Ruen Thai/Thai/Carlisle

This is a lovely little restaurant, tucked away from the main streets of Carlisle, in a little back street called Crosby Street, just off the top of Warwick Road.

This restaurant was formerly above the Cumberland Inn in Botchergate, where The Outpost restaurant now resides, but in February 2010 they relocated to this new place.

Parking isn't the easiest, you just have to take pot luck and find a gap in the street parking, or get the bus into the City Centre and walk (only a few minutes).

When you walk into the restaurant, you immediately step away from a Northern City into a gorgeous wonderland of Thai inspired deco. The wonderfully hand-carved solid wooden furniture is worth a visit just to look at alone ! The tables are intricately carved in 3D with a glass top, stunning! It is almost a pity that they put tableclothes on them. Having said that, all the tableclothes and napkins are all Thai themed too.

The waitresses are all in native Thai dresses, and the background music is pleasant and soothing.

Toilets are immaculate, with modern fittings, nice soaps and flower displays.

So, to the food......

If you are a Vegetarian, don't panic when looking at the main menu as it looks like there are no Veggie options on there, but there is a seperate section at the back.

I chose a mixture of battered vegetables with a sweet chilli dip. The request for no onions or peppers was carried out with no mistakes :)

It was Baby Corn, Broccoli, Mushroom and Carrot - all beautifully crisp in wonderfully light bubbly batter, and loads of it. Portions are certainly not shy.

To follow I had stir-fried Vegetables in Satay Sauce, again perfectly cooked vegetables and the most delicious peanut sauce I have ever tasted, and again a rather large portion.

Hubby had the Chicken version, packed full of meat.

We shared a Fried Rice and a portion of Thai Noodles.

Didn't even glance at the desert menu, way too full.

I had a couple of glasses of house Red Wine - the Argentina Merlot - which oddly worked out cheaper to buy it by the glass than by the bottle, so check that before you order.

The bill was £35, not including a tip, which was for prawn crackers, one starter, two mains, two sides, two larges wines and two cokes.

It was quite busy, and this was on a monday. A few times we have been turned away (usually when going as a group of 4) as there were no spare tables, so it is probably worth while booking.

It is closed on a Sunday. Not sure if it is open at lunchtime or not, I think not, but worth checking.

No website to be found, but the contact details are:

Ruen Thai Restaurant
4 Crosby Street
Carlisle

CA1 1DQ

01228 515 779

Feel free to comment if you have been.