OTS News Food Review | Itsy Bitsy Thai Restaurant

OTS News Food Review | Itsy Bitsy Thai Restaurant

From the moment we stepped into the Itsy Bitsy Thai Restaurant, hidden on Southport Road next door to Halliwell Jones BMW dealership, we were greeted by the lovely, welcoming staff who were incredibly attentive right up until the moment we left.

The restaurant is an open plan, clean, welcoming environment and is a nice change to the ‘kitsch filled’ pan Asian restaurants you would expect. Original artworks and framed fabrics of Thailand line the walls.

After raising our glasses to a lovely evening ahead, we decided to go with the owner’s recommendation, The “Itsy Bitsy Supreme Seafood” Banquet.

Mixed Platter of Thai Tapas

Our first course, the mixed platter, was a generous mixture of freshly cooked, lightly battered nibbles including Thai fish cakes, prawn tempura, squid and prawn toast served on a bed of crispy rice vermicelli. Stunning carved garnish and all home made, family hand down dip recipes make this appetiser perfect. A great start!

Prawn Tom Yum Goong soup

Next up was a refreshing tom yum soup made with delicious fresh ingredients. The chef clearly knows what he is doing! An honest and authentic version of this classic dish that gives you flash backs to sitting in that street food restaurant when you were on holiday. Different to the many variants you have already tried before, this one is clear and filled with aromatic herbs. To help make your meal extra personal, the chef can create your soup with your chosen level of spice. Not for the faint hearted if you choose to try the extra spicy version!

Lemon Sea bass, sizzling squid, prawn & mussels, panang scallops, prawn pad thai

Already starting to wonder how much more we could eat, our main course arrived which was served with a bowl of freshly steamed rice (just ask for as much as you like). The ‘pièce de résistance’, the lemon infused sea bass was a rollercoaster of flavours and wonderfully presented on a mini chafing dish so it doesn’t go cold whilst you dig in to this culinary feast. The scallops, perfectly seared, were presented on big scallop shells with a mouth watering, creamy panang curry sauce. And if that wasn’t enough, also included is a hot sizzling dish, a real eye catcher and presented on a wooden board combining a healthy mixture of bamboo, vegetables, prawns, mussels and squid in a holy basil, soy and oyster sauce. To top the whole thing off a traditional pad Thai with king prawns is also added to your selection.

Once we cleared as much as we could from the food laden plates, we realised we were still not done!

To finish the whole cacophony of flavours off to perfection, we were presented with a gorgeous desert of bananas in coconut milk. Whilst the thought of this didn’t appeal at first, having never tried it before, we were once again delighted with yet another wonderful and original creation.

Originally, we considered that the banquet cost £34.95 per person was a little pricey. However, having had the meal we were proved wrong and were absolutely delighted and actually thought it represented great value for money.

Also during our visit, we discovered via our helpful waiter, where possible, all the fresh ingredients such as fruit, vegetables and seafood are organic and locally sourced.

All in all, we loved our experience at the Itsy Bitsy Thai Restaurant and we think that this is truly a hidden gem and a must-try place for all Thai food lovers.

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