Thai Gate in Shropshire

Despite its rather unassuming exterior this small restaurant (now known as Thai Mere) comprising two ground floor dining rooms surpassed expectations. Having seen recent favourable reviews on TripAdvisor my intention was to stop for an early Saturday dinner. However, returning from Oswestry much earlier than planned with my wife and daughter we arrived at 1.20 p.m. Greeted upon entering we waited a couple of minutes during a service and were then shown to a table in the first section where nearby two couples were seated. Our drinks of Singha beer and tonic waters promptly arrived and we were then able to concentrate our minds on the serious task of menu selection. The first course of Poa Taek (mixed seafood soup including prawns, mussels and squid) and Prawn Tempura (tiger prawns in batter) followed. It was immediately evident from the presentation that the authentic cooking was on another scale when compared to many similar establishments. Visually appealing, well seasoned, succulent seafood, with good size portions was just the start. For mains we chose Nuea Pad Gatiem (stir-fried beef with garlic ), Pad Thai Chicken, Gai Pad Bai Gaprao (stir fried chicken with chilli and beans), Larb Mooh (minced pork), and Egg Fried Rice. After this feast only one diner succumbed to a dessert of Banana Bai and Ice cream. A consensus of opinion scored top marks for a very enjoyable lunch. Mention should also be made of the excellent service, high level of cleanliness (including washroom facilities), the comfortable seating, as well as the atmospheric Thai setting. Based on our first experience this little gem deserves to succeed.

This is the 4th Thai Restaurant in this building and by far the best, The current owners took over around the end of May this year and have transformed the restaurant into an authentic thai style restaurant, whose food is far better and more authentic than many other thai style restaurants in far bigger towns. Whats more the owners seem to have integrated well with other businesses in the town, from the local butcher to publicans, all speak highly of them. I hope they succeed in keeping the business open and to the high standard they have set themselves. Ellesmere you are lucky to have them, please look after them and keep going.

What can I say, the food was absolutely lovely but service leaves a lot to be desired. Arrived 7.30pm and drinks order wasn’t taken until 8pm, appreciate it was busy but we’d booked the table in advance. Ordered our food and it was really really good, plentiful and tasty. We weren’t offered another drink during our whole stay! Plates were cleared but we weren’t asked if we wanted another round of drinks, and after we’d finished our mains were weren’t asked if everything was ok or whether we required another drink. I actually left the place thirsty! I know we could have asked for a drink but it’s hardly the point. I guess I just expected more from the service. Maybe we just caught them on an off night!

The best Thai restaurant in the uk, had to get a table you need to book in advance. But it is well worth it. The food and service is the best . All the food is fresh and you can taste the difference against other restaurants. Very clean and high standards through out the restaurant. The only problem is trying to get a table .

We were served THE BEST Thai food ever and the service was wonderful. I have a couple Thai food restaurants that I've always referred to as the best, but this restaurant now takes first place leaving the others fart behind. This is a very small business and we wish the owner the very best.

Stopped here for dinner on a Friday evening as was staying in the area. Very friendly welcome and great service. Food was amazing fresh and tasty. Great atmosphere and would highly recommend booking before hand as was very busy

Excellent food, would recommend. I've been twice recently for take away and both have been really good meals. Well done for getting this restaurant back up and running.

Lovely food and very varied menu. Lots of good vegan options for me and meat-based options for my husband. The staff were very friendly and helpful.

Three of us went for the first time. I've eaten a lot of hone cooked, authentic Thai food before, so I had high expectations when we went. Well, the food and atmosphere surpassed them all! I absolutely loved this place and will definitely go again. Intimate feel in a great location. Even with a gluten allergy I was spoilt for choice. Cannot praise this place enough. Thank you for a wonderful evening.

Lovely authentic Thai food, restaurant newly refurbished situated in the centre of Ellesmere. Friendly welcoming staff.

Absolutely magnificent food, beautifully prepared and served. Delicious sauces properly home made. A brilliant experience. Go!

Very poor quality food, missing items and very overpriced for small portions. Refund refused upon return of food. Worst takeaway in Ellesmere. Was in the past the best under different management.

We now visit this restaurant regularly. We have been with friends & often take family . We love it. The food is superb, the staff friendly & Da the lovely lady manager a wonderful host. We visited Saturday night, having driven a long way that day. Popped in and luckily got a table. We had starters & mains. Our food was absolutely delicious.

A group of us were staying in a holiday lodge nearby and decided to try this amazing restaurant on Saturday. We weren’t disappointed! The food was absolutely incredible, the best Thai food any of us have ever had. The food was so amazing we came back the following evening for a takeaway as we wanted to try more. Again, we weren’t disappointed and all of us are gutted that we don’t live nearby. Thanks so much for your kindness and brilliant service, if we’re ever back in the area we will 100% be returning!

What can I say, this is the second visit to this authentic Thai restaurant, if you want it like Thailand then this is the best place, the Tamarind duck with coconut rice is amazing, the Thai starter for one is delicious and great value, the drunken spicy noodles were to die for and the Thai fish cakes were spicy and delicious, cannot fault the food and its very reasonable prices, will be back soon xx

Very popular resturant as was completely full the last two days. Food was excellent. Really enjoyed the tempura prawns and the drunken noodles. Nice portions. Will definitely book in advance next time in the area. Delicious .

Hello reader… What can I say about this fantastic restaurant based in Ellesmere Shropshire.. Amazing food and excellent service it really is a must to visit this fantastic little restaurant.. I’ve now been many times and have never been disappointed.. John

Hi we were very pleased when this new Thai opened as we were frequent visitors to the old Thai restaurant so last weekend we decided to pay a visit after a nice afternoon in our local , on arrival we were greeted at the door by the very pleasant owner and it only got better staff very pleasant and friendly and helped with our order when the food came the taste was excellent as was the wine so we would highly recommend and we will be back 😀 Cheers George

Really warm welcome, great service and fantastic food Thoroughly enjoyed our dinner, will be returning soon for definite

Enjoyed a lovely meal last night. Great food and excellent service. We had 4 different starters between us and all were tasty. All the main courses were delicious but the tamarind duck came out top

Highly recommend any of the things on menu - duck works well with tamarind, pork with garlic and pepper, delicious food 😋 attentive staff great service.

We have been twice recently & were given a really warm welcome by the new owner. Both times our food was absolutely delicious. All the staff are friendly & really helpful if you can’t decide what to order. We will be returning again soon !

Had a lovely meal here on Sat 18th, great service and will be back in a couple of weeks for a family meal

Not been before but would definitely go again. Excellent food and a warm welcome. We were able to book a table on line which was confirmed promptly by phone. It's always good to find a place that turns out to be better than you expected.

This has to be the most authentic Thai meal I’ve had outside Thailand. I was spooning the sauce into my mouth even after the vegetables were finished! We had Penang duck with ginger sauce and vegetables and coconut rice. The combination was divine. Our spring rolls were light and the banana fritter and chocolate rolls decadent. For canal boaters puttering along the Shropshire Union Canal who are living the simple life, this was the highlight meal of our holiday.

First visit tonight following recommendation. The restaurant is excellent on entering for hygiene. Welcome was very warm & professional, thank you. Drinks served immediately and menu was explained well, for me a Thai food novice. Starter platter is a great way to taster some of the starter selections. Curry was very tasty. Throughly enjoyed and will be back to enjoy another meal soon