight I went for the vegetable red curry, again with coconut rice. Couldn’t fault it– a good quality Thai curry which was spicy enough for me and had generous portions of courgette, tomatoes, broccoli and green beans, which made me feel a bit healthier for the night!
There is an extensive menu choice — pad Thais, noodle dishes, sweet and sour breaded chicken options, green curries, seafood curries… etc etc. I love Thai food in general so I’ll probably come back a 5^th time and try something else.
Iv never tried a dessert from here so I can’t comment on this. But I did try a very unusual iced green tea with coconut milk and whipped cream. It tastes like a cold sweetened green tea– a bit odd but weirdly enjoyable.
Great location and lovely décor. Staff were a little bit rude of my last visit but nothing to complain about too much.
Would recommend as a cheaper and more casual Charoprahya (pretty sure I have spelt that wrong!)

I’m usually on top of new places opening and try to eat at them in the first couple of months of opening. However with Thaikhun, I have been incredibly slow, which is particularly bad considering I work less than five minutes away.
One of my colleagues, who I have a regular monthly meeting with, suggested that instead of sitting in the office, that this month we go out for lunch instead. Well, who am I to say no to that. My colleague suggested Thaikhun as she’s been a few times for lunch and said service was pretty quick — and she’s right, it really was.
We ordered from the lunch menu, where the offer is a starter and main for £11.95. I went for non-​alcoholic mango juice (yes, you read that right, I had a non-​alcoholic drink) and it was a refreshing choice and a perfect compliment to the spicy food.
My starter was the Moo Dad Deow which was strips of marinated pork with a spic, sweet chilli type sauce and was absolutely gorgeous, the pork was so moist. My friend had the same choice, and both of us finished every last morsel.
My main was the Kao Ka Prao Gai, which was chicken mince cooked in a spicy sauce with some steamed rice and a fried egg. I didn’t eat all of the rice, but I did finish the rest as it was tasty, though very spicy. My friend had the Panang Gai and like me, ate the meaty part but left some of the rice.
The lunch deal is definitely a good deal and the speed of service makes it ideal if you are based in Spinningfields. I’d like to come back and try dinner sometime.

We visited this one of Spinning Fields new addition of trendy chain restaurants last night. The exterior is fun; it’s decorated with bikes and a tuk tuk! (There’s also a child’s tricycle which would normally look quite innocent but as its Halloween soon, I could only imagine the Saw puppet riding innit!)
The menu has many choices and I had to look at fellow Unilocalers for recommendations — the curries and the mix starter seems to be the way forward! We ordered cocktails which were all deliciously tropical — especially the Bangkok Chill. We ordered the Bangkok Street Platter which was generously portioned and contains things we had not usually had like the super garlicky Esarn sausage and the corn fritters. We ordered what I would describe as a fragrant Thai chicken korma (Massaman Gai) which has tender chicken in a velvety sauce, Gang Phed Ped, which is a fruity yet spicy duck curry and Bah Mee Giew Nam Moo Deng (a bit like a Chinese soup noodle with BBQ roast pork and wontons). We upgraded the rice to coconut rice for the curries which I would recommend! All were polished off and plates were clean! Unfortunately we didn’t have time to look at the dessert menu but I’m sure we’ll be back again!

I often find myself coming to Thaikhun on those days after work when I just cannot be bothered…
The service is always fair, as well as the price. Plus if you have a Spinningfields yellow card then there is usually a discount to be had (this changes regularly).
I’m always over whelmed by the décor of Thaikhun; Tuk tuk’s outside, along with a fair share of phallic shaped decorations. With that said, the atmosphere is relaxed and easy going.
I have always found the food to be very fresh; my usual is the fresh prawn rolls as starter, and the Phad Mee Phuket for main.

Stopped here for an early dinner the past weekend — I’d heard it was some of the best Thai food in Manchester and wasn’t disappointed at all! Biggest bowl of Tom yum soup I’ve had anywhere in my life; I went for the boiled pork special and it was really really tasty. I wouldn’t hesitate to go back! Décor is fantastic too — you can tell it’s family run and the attention to detail is excellent!

I’ve walked past this place a couple of times whilst out for drinks in spinningfields and given its decorations and tuk-​tuk outside I’ve just never taken a second glance or looked at the menu.
Whilst out for some drinks after work on a Friday (I promise I don’t do this every weekend) evening my friend suggested we all go here for dinner. The four of us walked in around 8pm and it was packed but there was some free tables kicking around — the first hostess said there was around a 45 minute wait however another waitress came over and seated it straight away — bizarre. We were seen to straight away for our drinks order — a bottle of rose and a bottle of red needless to say none of us probably needed anymore drink!
Given that we were in high sprits and slightly tipsy it was probably a good thing that the music in here is loud! Although under normal circumstances I’m not sure I would appreciate this…
Our drinks order came over fairly swiftly whilst we all perused the exciting box in the middle of our table — which had some sauces, cutlery and some other accompaniments. I started with sharing some chicken spring rolls with my friend, which were amazing — so much flavor and was served with a sweet-​chilli dipping sauce.
Whilst ordering our mains — another of our friends called to say that she would be joining us so we ordered her a basket of chicken and when she arrived the waitress’ took no time at all bringing an extra chair and glass over.
The rest of us went for the curries! I opted for the Thai green chicken curry with rice, which was lovely and refreshing with the right amount of aromatic flavors. My friends went for the Thai red prawn curry that was also amazing (yes I did have a sneaky taste!) Most of us went for the normal rice which came separately to the curry likewise so did the sticky rice which one person ordered — it came in a bamboo box all wrapped up and also looked the right consistency.
The whole meal was relatively reasonable in terms of price with all the drink we also ordered. We had a great night here and the food was to die for — I’ll definitely be back again!

Fast, fun, and fiery! This is a great place to get your chilli fix. The few times I’ve visited I’ve found the staff to be very friendly and helpful, even when its jam packed. Although getting their attention when it’s super busy can be problematic at times.
Do ask for the staff recommendations on drinks and food, as there’s so many delicious options to try. If you’re not a fan of chilli let them know and some dishes can be tailored, likewise if you want a real spicefest there’s chilli sauce and chilli flakes on the table.
I love the sharing platters, and you do get quite a lot per person so maybe opt for a smaller main or be prepared to take some home in a doggy bag!
The iced green tea is amazing, full of matcha flavour with sweetness from condensed milk and whipped cream, very tasty and surprisingly refreshing.
This place gets pretty busy most evening and weekends so I’d recommend to book to avoid disappointment.

Thai very westernized place. Not a bad thing but is not really the real thing.
It is a good place though. Smack in the city center. Brand new building feels a bit like a chain restaurant but it is good. Fast and nice service.
Food is decent, not over spiced even if I think there was quite some MSG all over. Bi was too thirsty afterwards.
All type of drinks. Asian beers included :)

We booked a table for 5:15 on a Friday evening so a group of us could go for food straight from work. There were 16 of us in total and the majority of us ordered a bottle of beer as soon as we arrived, but 15 minutes later we were still sat there with no drink.
Luckily the food arrived promptly and all dishes were served at the same time. There was a ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ split of those who enjoyed their meal and those who didn’t. Some of us didn’t feel even the slightest bit full, I’d say bigger portions on some the dishes wouldn’t go a miss.
The Thai curries are to die for, but on the total opposite side of the scale I wouldn’t even suggest the Phad Mee Phuket — it was the most bland meal I’ve ever tasted. Literally just noodles and chicken thrown together, even after asking for extra soya sauce and chilli flakes it still didn’t pack much flavour. Very disappointed that I had to season my own meal!
It was difficult to get the attention of the waiting staff on numerous occasions, which was rather disappointing considering the restuarant wasn’t at full capacity.
The atmosphere is great though and I love the street food style restuarant with maps on the walls, open kitchen and the condiment pots on the table take me back to my days travelling around Asia.
I’d definitely like to go back and try some other things on the menu, but it won’t be somewhere I’d rush back to. Possibly better for smaller groups than big parties.

Dived in here for a quick work-​break lunch with wifey.
They’ve really worked the Thai street food theme, you might say they’ve flogged it for what it’s worth with the rusty bicycles and exposed ceilings, making it feel a little gimmicky for what is actually a decent place for a bite to eat.
It feels to me a bit like the Thai version of Turtle Bay on Oxford St in terms of the heavy theming — it almost takes away from what is perfectly serviceable food.
I plumped for a Tom Kha noodle soup, chock full of chicken pieces and fish balls to go along with the slippery rice noodles and pretty good broth, there was spice, depth of flavour and just a little bit of the other essential Thai flavours — for under a tenner it was a good feed (though try not to think how little this would cost from an actual street food vendor in Bangkok, it’ll really put you off!).
I’d dip in here with a group and not be too upset, and there’s plenty of seating for groups. It’s not my first choice for Thai in Manchester, but Thaikun is worth a visit.

I’ve always wanted to try this place as I love Thai and ate it often when I was overseas. There is soo much to choose from on the menu and it all sounds very enticing. There are two things I always try and one of them is the massaman. In most places, this is a beef dish. At Thaikhun it is chicken and mine came just cooked on par with almost being undercooked.
I went in after work for a quick bite before going to an event and there were three parties including myself who had walked in and waiting to be seated. As I was on my own, I was stuck in a corner near the phallic symbols.
I was asked for a drink straight away which was too soon as I was still settling down and I had to get the waitress’s attention to order my drink and food. The food came really quickly and as mentioned above, it could have been left to cook for a bit longer. The dish arrived with the meal and the rice in separate bowls and a plate and I was left pondering for a while as to whether I should stick with the rice bowl and use chopsticks or throw it all on the plate and use a spoon and fork (no knives). The food tasted exactly how a massaman should and not too spicy.
The restaurant was quickly filled with people from all walks of life — backpackers, workers in suits, girlfriends, couples etc. and there seemed to be a lot of staff. They are quick at bringing the food out but when you are trying to pay, there were people including myself with money on the table waiting to pay or get someone’s attention but they seemed to have tunnel vision. I had to keep pushing my money nearer and nearer to the edge of the table and got a look from the other table who had got their bill before me.
This place seems like a nicely decorated café. A café that has a gimmicky table setting of cutlery, drinks menu and toothpicks but no tissues. I had to ask a waitress for a tissue and she gave me five!
Would I come here again? Yes. The menu looks good, the food is quick and with 20% off with a Spinningfields Yellow Card you can overlook the average customer service. To be fair, management haven’t taught them very well as the staff were friendly, they constantly smiled and one even chatted to me. I think in total, there were four staff who served me during my short stay there.

I went to Thaikhun about a month or so after their opening — I think it was around July 2014 as I remember it being a hot, sunny day in Manchester and I’d been out for a bit of a city stroll. I’d heard that this restaurant was the latest venture of the Chaophraya restaurant chain — of which I am a big fan, so naturally my expectations were high.
From the outside, the restaurant looks fab. Very exciting ‘Thai’ theming with a Tuk Tuk outside and bicycles hanging on the exterior walls. The inside was equally as impressive, giving off an authentic Thai feel with chopsticks and the like on the tables, and the smell… wow… just how I imagine the streets of Thailand to smell. Fab.
We were seated at a small table, and whilst I remember it taking us a while to get served, I snacked on some pork rinds that were hanging in small plastic bags on the tables. I also looked around, taking in the décor, mainly made up of authentic Thai items and travel souvenirs — lots of maps!
The menu is large, and I will admit here I am not the most experienced when it comes to Thai or any eastern cuisine, so I struggled a little bit with the dishes, let alone how to pronounce them.
For starter, a Bangkok sharing platter was ordered, consisting of minced prawn and chicken wontons, steamed and skewered chicken balls and grilled chicken and pork skewers too. It was really good.
For my main meal, I went for a safe option (although I do need to start being more adventurous!) the Phad Mee Phuket — which is vermicelli noodles stir fried with chicken, peppers, onions, carrot, beansprouts, flavoured with turmeric and curry powder. It too was really good.
Overall, I really enjoyed it here — I’d like to go back this year and try something different.

A real mixed-​bag of recent reviews for this place, but I absolutely loved it here.
For our team meal, 20-​odd of us dined on a weekday night so we’d booked well in advance. They seated us at two large tables close to the open kitchens, so we were really in the thick of things, but that added to the buzz of the place.
The interior is something to behold, lots to looks at, point and chuckle like school kids (try and spot the oversized ‘fertility’ ‘objects’, for instance). I haven’t been to Thailand so can’t comment on how much you feel like you’re eating at a street-​food resturant, which is what Thaikhun are aiming for, but I liked that they’d crammed all manner of things in here. Would hate to be their cleaner…
Our drinks orders were taken promptly by the friendly wait staff, they have a small range of Asian and Indian beers as well as bottles of wine and soft drinks. I had one of their smoothies as a dessert as was craving something sweet, and it’s sizeable, not to mention a sure-​way to get brain freeze, given how icy it is.
For food, well, you’re totally spoiled for choice. The menu is well laid out and the restaurant helpfully hightlight some of the dishes that they recommend. A few of us decided to share some Bangkok Street Platters to start, which include grilled chicken and pork skewers, minced prawn and chicken wontons, steamed chicken balls on a skewer, all served with dips. It was all very good indeed.
For mains, we decided the tried and tested ‘buddy system’ where you and a friend get something different and go 50:50 so you can try two dishes instead of one.
Massaman Gai (curry flavoured with cinnamon and star anise, cooked with chicken and potatoes and Panang Goong (King prawns in creamy red curry) were the dishes my workmate and I went for. They both come with decently sized bowls of fluffy Jasmine rice. It was all excellent, fresh and full of flavour, I was gutted when it was over.
Really want to return here and try more of their dinner menu soon; one of the finest Thai meals I’ve eaten for a long time.

I popped into Thaikhun for a quick lunch when I had meetings in town and after wanting something a little bit different from my usual sandwiches or soup thought that Thai would be a great idea.
I don’t tend to eat around Spinningfields much as I find it all a bit chainy or places that look a bit like generic crappy bars but I’d heard good things about Thaikhun so thought I’d give it a go.
First off I like the way it’s been decorated — it’s quite rustic and random which works for me although it still feels pretty comfortable.
The waitress who served me was pretty friendly although I thought I’d ask her opinion on what she thought I should have and I ended up with a fairly bland fried rice dish that was lacking in any great taste. Which was a shame as it was around £10 and didn’t wow me at all.
I also went for a pretty strange ‘thai tea’ made with condensed milk (I lived in Bangkok for 2 months and didn’t have it once so don’t know if it’s more of a regional thing…) which was «unique» but maybe just worth trying once.
Overall not a bad experience and I’d check it out again — I may just be a bit wiser in choosing my dishes next time.