So I thought it's about time I dedicated some Blog space to one of my passions in life - good food! I'm trying to lose weight (doing fairly well, have lost 12lbs so far) but I don't want to be fully and completely concerned with healthy low fat and occasionally bland food - I didn't think it was possible to have a tasteless Caesar salad, but a rather posh hotel in London managed it.
Inamo turns a gimmick into a great dining experience - to the point where the gimmick is exciting and novel. The restaurant is relatively small and some of the tables are quite close together, but it adds to the cosy atmosphere. Although to be fair the ambience of the restaurant isn't supposed to be so cosy - lots of chilled out music and dim lights. But I think this all adds to the unique nature of this place.
The tables are entirely interactive. When you first arrive you wonder where the menu is, but once you've sat down a cursor appears which you control your side of the table screen with. From it, you order all your food and drink! You can also change the tablecloth, from a space scene and a flowery meadow to fireworks to pebbles to waves - or abstract patterns if you'd rather have something a little more arty. You can even randomise the cloth so it changes every 10 minutes or so. Once you have ordered the food, which I will explain further in a moment, that is not the end of the interactive experience. There are lots of other features, including: a kitchen cam so you can see what's going on behind the scenes; a guide to the local area and what you can go onto afterwards; a view your order function which shows your personal bill as well as the group total; and games! You can either play games by yourself (a bit antisocial...) or play Battleship against the person sitting next to you! So it's ongoing interactive fun. You can call a waiter to your table if needed, and you also request the bill once you're ready to leave!
So onto the food. I can't say I'm a Thai food expert, but I can say this is absolutely delicious food. I haven't tried everything on the menu - I'm not fond of prawns so that writes some things off - but what I have tried I have thoroughly enjoyed. The menu is divided into several sections, so you can either choose one large dish and side dish or several smaller dishes, which you can share with your company or indulge yourself! My favourite dishes have got to be the Thai Beef Salad, which is spicy and had a variety of leaves assembled in a tower of deliciousness, and the spicy aubergine side dish, which is sweet and scrumptious; an excellent compliment to my salad. I usually accompany these with some rice. On my last visit I also sampled the seafood gyoza, which I was apprehensive about considering I'm not partial to ocean cuisine! But it was soooo tasty! I also tried the chef's take on duck pancakes, which comes with traditional plum sauce, but in a slightly fishy seaweed case rather than pancakes. I couldn't eat too many of these but what I did eat was tasty. I'm not a food critic so it's hard for me to properly describe it, so you will just have to go there for yourselves! The coffee and cocktails are also top drawer.
The restaurant is at the Oxford St end of Wardour St, although it's not a long walk from Leicester Sq/Piccadilly Circus! The nearest underground station is Oxford Circus. Also, handily opposite for dessert is a branch of the Hummingbird Bakery who make the most luxurious cupcakes imaginable! Alternatively next door to that is another cake house bakery, displaying all the beautiful desserts in the window - the epitome of temptation!!!
The only bad thing I can say about this lovely restaurant is the fact that they automatically add 10% service charge onto your bill, even though you do all the ordering yourself! But it still doesn't make for a massively expensive meal out, my bill has always been between £15 and £25.
Update - forgot to post the link to the site where you can book a table! Click here
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