Arigato Sushi and Thai, Winchmore Hill - Restaurant Review



Thai cuisine is my favourite. Luckily for me, a new Thai and Japanese restaurant has opened up locally, so I felt it my duty to check it out with some friends and let North Londoners know what it's like.

Located on Green Lanes, a few minutes walk down Station Road from the Green and the pubs of Winchmore Hill, Arigato offers a menu with all the traditional best-loved Thai dishes, as well as an array of Japanese specialities such as Sushi, Sashimi, Nigiri and Teriyaki. Formerly Makan Minum, a Malaysian eatery, it has been refurbished in a contemporary oriental style with some Japanese pallet tables and a guitar inside the door for anyone to play (we didn't!).


Mixed Starter: Spring Rolls, Prawns in blankets, Prawn toast, Thai Fishcakes and Satay chicken
Pud Thai
Thai Green Curry
Mussaman Curry

I have read quite a few bad reviews, poor service, wrong orders, but on this occasion the waitresses were very sweet and helpful. As it's BYOB they charge a small corkage fee, so once we plonked our Prosecco on the table, the waitress brought us glasses without even asking. The Japanese menu is extensive and seems to cover all areas of Japanese food, but we stuck to the Thai menu (which is, after all, the best cuisine there is!).

Starters are the thing. Always a good barometer: If you just want to carry on eating starters all evening then you know it's good. However, I wasn't blown away by them. I think I wanted to be, but the satay chicken didn't taste of anything, and the spring rolls were falling apart. Between three of us we ordered the mixed starter and it was just enough.

The main event was much more promising though. My friend ordered the Thai Green curry and it was fresh and flavoursome, though perhaps lacking in heat. My Mussaman curry was actually really good - creamy and coconutty with some the traditional potatoes and topped crispy fried onions. My other friend had the Pad Thai and was rather impressed. 

Portion sizes were really big - if we hadn't been going on to the pub we would have had enough for a whole other meal to take home. Since eating here, my friend has ordered takeaways from Arigato and been more than happy. This is great for the area, particularly since the closing down of the Green Dragon Pub, where the Thai food was excellent. It did feel a little as if it were a Japanese restaurant catering for people who liked Thai food, and specializes more in Sushi and the like, so I think I may have to return to try out some tempura and maybe a bento box...

Doitashimashite (You are welcome!)

Arigato Sushi & Thai

741 Green Lanes N21 3RX

020 3581 1609

~£15 a head, not including drinks

Bring your own alcohol.
Cards not accepted.