Food Review: Baan Coastal, Cambridge Arcade, Southport by The Junk Food Jedi
Anyone local to Southport will remember The Hungry Monk Ale House & Kitchen in Cambridge Arcade in Southport town centre, right next door to the amazing Tap and Bottles.
Unfortunately, Hungry Munk closed down last year, but the venue has recently reopened as Baan Coastal, offering Thai food, sushi and steaks on hot stones.
It’s been open for a few weeks now and I’d already seen and heard some really good reviews, so we did what all responsible parents do when they fancy a night out…
Shipped the kids off to the in-laws.
Table booked for 7:30pm and, when we arrived, it wasn’t too busy. Fine by us because it meant we could get that all-important first drink in before perusing what is a pretty vast menu.
Me and my mate went for a Lucky Buddha lager on draught.
Now, I’m pretty sure the only time I’ve ever seen Lucky Buddha before is in those funny Buddha-shaped green bottles that appear in Tesco around Christmas.
Sadly, when it arrived, it was a bit like a flat, gasless Carling.
So naturally, we drank it quickly and moved onto the Singha.
The ladies sensibly went for a bottle of Malbec.
When our host came to take the food order, they explained that dishes might come out at different times rather than your traditional starters first, mains afterwards set-up.
Slightly strange, but having travelled around Thailand and Vietnam pre-kids, it was very much a case of when in Rome… or Bangkok.
My wife did have one request.
Could we please have the duck spring rolls before the mains because she gets full quite quickly?
Not a problem for me.
She gets full = I get leftovers.
Winner.
Our friends went for a pretty vast selection of sushi, which looked absolutely amazing.
I didn’t try it myself, but there were plenty of approving nods and those little “mmmm” noises going on across the table, which is generally a pretty reliable indication that you’ve ordered well.
We went for salt and chilli ribs and duck spring rolls to start.
The duck spring rolls arrived looking suspiciously like samosas but it made absolutely no difference because everything tasted lovely.
For mains, I went for the Pad Kra Pao, chicken with basil and chilli, served with jasmine rice.
The wife went for the Pad Thai, which was really good too.
We’re massive Thai food fans and would normally head to Thai Rice Southport or Sam Thai Restaurant, so it was nice to have somewhere different to try in Southport.
The verdict?
Food was lovely. Service was really good.
Staff were friendly. Prices were reasonable. Sushi looked superb. Lucky Buddha lager…no thanks.
Next time, I think we’re going to give the steaks on the hot stones a go.
Although this creates something of a personal dilemma for me…
Part of me absolutely refuses to go to a restaurant, order a steak, cook it myself and then pay them for the privilege.
Surely I can do that at home?!
But I’ll probably get over myself, give my head a wobble and try it anyway.
Would we go back to Baan Coastal? YES.
Would I have the Lucky Buddha again? Probably not.
Definitely worth giving Baan Coastal a try if you’re in Southport and fancy something a little different.
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