Busaba is a polite, warm-toned chain of Thai restaurants dotted throughout London, and now with locations in Cardiff and most recently, Oxford. I went a few months ago, and again last Thursday to check out this latest addition to the restaurant-saturated George St.
Busaba is almost directly across the street from Thaikun, another well-known Thai chain. But their chosen cuisine is where the similarities differ. While Thaikun has made quirky maximalist details its calling card - bathtub booths, netting hung from the ceilings, artfully textured walls - Busaba has taken a far more deferential approach, with beige tones, glowy wood and smooth brown leather upholstery, gold accents and honeyed lighting. It’s a very clean atmosphere, so polished in fact that it felt a bit like we were dining in a John Lewis showroom.
On both visits, the staff - smiley and attentive without being overbearing - helped to remedy this feeling. Cute details - well-decorated loos, individual pouring jugs for the tap water and punny free internet (Busaba_Thai_Fi) also infused a bit of much-needed personality. Randomly, they also did the best Sweet Potato Fries (£4.70) I’ve ever had the pleasure of tasting.
On to the food: we were offered prawn crackers while we waited - an enormous basket of greige, snappily seasoned little wafers. They were coarser and more flavourful than usual and made for an engaging preview of what was to come.
Drinks-wise, on this occasion, I ordered a pint of Singha beer, and previously split a bottle of Castelbello Bianca wine (at £7.90 and £22.60 respectively, prices are about in line with other Oxford restaurants). If you’re after something more thematic to pair with your food, there’s also a selection of fruity Thai-inspired cocktails, with guava and mango flavours taking centre stage throughout. It’s also worth noting at this point that they have an upmarket, elaborately decorated cocktail bar downstairs, which is essentially its own venue.
Next up was the Crispy Duck Noodles (£11.80) and my companion ordered the Chicken Pad Thai (£12.60). Arriving together, the portion sizes between the two dishes were immediately incongruous - my twee dish of noodles dwarfed by the heaped twirl of pad thai on my friend’s plate.
My noodles were the classic packet-ramen variety - delicately kinked, bleached tendrils, wok-fried with mushrooms and flavoured sparingly with hoisin and soya sauce. This richness was offset by the fresh greenery of cucumber and finally scattered with the morsels of duck. A small dish of Chili Jam - bright and zingy in taste - was served alongside, for diners to use at their discretion. I have hard limits when it comes to heat, but found the full serving of jam was just enough to flavour the dish throughout. The duck itself was a mixed bag - one mouthful would have the crisp unctuous deliciousness the dish promised, the next surprisingly bland. Overall, while the seasoning was on the cautious side, it was addictive and moreish, and I found myself craving more.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the Chicken Pad Thai. Pad Thai is a deceptively simple dish - crunchy bean sprouts and flat silky ribbons of noodles are stir-fried, lathered in a simultaneously sweet and savoury tamarind-based sauce, usually alongside egg and prawn. Before serving, a handful of crushed peanuts is scattered over top, along with spring onion, to balance out the softness of the noodles. Vegan versions with tofu and mushroom are also common (and delicious). The delight in Pad Thai comes from the contrasting textures and the piquant veil of flavour from the sauce - when these elements are underwhelming, the dish becomes as blandly comforting as a bowl of porridge. And sadly, Busaba’s chicken Pad Thai met precisely this fate. An abundance of pleasant-enough beige warmth. Double the sauce and it could’ve been good, add in a bit more crunch in the form of herbs, plus more beansprouts and spring onions and it could have truly impressed. As it was it was inoffensive but not worth a restaurant price tag. I do wonder if we may have fared better with the Seafood version (also £12.60), which boasted the umami of dried shrimp alongside the prawns for an added flavour boost.
My previous visit to Busaba saw us try the Khao Red Pork Rice Bowl (£15.20) - which featured masterfully cooked and marinated pork belly but again lacked overall flavour.
Ultimately, Busaba is a good choice for a business dinner or evening with the in-laws - unlikely to offend, and with enough range and poise to placate most palates. But if it wants to win a place in the hearts of Oxford diners - a group that’s spoilt for choice when it comes to Thai cuisine - it’s going to have to amp up the individuality. And spotlight those sweet potato fries.