Rabieng

This place is simply wonderful. The food is amazing, wine offerings are good, and the service is super friendly. I used to live just around the corner, but now will go out of my way just to come here. I’ve taken groups of friends and everyone has always enjoyed their meals. Highly recommend.

In a city without the best Thai options, this is definitely one of the better ones. Nice, casual, comfortable setting. At least half full on a Saturday night for dinner around 8 pm. Servers are not the nicest, but they are efficient and get the job done.
Pad Kra Prow (basil) — only veggies, no tofu, so there was a great variety. Broccoli, carrots, bell peppers, onions, cauliflower, string beans, cabbage. Stir-​fried basil is already a spicy dish (two chilis), but I asked for it extra spicy and they actually accommodated it. So many places will not make it spicy even though I make clear I want it spicier! It’s like they don’t believe me or think they know what I want better that I do. They don’t. And this place actually listened. Sauce was great, spices were right, no complaints.
Pad Med Mamuang (cashew) — also got all veggies. This sauce was blander and sweeter, so we mixed it with the basil sauce. It’s not too flavorful and it’s mild, so I wouldn’t particularly recommend it or I might suggest adding some heat to bring out more of its flavor. Good amount of cashews, though.
Rice portions are small, so we ended up ordering 3 for two of us, which added greatly to the total of the bill. It was nearly as much as the main entrees.
Thai iced tea was good.
I’d recommend this place and would be back if I were in the area.

Everyone in our party liked their food. It was not very busy at first, but by the time we left, it was starting to fill up.

I had an 8pm curtain at the Almeida, got stuck at work so arrived in Islington, starving, at 7:25. Stopped in Rabieng and asked if there was anything on the menu I could possibly get and still make it to the theatre. Sure, no problem, says the cheerful, friendly waiter. At that point I would have been grateful for anything, but instead of the hot table slop I was expecting I got a freshly prepared and absolutely delicious dish of spicy basil chicken, and still got to the show with time to spare. I will definitely be back.

Rabieng definitely satisfies that Thai craving when it hits you, it may not change your life, but it deserves a spot in your rotation, or at least a visit if you’re in the neighborhood.
The Vibe:
A little classier than most Thai places, but all in all, pretty typical settings. Service was incredibly friendly, and reasonably attentive.
The Food:
Solid food with quality ingredients and attention to detail. We ordered pretty standard fare, the Pad Thai and the Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao), and both were great. Each ingredient in the dishes was seasoned, cooked well, and thought through. It lacked that special something to really stand out, but it definitely hit the spot. Unilocal check in got us each a glass of the house wine, which was a nice plus, but they weren’t anything I would drink if it wasn’t free. Try the chili sauce on the table, it’s got good body and I think it’s house made.

Let me make this clear: the food is simply mouth watering! The chicken is so well cooked that it almost melts in your mouth. The ingredients are well selected and the flavors are crisp. Don’t remember having this good food in ages. The place is very cozy, very tasteful décor with a bit of antique feel in it. Just lovely place for couples to sit by the windows. The last star was not earned due to place being a bit expensive: rice 3 GBP extra for a small pot? Try halving the price and we’re talking matching quality and price ratio. Otherwise perfect.

Upper Street on a Saturday night, 8pm and no reservation. Everywhere is heaving but we manage to get a table on Rabieng.
It looks nice and smells delicious as we head in, so that’s a good sign.
We’re seated in the back section of the restaurant which is a shame as it’s empty and all the other diners and atmosphere are at the front of the restaurant. Awkward.
Anyway, we order the mixed starter platter, everything is yummy and we have various (complimentary) prawn crackers to eat whilst we wait.
It’s a Thai place but it also has some Malaysian dishes on the menu.
I opted for beef rendang and the boy ordered weeping tiger steak. My dish was delicious — piles of slow cooked flavours one beef in a tasty sauce. It was enough meat for two but I polished it off.
I ordered sticky rice and really didn’t like it — it wasn’t like the sticky rice I ate in Thailand.
My boyfriends dish was okay. The steak was really tasty and it came with a tamarind dip, but it was accompanied by baby vegetables which I didn’t think was very authentic, and made for quite a dry dish with rice.
We washed our meals down with decently priced cocktails and left stuffed.
Sadly upon leaving I remembered to check in only to find id missed out on redeeming a free glass of wine offer, damn it! Lesson learned… Always check in on arrival.
Upon paying the bill we were given a £5 off a £50 spend voucher for next time.
It was a little pricey for Thai food, so you’d easily spend £50. Our mixed starter, two mains, rice and two cocktails cost us roughly £65.
I enjoyed it but I don’t think id head back any time soon. Thai food at it’s best has always been in a street market for me and mega cheap.

I am not used to getting small portions when I order Thai food. Don’t get me wrong, they’re not that small but the food surely is not filling and you have to order a lot if you want to fill up. However, the guys compensate with some quite delicious food and lovely attitude. There was a thing that to me personally was more than brilliant — they replaced my order in just a couple of minutes when I told them it was mixed up. I even received complimentary chili sauce when they admitted to the mistake.
The prawns and curries are awesome and can make up for an excellent last minute dinner option.

Got takeaway from here on New Year’s Eve. I was a bit surprised by the small portions — the dumpling starter portion was just 4 dumplings — that’s more than £1 each. The prawn crackers were also a pretty small bag.
My main courses were more substantial and far more tasty. So, great mains, average portions, overall A-​OK. As for the interior, as noted it does have a slight canteen feel, though not too much.
ps I did get a free beer for collecting my order, but not the 10% off they advertise. So again, a mixed bag.

I’ve discovered a great Thai restaurant on my doorstep! This place is great, fantastic service and amazing food. I brought my friends here and they LOVED it! Complimentary prawn crackers, lovely wine and the food is tasty beyond words I’ll definitely be coming back!

I love this place. I’ve been a number of times over the last year and they are consistently top notch. The Panang curry is spicy and flavourful. The rice is always properly cooked and aromatic. The «drunken noodles» are some of the best I’ve ever had (and I’ve had many). I could go on and on about how delicious the food is at Rabieng! The service is always stellar, too. I’m well into Thai food, and I just keep going back for more even though there are so many places I haven’t tried yet.
I highly recommend the Tom Ka soup, Drunken Noodles (or Pad Thai if you don’t do spicy– theirs is phenomenal), and Chicken Satay as gateway dishes for those new to Thai food. There’s something for everyone, even picky eaters and vegetarians! I haven’t been in on a busy weekend evening, so I don’t know how they do when they’re hopping, but when I want a tasty meal mid-​week, I head on over.
Admittedly, the atmosphere is a bit OTT, but it’s rather cosy in the evening when the candles are all lit and the lights are dimmed. It could do with a little redecorating, but so long as the food stays good, I’m there.

Sehr gute Qualität der Speisen. Guter Service. Absolut empfehlenswert.

Ich hatte zur Vorspeise Satay Gai und zur Hauptspeise Pad Thai mit Garnelen. Beides war super lecker. Ich habe noch nie so ein zartes Hühnerfleisch bei Satay Gai wie hier. Der Service ist absolut spitze und fällt zum Ende auch nicht, wie es leider sehr oft vorkommt, ab, sondern bleibt auf einem sehr hohen Niveau. Preislich ist es Mittelmaß. Alles in allem Top und eine absolute Empfehlung.

Average food thankfully for average price. Nothing extraordinary to really review about. Overall its A-​ok.

This Thai restaurant is located on Upper street in Islington, It’s OK, can’t give it more than that. I’ve definitely eaten better. It just didn’t leave a mark on me or leave me satisfied. I LUV Thai food so I am usually always very satisfied with the flavours but not here.
There are better.
On the upside, the staff were nice. Place is a bit dated, the type of Thai restaurant that I would say is like the old English Indian restaurants. Too many props and no music.
Flavours were kind of mundane.
I think even Thai Square up the road is much better.

Wowee this place is good. We were warned to expect good things. So keen were we to eat here, we shunned the many other fine establishments to trek here after the pub on a Friday night. The staff were lovely enough to stay open just a little later than they would have liked to accommodate a big group of us.
The starters were mostly just ok — typical thai fried efforts, but on the tastier side of those I’ve had before. Should have had the soup.
But the mains were fantastic. Can highly recommend the duck with shallots — so very different to what I’ve had before but unmistakeably thai. Fresh, tasty and fragrant. YUM. And yes, the rumours are true, the coconut rice is amazing. A meal in its own right. From the slurps of delight all around, I can confidently say that Rabeing serves up some delicious fare.
The surrounds are pleasant enough. Nothing too ornate — especiallly the slightly dingy toilets downstairs. But that shouldn’t put you off, hell no.
Not as charming as Isarn down the road, but ideal for a group dinner.

This is one of the rare few Thai restaurants on Upper Street. We went there for lunch over the Easter weekend — and despite us being the first and only customers there for the duration of the meal, our food took forever to arrive.
On the good points — the Thai ice tea was pretty good. I have no idea what went into it, and it was a bit too sweet for my taste, but it was something unique and interesting.
Foodwise — I was disappointed by the spicyness levels. Even the dishes on the menu with 3 chillies (most hot) was very mild. The dishes were OK — not the best I’ve had, but by no means the worst I’ve had either. The rice was a bit of a disappointment though. For Thai food, one expects to have soft, but dry rice — in order to soak up the curries and sauces. We were given extremely sticky and wet rice — a bit more and it would be congee.
Pricewise — standard. Surprisingly not too expensive given its Upper Street location.
The London Insider

The seafood curry and plain rice with a tiger beer =£15
Quick service and excellent food. This is how a Thai restaurant should be. All about the food it leaves you feeling satisfied but not heavy. I might even say it was one of the best and generous seafood curries Ive had. Delicious!

I have been here twice now after Unilocal karaōke sessions and I must say I like this place. It’s easy to get a table for a large group of people, the food is tasty and cheap and the service is generally good and comes with a smile (although last night we did have to wave our hands about in the air to get attention a couple of times, mainly because there were only two girls working and they were doing their best).
It does have a bit of a canteen feel about it, and I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it for a romantic date, but it’s good Thai food on upper street and if that’s what you’re after, this is the spot for you.
I’m not an expert on Thai food but I came, I ate and I was satisfied.

Perfect for an after karaōke Unilocal session!
Food was super tasty! Very inexpensive, great value for money! We had a group of us and they easily accommodate us with a table straight away.
Having not eaten all day, and from many beers, my head ringing with quite a buzz, I was STARVING!!! The smell of the place was making my mouth water.
I’ll have to come back, not sure if my dish was so excellent cause I was starving, it was just dam good.
So 5 stars for ya for feeding the worm in my belly!

After, a singing Unilocaling karaōke successful day, it was now time to eat.
Rabieng décor was wooden and brown, with sweet tables with a couple of flowers on them and table mats, its not the best looking restaurant in the world but it was good and clean.
We had complimentary prawn crackers, with tap water to go with our meals even if you did not ask for it, you got it which was nice.
I ordered a Pot of Jasmin tea, which was lovely. I also ordered a Chicken Pad Thai which had, egg, beansprouts, spring onion and grounded peanuts. This meal was truly delicious, but I wish the portion size was bigger, I mean all that singing starved me out, and needed more food, but hey it was standard portion, I’am just being a pig.
The staff was pleasant. The price’s reasonble.
On their home deliveries, they do a lot of special offers. They also do a set lunch/​evening meals.
Very rare for me to be in this side of town, but if I’am here again I shall pop in.

Tucked away a bit further up Upper Street, I’m convinced this is the only reason that Rabieng lacks reviews. Because it. was. fantastic. Skip all the other nearby spots, this was without a doubt the best Thai in the area.
It was an eat-​in night, a night where I couldn’t be bothered to put on a face… or trousers for that matter. So take-​away it was! I called in a basic order of coconut rice, tom yum soup, green gurry and sweet & sour chicken, and not only was it ready for me in 15 minutes, but each dish had lovely, vibrant and remarkably different flavours. (You wouldn’t believe the places I’ve gone where every dish manages to taste the same!) This was certainly some of the most flavourful tom yum I’ve ever had, the beautiful green curry had huge slices of chicken breast with quite a nice kick, and the sweet and sour chicken had just the right consistency of sauce with large grilled pineapple. The highlight? The coconut rice. It was perfection. Oh, and they slipped some complimentary prawn crackers in my take away bag. It was a crunchy treat while I waited for my fresh food to cool.
It’s open late, the staff is super friendly, plus you can take 10% off your bill if you’re willing to pick it up yourself! Do it. Do it now.