By Jenna Campbell
It’s only opened its doors a few months ago, but a Manchester restaurant has attracted a glowing review from one of the country’s most well-respected food critics. Tucked above a historic Ancoats boozer, Bangkok Diners Club was launched by top chef Ben Humphreys inside the Edinburgh Castle pub just off Cutting Room Square. Opened alongside his wife Bo, who was born and raised in the northeast ‘Isan’ region of Thailand, the restaurant brings fresh takes on traditional Thai dishes. The chef was formerly behind the stoves at District, a Thai-inspired barbecue restaurant that won acclaim before quietly closing its doors a few years ago in the Northern Quarter . Stay connected with our City Life newsletter here He’s also worked stints at Tattu, Rabbit in the Moon and Gordon Ramsay’s Lucky Cat. Their new spot takes over the upstairs dining space that was previously run by chef Shaun Moffat, who recently left to open his own restaurant called Winsome over by Oxford Road. As well as building up a strong local following over the last three months, Bangkok Diners Club has now won the praise of the Guardian’s food critic Grace Dent, who published her review of the dining spot this past weekend. As she points out, the couple have a “pedigree in forward-thinking Thai cuisine”, and have spent time since the closure of District in 2022 travelling around Thailand and America, bringing a fusion approach to their dishes which span Bo’s family recipes as well as nods to Korean and Mexican BBQ flavours from the States. Join our Manc Life WhatsApp group HERE Describing it as “Bangkok meets Manchester via Miami”, Grace tucked into dishes including pork jowl taco with a “rich, smoky, burnt-tomato jaew”, and southern Thai mutton gaeng khua served with pickled celeriac and fresh roti. Writing about their ‘new and innovative’ approach, the critic stated: “The place is also a long way from that purposefully edgy UK-Thai cooking I’ve suffered at many a hip British Bangkok-led establishment. “The Humphreys’ restaurant, on the other hand, is authentic, boundary-pushing, a little odd.” She was won over by the smoked mackerel, nam tok salad, and chicken skewers made with “heavenly” milk caramel, but the artichoke and golden beetroot massaman curry was a highlight for the critic thanks to its “decadently good” chicken-fat rice, “This is a cracking little progressive, family-run place that has hit the ground running and will no doubt soon be one of Manchester’s hottest dining tickets,” she declared, and as reviews go for newly unveiled restaurants, it doesn’t get much better than that.