Los Verdes Catral Thai Night

We booked to go to Los Verdes Catral a couple of weeks back when they were advertising their Thai evening menu. For those who know me quite well, Thai food is one of my favourites. The fact this is being served just down the road, made it a no-brainer really. As much as we like eating at Gong, they’re closed for their vacation just now and are half an hour away, down the toll road, the AP-7.

What We Had

This was a 3 course set menu, with different dishes on each. Starters were 4 dishes and there were 3 mains. Dessert was a choice of 2 pudding dishes.

Drinks

Soph had a Coke Zero while I tried a pint of draft Victoria, the beer from Malaga.

Food

This was a set menu and came out as thus:

Starters

First we were both served Tom Kho soup. This was ok, my personal preference would have been a little more heat, flavour heat, as opposed to temperature.

Next on the starters was a mixed platter consisting of mini spring rolls, chicken satay and chicken wings.

Our favourite from this was the mini spring rolls, they had a nice touch of flavour, they were hot and crispy.

The chicken satay was a decent sized skewer, but it didn’t have any peanut flavour, that I would have expected
The chicken wings were also lacking in authenticity, sadly.

However the dipping sauces were both nice.

Mains

For the mains, this was a serve yourself buffet style offering. I had a plate with noodles, rice and red Thai curry to start. Again, the curry here just lacked that punch, that I was hoping for.

I had a second small plate, this time more of the rice but with the Green Thai curry. This I could see had some chillies in, just a couple but enough to give it the flavour and heat it needed. I enjoyed the Green Curry. This for me was the best dish of the night.

Dessert

We had a choice of Coconut milk rice pudding or Passion Fruit Mousse. We went for one of each, with me claiming the rice pudding. I quite enjoyed mine, it was piping hot, made in the oven, although I couldn’t taste the coconut milk aspect.

Soph didn’t enjoy the mousse, she had a couple of spoonfuls and left it. I tried it and agreed with her comment about it was tasteless. We overheard a woman on a nearby table, comment it was just like a dish of tasteless whipped cream, as she left hers.

What We Liked

Service was polite and friendly. Our server had the forethought to offer diners a spoon to have with their main courses, without needing to request one.
The decor was clean and crisp. Although we didn’t get around to trying any, there’s a good selection of cocktails on offer.

What Could Be Improved

There’s not a lot really that needs improving, one thing we both commented on though was the mish mash music choice, the only time I tend to hear You’ll Never Walk Alone, is at Anfield when Liverpool are playing. Combined with the likes of Johnny Cash, it wasn’t what we’d expected.

What It Cost Tonight

The set price menu was 19.95€ per head, so the food came to 39.90€ for the two of us. Drinks were a pint of Victoria at 3.00€ and Sophs Coke Zero was 2.40€, making the final bill 42.40€ in total.

Would We Return To Los Verdes Catral

Not for a Thai night. We have spent a lot of time in Thailand both mainland and islands out there, we were only there 51 weeks ago for our last visit. This means we have eaten hundreds of ‘proper’ Thai dishes, and we have yet to find anything close to the quality of the food out there, unless it is cooked by Thai chefs. I understand it’s quite difficult to source authentic ingredients, such as Thai Basil, Kaffir lime.

Soph and I don’t get out for Sunday lunches, but maybe a couple of times a year we’ll indulge in a Sunday roast, so we’d possibly add here to the list.

From a business perspective, it was quite sad to see a table of 4 and a table of 2 not dining, as it was just the Thai menu, when the’d obviously not been aware of this ( despite it regularly being promoted since 22nd Feb on social media ) and had turned up expecting the normal menu. They all then left.

Stick to what you are known for and be the best that you can,be it steaks, carvery or mixed grills.

This is what they promote on Facebook, so I personally would be the place to go for this type of food.:
Steak Grill house and Sunday Carvery.
Opening hours:
Monday – 6pm to midnight
Tuesday- 6pm to midnight
Wednesday- Closed all day
Thursday- 6pm to midnight
Friday – 6pm to midnight
Saturday – 6pm to midnight
Sunday Carvery – 12pm to 5pm

How To Find Los Verdes In Catral

If you have lived here more than 12 months, and knew the fish and chip shop on the Green, then this is the building.

Los Verdes grill house & carvery have an active Facebook page, to follow.
Their address is Calle la Cruz 12 Catral.

They are easy to find via Maps.

Coming in from the AP7, come along Av. Callosa Segura and you’ll see Los Verdes on your left.

If you’re coming out of Catral, come along C. Manuel Flores, do a right onto C. Ramon y Cajal, then the first left around the green onto C. la Cruz. Parking is limited, so best to look for a sde street across the main road and take a short stroll.