Pacata (Covent Garden)

• Pacata can already be found in Bangkok with a quite different format of casual dining and shorter visits
• S new European counterpart is aimed at leisurely lounging with plenty of options for a drink or four and food to accompany them
• The interiors are such that once you&rsquo
• S open from 8am until late each day with a menu that&rsquo
• Yet a decent proportion of Asia is represented
• Expect breakfast entries of Vietnamese kai grata (eggs cooked and served in a pan with a choice of toppings £
• To lunch and dinners of tofu miso soup with seaweed and black peppercorns (£
• The popcorn chicken is a no brainer
• The grilled prawns in their Thai chilli paste mayo marinade were huge (£
• Seared seabass with Japanese curry was cooked very well with crisp skin
• Chicken wings were lacquered in a bright hot sauce with sesame seeds
• The Thai style squid ink tagliatelle with spring onion
• Chinese tofu and prawns was made to taste like pad thai
• Italian egg pasta replacing Asian noodles is not that uncommon
• As seen in the sublime spaghetti with chilli marinated cod roe and caviar sauce served at Luiz Hara&rsquo
• The green tea brownie with thin slices of nuts and green tea ice cream was nothing but delightful
• Then there are the cocktails the Amahata Rama is sour and strong and something I revisited at least twice more (and by twice
• There are many others and if cocktails are your thing
• A week ago I was lucky enough to be one of the first bloggers to head down to the newly opened Pacata
• The interior of Pacata is extremely cosy
• Service was attentive from the start with our host quickly offering to take my coat and bag and then rustling up a couple of cocktails to get the night officially started
• Passion Fruit Liquor mixed with Kumquats and homemade Vanilla Sugar
• Was finished with real care and looked so inviting
• Charged with Spiced Rum and Vodka and then sweetened with Maple Syrup and accompanied with a splash of Singha Beer
• My most memorable was the Chicken Popcorn
• Just the same as the KFC favourite but far removed in the fact that you can actually tell these delicious little deep fried balls are in fact chicken
• These were extremely moreish and were one of my favourite dishes from the night
• After the Chicken Popcorn we were then coaxed into a little spot of D
• All you need here is a pestle and mortar
• We were provided with our very own in order to create a great little Papaya Salad with a beautiful side of Soft Shell Crab
• Another dish worthy of note was the Grilled Coconut Chicken with Peanut Sauce and Mixed Salad
• Presented on your own personal little fire with a large jug of that delicious peanut sauce
• I could easily have polished these off by myself with little effort and are definitely a must for all satay fans
• I was positive that it was going to be more ramen focused
• The reality being that you can actually grab a Rib Eye Steak or Seared Sea Bass with a choice of Green Curry
• We opted for something a little different though and decided on the Beef Yankiku A Stir Fried Beef dish served with Naan and the Pacata Pasta A Thai style Squid Ink Tagliatelle with Spring Onion
• The third and final main was of course The Korean Burger
• It was Served with Korean Chilli Sauce and the option of Fries
• I will start with the burger though as sadly it was probably the least memorable of the three dishes
• It was your old school sesame seed topped job and was pretty flowery in its consistency
• The Korean Chilli Sauce definitely added some flavour but I thought it may have been hotter and personally there was too much salad involved for me
• The Stir Fried Beef was easily my favourite
• With its big meaty Butterflied Prawns but it was the rich and tender strips of beef that swayed me
• The dessert menu is concise with a focus on Green Tea Ice Cream
• The two dishes that are available are the Japanese Cheesecake and the Green Tea Brownie
• Both obviously with a scoop of ice cream and both absolutely delicious
• I would suggest taking a group of friends with you and experimenting with quite a few different plates and don't even think of forgetting to indulge in those cocktails too
• Drinks are brought to you in big glass jars and there is a cork board map on the wall which people have pinned polaroid photos of themselves on
• The staff are attentive and helpful (almost chummy) and glide through the restaurant with a skip in their step
• The cocktail options were imaginative and the perfect start to any summer meal
• The popcorn chicken was heavenly and absolutely delicious
• Eloquently seasoned pieces of chicken spiced with tom yum powder
• Since the restaurant was started by the first Michelin starred ramen chef you should really order a ramen dish
• I opted for the tom yum ramen a beautifully flavoured noodle soup with vegetables and chicken
• The amazing thing(and before this day I would have thought impossible) was that within the soup the chicken was dry
• The other dish ordered was the beef yakiniku which offered well cooked stir fry beef and jasmine rice which although cooked to perfection didn't really taste of anything
• Considering how well everything started with the welcome
• The divine popcorn chicken and cocktails I was very disappointed by the main courses
• Little did I realise the biggest mistake was ordering dessert
• Now perhaps this is a little unfair as I'm on the fence with regards to green tea but basing all three of your desserts around this one ingredient is pretty unforgivable
• The three options are green tea brownie with green tea ice cream
• Japanese cheesecake with green tea ice cream or the ice cream going it alone
• To be honest the ice cream was disgusting and the brownie tasted like a dog biscuit
• Now if you live and breathe green tea maybe you shouldn't listen to me but I rarely leave a dessert half eaten but with this one I was torturing myself out of politeness
• Despite my misgivings with dessert and main courses I had a great time
• If the chicken wasn't as dry (which is bizarre) the ramen would be of the winning variety and dessert shouldn't be the green tea grand slam it is at present
• Obviously I spent it with my family instead
• A few months ago I met with the lovely ladies from Zomato and I started adding my reviews to their website
• Add your own experiences and share them with your friends but you can also follow your favourite foodies and read their reviews
• There is also a convenient app which allows you to see what restaurants are nearby and read the latest reviews from the foodies that you trust
• Finally a couple of weeks ago when Alexandra from Zomato invited me to another cocktail meet up I was able to go
• From left to right is Amy from Yummei
• I love meeting fellow foodies and it was great to get everyone to together in one place
• The cocktails that you can see the girls holding are A Secret Garden (containing apple
• ' We got around 8 people in but it was pretty wobbly
• He added a mixture of fish sauce and cane sugar to the preparation and the spicy salad was ready to try
• He explained it's best eaten with the lettuce wrap along with some pork scratchings
• With appetites whetted it was time for more food and some canapes were circulating allowing us to try some dishes from the Pacata menu
• Popcorn chicken was the star of the night
• Then it was time for two intrepid bloggers to try their hand at cocktail making and with a generous amount of 'juice 'n gin' the ladies prepared their rather tart Asian cocktails
• My friend and I began our meal with a section of bar snacks
• Chicken wings with Korean sauce
• The French fries was a simple dish
• Lightly dusted with Tom yum powder flavour
• The portions was way worth the £
• Served with a dollop of chilli mayo with a choice of either French fries or sweet potato fries
• We finished off with desserts to end our perfect meal
• I opted for Japanese Cheesecake served warm with a scoop of green tea ice cream
• A lighter alternative to the usual cheesecakes that is too heavy on the stomach
• The green tea ice cream could have done with more matcha flavouring
• The green tea brownie was nice and fluffy
• The popcorn chicken and Pacata pasta were extraordinary
• I was very excited with a side of what shall I do if it's one of those awkward situations
• Let me tell you now with the combination of the friendly staff at Pacata
• If you're out and about you can use the app to find a place nearby with good reviews
• Weirdly enough Pad Thai with squid ink tagliatelle
• I would definitely be interested in coming back to Pacata and trying out their a la carte menu Asian fusion is hard to get right in my opinion
• Pacata (Covent Garden) is worth a visit
• After we were told how plebs like us could grate a papaya (you want the kind that actually looks like a massive cucumber) with a specific utensil
• The drink we were shown how to make (and some of us got to have a go ourselves &ndash
• Ve put in the effort yourself) was called The Hustler and was lychee
• It was made with thick squid ink tagliatelle and mixed with egg
• On top of all this was a king prawn so big and juicy that just one of these started to make my allergies kick in and gave me tingling limps
• After winding my way through Covent Garden from Holborn I was met outside the restaurant by a group of foodie bloggers
• Poor me only got to try the rum one (I'm more of a gin beast in reality) but I was very pleased with the drink (tasty and free
• When we headed back inside we were treated to amazing samples of the menu mini burgers
• Satay skewers and a beautiful squid ink pad thai dish with prawns and lemongrass
• It was somehow light and filling at the same time and was seriously good
• It was a beautiful night and Pacata is the kind of place I would go for a cosy drink with good friends
• Asian Fusion food is the order of the day in this 6 month old gem of a restaurant
• Pacata's potion is concocted by combining Thailand's famous street food (better known for the dubiousness of its hygiene than for its quality) with a michelin starred Ramen Chef
• 'The King of Ramen' as he is otherwise known
• The atmosphere was furthered by the good work of the interior designers high hanging lights
• Woody colours and a large wall map dotted with tens of polaroid printed photos all give a good excuse for a cheeky eye wander
• May have needed more of the sauce as they were a little bland in places
• The popcorn chicken was better however
• A Squid Ink Tagliatelle with King Prawns (amongst other things) tasted much like an enriched Pad Thai
• The beef Yakiniku was also very nice
• Though the beef was a tad tough
• A cute and intimate restaurant and bar with a great service
• The side dishes are very tasty (we had chicken satay and popcorn chicken)
• Then my boyfriend had the Pacata burger (with soft shell crab) which was so yummy while I had the Pacata pasta (pad Thai with squid ink tagliatelle)
• Unfortunately the dessert option is very limited as they only have 3 flavour of ice cream but we had the green tea ice cream and it was the best one in London
• Plus the cocktail is also great although at first I was but worried as they mix it with beer (I don't like beer
• I went here with my family for a spot of Sunday lunch
• Pacata is an intimate quirky restaurant with great decor (from jar styled glasses and a large world map of polaroids to receiving the bill in a Jane Eyre novel)
• The service was great and quick
• Very friendly staff who were keen to assist
• Pacata added their own style to normal asian dishes which was a refreshing change
• You can either have some cocktails (unique taste) with Asian tapas or a regular meal
• King prawns salad with home made Thai mayonnaise that make the difference
• What can I say this little quirky venue is full of surprise and to be in a central London (between Covent Garden and Leicester Square) Ia a pearl in the ocean
• I'm not exaggerating but it is difficult to find an easygoing place with a good venue and good food
• Absolutely adorable place with very reasonable prices
• In desperate need of comfort food and was not disappointed
• Burgers and Indian but done in a way that the cuisines do not clash with each other
• The ingredients are definitely fresh and you can order anything on the menu without worrying that the beef is chewy (or the shrimps not fresh)
• Definitely order the beef in soya sauce with jasmine rice and the sweet potato fries
• The chicken rice bowl was quite good (if a little bit undersized) but still pretty good value for money

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