Cafe 209 in Hammersmith and Fulham

Everything is made fresh to order by Joy's husband while she chats to you in front of house. This place is a Fulham institution and rightly so. The Thai food is authentic, fresh and delicious, and Joy makes the whole evening great fun. Very good value, too. We are lucky to have this so close.

Joy and her husband make everything fresh and delicious, the food is amazing and the service is outstanding. I have been here a few times now and will be returning again. It's worth a visit just to be around joy, she's an amazing host with full of energy and laughter. Very welcoming. I would highly recommend it. Once you've been there, you will surely want to go back. Thank you for a lovely evening. 🙏

As ever. Great food and Joy is a joy.

Cosy, simple Thai food, no frills but delicious and very fair prices for London! Definitely revisiting. Seemed like a family run restaurant, friendly and funny host. It’s BYO so do bring your own booze! Corkage wasn’t expensive at all!

Besides the outstanding Thai food served here, which was in a perfect portion, the owners were stupendous people! The lady who took our order was extremely kind, caring, and such an amazing person to chat with! My family and I had a great experience here. Absolutely recommend.

Very authentic food Family run for over 40 years My family and friends have eaten happily there for over 3 decades Bring your own drink Great craic with Joy, the wife in the partnership, she's very funny with no frills 😁😁 love it 💚💚

Been going here for over 15 years, food is awesome and Joy is a wonderful host. If you’re looking for Thai food in London look no further. Superb value and atmosphere always. The best.

Some of the best Thai food I've ever had outside of Thailand. Joy (the owner) makes everything fresh and delicious. All the starters we've had, the noodles, the various curries, we've not had anything that wasn't 8/10 at least. Combined with Joy's brilliant service and sense of humor, it's tough to get much better. Plus it's BYOB folks :)

We had a brilliant experience here in this nice characterful small family run restaurant. Food was very good value, fresh and tasty, a good mix of classic Thai dishes. The highlight was the owner Joy, who was absolutely hilarious and we had great fun joking around with her. Very much looking forward to visiting again

food is disgusting all the noodles look the same, staff are rude and they do not fill the containers. please do not eat here

All my order was wrong called them to tell them and they were arguing with me! they even put the fone down! Rude and food was disgusting stay clear

Great food and Joy is lovely - will be back

I was told to bring my own drinks when we sat down. When I came back with couple of bottles of beer I was told by partner then I am going to be charged £1.50 per bottle for corkage??? The food was not good at all. But the lady was so rude to me. Saying I did not earn enough money and I obviously do not eat in restaurants.And everyone likes it here???????? I understand if there was bottle of wine I fancied not sold by the restaurant corkage could be applied. But its £1.20 for a soft drink you buy yourself because they do not sell drinks. I was not rude back , just took the endless jibs. The food was not good at all on top of that. DONT bother ,

The owner, Joy, is a real character:) Great venue for a boozy party

Just went there tonight. My family used to live here and go daily, they told me what a wonderful person Joy (the owner) would be. What an incredible experience. She was extremely accomodating and had a fantastic personality. Best Thai food I have ever tasted and her stories were hilarious. I recommend

Delicious food, quirky fun staff

Amazing food, wonderful friendly service, but don't forget to bring your own wine. Loved it and will definitely be back.

Extremely cosy, Thai BYOB restaurant. Great value and cosy atmosphere with fabulous, authentic Thai food. Has been here since 1983 and I can see why!

Had a very nice evening.the food was great and the joy is a wonderful woman very funny and made our night would definitely go back again

What all businesses should be about! Family led, great host and food.

Our favourite little place. Authentic, reasonably priced and fantastic food!

This is the first time we went there....it has been the worst experience ever. The waitress was rude till the point we had to leave the place, she was absolutely rude, has no manners to explain the confusing menu and showed no respect or courtesy. Obviously, we didn't even stay to try the food that everybody reviews as good but unfortunately for us impossible even to taste....Sad!!

Food is great, Cafe is great, bring your own booze which is great, Joy is the best thing about the place. Shes the best fun ever and will make you feel right at home

This is the best thai I had since long time .. feshly cooked food, all made from scratch when ordered, and Julie(the owner) is such a lovely person .. highly recommended

Excellent place for thai food, Lovely and peaceful environment, food is delicious and the lady owner is so nice, Will definitely recommend if you are looking for delicious thai food in a sound environment Would love to come back again Also nice place for takeaways 😊😊😊

Lovely, lovely spot! Authentic Thai cafe with a wonderful host, Joy, Lots of local Thai dishes that you won’t find in any other ‘English’ Thai restaurants. A very fun way to spend an evening. Thank you Joy, good work!

great Thai food & friendly staff at a fair price!!

Food is yummy and well priced. Always great to see Joy for some joy! Also favourite place for takeaways.

Love this place, Joy is delightful and food is always very good!

Just got a takeaway from here. It was awful. The tofu had been frozen and had a horrid texture and when I opened the food it smelled funny. I didn't actually swallow any of the food, just tasted it and spat it out. I hate doing a bad review like this when businesses are struggling but this was just so bad, and when I phoned to complain the woman I spoke to said it was a matter of taste! I'm furious - and hungry!

I love it, my husband hates it (he won't stay in anything less than a 4* hotel). BYOB and really inexpensive. Food dependably OK/good, and the patroness is a hoot if you don't take yourself too seriously. It is an experience, and one of the only remaining places with real character in the universe. It deserves to thrive. Best for friends or couples with a sense of humour and no airs or graces. Probably not a business or kiddie place, though nothing is impossible. If you go solo, I am sure you would be well looked-after. But bring your own drink!

Great little local Thai BYOB restaurant. Interesting and owner has great character. We felt at home and was great non expensive place to have Thai food! My second visit only 8 years apart, great to see it’s still running!

Small local Thai BYO cafe run by very friendly people, the food is good in quality and quantity. Very good value!

We went here with a group of friends, and i can honestly say it is the worst restaurant I've been to in London! The atmosphere of the restaurant is fine - it is a cafe - so we weren't expecting a lot - and there is a bonus for people who want to drink that they can bring their own bottles - whether alcoholic or not. The service is also fine - not very gracious, but everything was served very quickly, and looked reasonably attractive. The problem is - the food! This restaurant is not near our part of London, where we have quite a few good Thai cafes, and I was expecting the same standard, as, say Kaosarn in Brixton, or Thai Corner cafe in East Dulwich. This was not to be - lots of large portions of noodles and fried food, and quite small bowls of the mains, to share. There was quite a lot of food overall in our set menu - perhaps other people are satisfied with quantity at the expense of quality. The rice, however, was cooked very well. I felt overall that nobody could persuade me to go back, even if the food was free - and i would advise the owner/manager to try to realise that she is not just doing people a favour by being there. It wasn't cheap - or as least not as cheap as the other Thai cafes we go to - and I would have preferred to have less food of better quality. In all, i would prefer to have a heat up ready meal from a supermarket which had really good flavours.

Food was really gross, watered down and no flavour. The lady that served us was really rude, super insulting. Wouldn’t recommend.

Good Thai, reasonably priced, quirky staff and decor. BYOB which is unusual in this day and age.

Brilliant Thai food BYOB, with a charming and eccentric owner. You can't not love it! X X x

Great food, really friendly owners and good prices. Will be back a lot more now I have discovered it!

We went for a Christmas dinner in a largish group. The food was very average (£20 for a small set menu but no cost for corkage), the main negative however was that the owner Joy was anything but Joyful and had a very rude manner.

Owner was terribly rude. Food was below average and not worth the price. She even made people at the table do parts of her job. Would not recommend to anyone.

Owner was Extremely rude and food I had throw away because smell very bad . I eat takeaway in a lot of place never see that kind of bad costumer service and bad food . Absuletly hijyen service need inspect this kitchen .

This is a very disappointing experience. Although the price is fair, the portions are very small so you end up either asking double the portion or leaving with your stomach half empty. Also the food itself is not very tasty. The owner was not pleasant, she started the conversation by complaining about people that come in big groups and make noise and then kept asking intruding question every time she came to our table. I really don’t recommend this place.

Really nice meal. Really good quirky service. And BYO

Tasty food at a great price! Recommend the massaman curry!

Cafe 209 is a long standing local neighbourhood BYOB restaurant - totally authentic with a simple philosophy of good Thai food. Joy, the owner is straight talking and keeps the crowd in order!

This little restaurant in the Munster Road, Fulham has no frills but serves magnificent Thai food. Well worth a visit.

BYOB little local that makes tasty Thai dishes and with a really great owner. Some dishes have English ingredient substitutes but most things are just really fab and well priced. Panang curry, green curry, red fish curry and the egg fried rice are our usual orders and all very very good. The best part about this place is the family that run it. Joy is a great hostess and always very funny and warm. Doesn’t hurt either that corkage per beer or bottle of wine is beyond reasonable. Great place to have a big group dinner with mates or a booze authentic Thai dinner with a date

Delightful, delicious and delicate on wallet.

Sweet little place. I'm a regular for life!

Owner was rude made us pay before getting our food, food wasn't that great. The strangest and most unpleasant dining experience I have ever had in my life.

Would not recommend going to this restaurant. Service was extremely poor. Menu over priced for what it was. The main dish I ordered (first on the list from the minimum order £11/pp) was smaller than the starters on their menu. Very disappointed overall on food and rude attitude from waitress. Tried to over charge us also.

This is a somewhat historical review, but delighted to hear than Cafe 209 is still providing the people of Munster Road with a fun evening and great family-cooked Thai food. We were regulars there when we were local, and had some fantastic evenings in Joy's company. The food was always good - we'd often scribble our own orders on her notepad while Joy took a seat and entertained us with stories about her day. The BYO and cash only (is it still like this?) policy kept it relatively inexpensive and very informal, but caught some diners out - I recall Joy lending one bemused young banker her push-along scooter and pointing him towards the nearest cash machine while she kept his colleague 'hostage'. Great to know she still rules - must go back soon!

The restaurant is small but the food is so so good !!!! And very cheap ! I loved the owner she is so funny and nice ! I will definitely come back !! I highly recommend it

No me gustó ni la comida ni el restaurante ni la atención de su dueña

Delicious food, cosy place, BYO alcohol, reasonable prices, will go there again soon.

The owner is Joy and she makes it worthwhile to visit this little restaurant. It is a BYO which is great. The food is pretty ordinary and if it wasn't for Joy, I would eat elsewhere.

This is my local Thai restaurant and I love it. Such good prices and BYOB which makes it even better value. I was there the evening the table of 15 was turned away and I don't blame Joy (the owner) at all. She had asked them numerous times to keep the noise down as they were disrupting other diners' experience and were rude and they were rude and disrespectful to her so she asked them to leave. Quite within her rights as the owner of the establishment. And the rest of the diners were grateful to enjoy their evening in peace. Also, the food is delicious!

Arrived for my girlfriends birthday party, the onwer was so rude and disrespectful. We ended up leaving. Before the food.

We booked for a 15 person party - the restaurant is small. They reserved the tables but as we all started to turn up and say hello to the birthday girl, the owner began to be very rude in regards to the noise. We were very quickly removed from the venue, before we could even order food. The host was unnecessarily horrible.

Good basic Thai in London with a nice sassy owner for entertainment.

I had takeout. Reasonably priced but the food wasn't particularly good. Sadly not the Thai experience I was hoping food so have gone elsewhere.

The owner, Joy, has a great sense-of-humour which makes the experience good fun. Relaxed environment and nice food.

Love heading to 209 for a bite to eat. The food is great, it is BYO which makes it a really reasonable night out. Joy who owns the restaurant makes your experience as she is really welcoming, great fun and has some brilliant chat. Highly highly recommend a visit.

A great local establishment with very reasonbly priced tasty Thai food. Bring Your Own too which helps with the end bill. The owner, Joy, is a fantastic personality and always keen to have a chat and provides a very friendly atmosphere to the place.

This was one of the best dinners out I've had in london! Tucked away, this small restaurant is packed full of atmosphere, largely helped by the byob rule, the outgoing personality of Joy, and the truly home cooked food with great prices! Could not recommend it enough if you're looking for an evening of laughter, prawn satay and green curry were delicious!

Situado entre las tiendas locales en Fulham, este pequeño restaurante te permite traer tu pripia bedida alcohólica es el anfitrión famosos alegría. Ella hace todo lo posible para acomodar a sus huéspedes y asegurarse de que todo el mundo tiene una noche colorida y divertida. La comida era buena, el precio está bien, el ambiente fue bien... un pequeño restaurante con mesas antiguas. Pero merece una visita sólo para el ambiente, y el raro encanto de un ser un Londres te permite traer tu pripia bedida alcohólica. Perfecto para un viernes por la noche con amigos para comenzar la semana!

Comida tailandesa - te permite traer tu pripia bedida alcohólica (barato) dirigido por alegría servir licor y mi hija con alimentos cocinados por el esposo de alegría. Alegría ama clientes y querrán hablar con usted más que tomar tu orden. Ella también te dirán que qué comer, sabe lo que es bueno y lo que le gusta. Le gusta especialmente la factura final.

Visited with my girlfriends family - they come here often and rave about, i was not disappointed. Joy the owner is a really fun character who kept us entertained as well as the great tasting food! Give this plave a visit :)

Good home made Thai food and Joy, the owner, is a barrel of laughs!!!! A lot of locals frequent this place and you can see why. B.Y.O alcohol which is cool (£2.20 corkage). Love coming here!

Great atmosphere and very friendly service from Joy, complete with hearts and kisses on the bill. The set menu was tasty but the portions were on the small side. Would definitely visit again if we were in the area but would order more.

Cracking place. Great food; reasonable prices; BYOB; (last but not least) JOY.Legendary host, she spices up the dining experience. Be aware that this spice may not be to everyone's taste, but if you would like what feels like a more authentic Thai experience, give it a try! Just don't mess with Joy...

Great food, very amusing staff and owner!

Tasted great, portion sizes not that big. Host was lovely!

This place is great! Fantastic thai food, good prices and good portions. But the best part of our evening was the owner! Joy is hilarious and will make this visit an experience, not just a dinner!

Good value and brilliant entertainment.

Fantastic food and wonderful price! Portions are decent. The atmosphere is really comfortable and enjoyable, plus it's BYO which is nice :)

This BYO hole-in-the-wall was honestly the best dining experience I had in London. Buy yourself a bottle of wine (or two) and find your way to this authentic, family owned Thai restaurant. Every dish we had was flavorful and delicious, and we woke up the next morning wanting the hot and sour soup for breakfast. You would never guess from the looks of the place or the quirky personality of the owner (she'll get mad at you if you try to seat yourself so don't do it,) but the food is of the absolute best quality. No matter where you are staying, this is worth the drive. There is a little grocery two doors down where you can pick up your wine or spirits, so make your way to the Parsons Green tube stop and enjoy.

This cafe is a hidden gem. I came with a group of friends, only booking a few hours before. I had heard good things but was not quite prepared for the whole experience.There was a typical range of Thai food and everything that came out was delicious. We took our own wine so that was taken care of. The price at the end was so reasonable once split it almost didn't seem fair to the restaurant. It is the atmosphere of this place that makes it. The owner is happy to have people there and is happy to share where she buys ingredients from and what she uses to get the fabulous flavour.The decor is not very flash, nor the bathroom, but the food and host make up for it.Cannot wait to go back.

We went for dinner here tonight as my friend is in London to visit. I've just moved down the road and have walked past Cafe 209 a number of times and thought it looked interesting. Other reviewers are right when they say that it's unique! It was Saturday night and the only table left was a two seater, so we took it. The food was lovely and the most inexpensive I've had throughout the whole of the UK in the last few years (ha), the atmosphere was great - the owner is very chatty and friendly, and makes such an effort to make her guests feel welcome and like they're having a good time, For both my friend and myself, having been to Thailand (albeit separately), this friendliness is cultural, which I understand may seem a little forward for some Londoners. The atmosphere will be make or break for people, but for us, it made it. We've both spent so many evenings in dull, clinical restaurants which leave you questioning whether it was really worth it. Never mind the fact that the food is great and so inexpensive, the vibe is the winning factor for us, Try it and see!

Buenos precios con comida en buenas raciones donde podrás quedarte agusto con un plato. El servicio británico seco que jave que te recuerde do de estas!

I'm a regular at Cafe 209 & love it! It's BYO so always makes for a cheap night out but the food is always fresh & great. Love the atmosphere & decor, although it is an acquired taste. Joy the owner is hilarious & always happy to chat & give her unique take on life! Probably wouldn't recommend a quiet romantic meal/private chat there on a Sat night unless you check beforehand that there won't be a bunch of rowdy Fulham toffs having a meal for 20 in there which is often the case on a Sat night. Note it's closed on Sunday nights.

Food is ok, served quickly and very cheap for the area. It is a really quirky place! Joy the owner is super loud, some may feel uncomfortable around her as she can be 'in your face' - but she is a fun character who just wants to make everyone feel welcome. I wouldn't recommend going here for a quiet meal. It is super for big groups/parties and amazingly fun; especially with the BYOB option. Joy really makes/breaks the place (depending on your view!)

Price was good. Food was excellent. And joy was the most entertaining and hilarious host we could have ever wanted. (don't go there for a quick meal as you'll be talking to joy for hours)

Really great service, Joy really owns and works her restaurant. My advice: don't upset her! The FT says Wong Kei is the rudest restaurant in London, I'm not so sure. Excellent food and atmosphere, most will love, some not, I'll be going back again and again.

Went in for dinner this evening and at first was doubting our decision due to the basic decoration and plastic menus however we were very pleasantly surprised come the end. The food was very quick and tasty (we were in and out within 30 minutes with starter and main!) Joy, the owner, is very loud but friendly and wants to chat! Bargain of £17 total. BYO booze attracted a large party of 15 but this added to the quirky atmosphere. Will definitely return to this local Thai.

Food great, charges very reasonable, service hilarious.Portion size just right. Others there cheerful and obviously enjoying themselves, but not annoyingly so.We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

It's BYOB which is great. Owner is very friendly...maybe gets too involved with guests. I just wanted a nice dinner with my husband and she kept talking to us which started to bother me as the meal progressed. But if you went as a group then the disruption might be more fun than intrusive. I will go again as food was good.

Have been visiting cafe 209 since 1993 when I lived in Fulham. Now I live outside London but visit twice a year. It's a BYO place with great food and a young crowd. Joy the owner is a great and funny hostess who speaks her mind in all subjects. A great night out.

Living just down the road, I go to Cafe 209 about once a month.As long as you know what it's all about, you'll have a great time - on a Friday or Saturday night it will be loud, hectic and busy. On any other night there may be 2-3 other groups, sometimes none. Joy (the owner) is always a whirlwind as she scowls or laughs her way from table to table and will always tell you what's on her mind.The food is good and not expensive. It's a BYO so the bill is never more than £20 a head.Overall it's a bit of fun so don't go there expecting white linen dining and candle light romance....it does what it says on the tin.

a small group of us went to cafe 209 on a Saturday evening. The food is okay, nothing to write home about. The thai green curry was very watery, the satay sauce not nutty enough. Everything was edible but lacked wow factor. The most striking thing about the place is the owner who is definitely a character. Some people would say she's quite rude. She's certainly very direct but still very welcoming and made sure we were having an enjoyable evening. I would go back just to see her again

Don't expect any extras here. It's boisterous and cramped, but it's exactly what this bit of London needs - cheap and cheerful. The family who run it stand on no ceremony. They may not recognise you from last time, but they'll make sure you think they do. The food is nothing to get too excited about, but it's not pretending to be. It's all about having a good time with friends, and the food is just an adjunct to a friendly atmosphere and a lot of laughs. The big plus is that they have no licence, so you bring your own beer/wine, so you can make that as memorable as you like without the usual markup. Unpretentious it is; and excellent value for an inexpensive meal.

This place is loud, noisy, and the service is more than poor. The owner is a loud lady who does not respect the customers peace. Really not the place for a romantic evening. Not very friendly staff neither. Not to mention the food portions are very small, and without particular taste. Stay at home and cook some chicken with vegetables and you will have the same experience (except that you will have more tranquillity). A great thai restaurant - no! If you want one, go to Mudmee, just around the corner, similarly priced and great atmosphere!

hillarious restaurant with an acquired taste for the service. This little restaurant offers value for money. You bring your own wine/beer for a small corkage fee. The restaurant is tiny and is packed with almost 40 chairs - which makes this a very lively and super busy place (and sometimes a bit noisy) . The restaurant is family run where the father is the chef and mother (Joy), daughter and son running the show. The food is excellent, the service is fast and simple. Value for money.

Service might be an acquired taste but the food was excellent.

A family run local Thai restaurant that lets you bring your own wine. Lots of different Thai dishes to chose from. It gets lively on a Friday and Saturday night so it’s worth booking in advance. Overall its great value.

Went last night for a celebration meal and found the food fresh and tasty and Joy on excellent form. We mentioned that 2 of our party couldn't eat too much spice and everything bar the green curry was mild but with 3 different forms of chilli offered on the side for the rest of us. I cannot believe the negative reviews. The restaurant was packed and the ambience excellent. So the tables are a little close together but, hey, the bill for 3 courses was under £20 per head! What more could we wish for?