The Begging Bowl in Southwark

Really loud place with overly sweet food. The pork belly was delicious though! Would not recommend that place. Staff was friendly.

They suggest sharing but portions are small and too expensive for sharing concept. Food was just ok, service was very varied and confused. They advertise taking Amex on the front door but don't actually accept it. The 2hr reservation slot is actually 1.30min according to manager Courtney, abruptly saying "its written on your email" despite email confirmation saying otherwise. We felt forced to speed up half a bottle of wine and did not manage to order desert.

Beautiful place and delicious food, one of the most authentic Thai restaurants in London. Reasonably priced and great for date nights and groups.

A mixed experience at The Begging Bowl so overall 4 stars feels right. The service flitted between exceptional and curt, depending on who we were talking with and even if the food was outstanding, I’d struggle to put the bad service to one side. That said, most of the food was lovely. The chive cakes were incredible and we all agreed those were the highlight. We ended up ordering 4 portions of ,they really were so good. We loved the larb nuts and the pickles too. The Thai beef salad was good, the sea bass was delicious but none of us enjoyed the nam prik ong (the pork dish). I’m not saying it wasn’t authentic, but all 4 of us had the same view. Really good cocktails which was a nice surprise. Nice atmosphere. Could have done with one more person serving in my view but we would return.

Food is delicious, great ambience and innovative dishes. Definitely not your regular Thai food affair. However, service is quite subpar as you always feel rushed. Few instances during the evening where they forgot to bring my drinks I had ordered and also dishes. Had to remind the staff.

Amazing food, fantastic service and lovely layout and decor. I look forward to coming back and trying more dishes! We had and recommend 🚨❤️ Thai lemonade Sea bass Nam prik ong Stir fry cabbage Stir fry venison Rice (it’s unlimited for £3.95 😆) ( more than enough food- could deffo reduce to 2 main dishes!)

Buzzing with atmosphere. V romantic for a Valentine's Day meal. Extremely high quality food. V interesting cocktails. I tried the one with charcoal, never had anything like it before. Knowledgeable but never patronising staff. Made v good recommendations. The grapefruit and pomelo salad was a knockout, and beautifully presented too. (The photo doesn't really capture how pretty it was.)

Some of the tastiest food and cocktails I have had in london! Staff were so helpful and friendly. The Thai tea peanut mouse was outstanding.

I've wanted to try this restaurant for a few years, its local and I like supporting local businesses, but this was my first and last time. The food is nice, but expensive, and portions are small, lots of liquid and veg, but not much meat, the portions should be a lot bigger, especially as they claim that their menu is for sharing. The rice is unlimited and priced at about £3.50 per person, so I suppose you can fill yourself up on rice if you want, but that's not really for me. You are advised, that you do not need too many dishes for this reason and that the food comes out separately, so you can share. Not the case at all, barely enough food for one, we left hungry and had to buy a takeaway. It's easy to say the food comes out at different times, so you can share, but the reality is probably, that the kitchen staff cannot get the food out quickly enough. Nice ambiance and staff, but I found the whole experience, pretentious, so will spend my money elsewhere in future. Also, check the bill before leaving a tip as gratuities are already added on.

Such a great place. Lovely staff and great food

Fantastic food the herbal fish soup was exceptional

There are better restaurants at much more reasonable prices in the area. I recommend to AVOID this place. I was asked four times by four different servers whether I wanted to order drinks, while I waited five minutes for my friend to arrive. The servers are clearly trained to up sell. We were told that they would recommend 3-5 dishes for two people. It was too much food. We couldn't finish it all. We were warned about the spice level of one of the dishes, which we then didn't order. There's no indication on the menu of what the spice levels of any of the dishes are. _Every_ dish was spicy. There were even chilli flakes in the pomelo salad! We told the waitress when we paid our bill, and she said they were supposed to also warn us that the beef salad was spicy. Then, when we told her there were even chilli flakes in the pomelo salad, she laughed uncomfortably and apologised. I guess she didn't know there was spice in there, too. We ended up spending £86.00 on four dishes and bottomless rice for two people. If we'd had a bottle of wine, that would have pushed the bill straight to £130.00. I would never return. The menu is massively overpriced and badly organised. Paying £14 to £22 for "sharing" dishes when you're recommended to buy four or five of them between two is honestly shocking for fairly basic food.

First time, came across whilst exploring the neighbourhood .One of the best Thai food ever had. One more reason to go back to Peckham

Everything was perfect. So delicious!

There is nothing Thai in this restaurant, I'm so disappointed, I was expecting much better. Food had no test 😔

After an initial mix up with our booking, we got complimentary drinks and a starter while we waited for a table to free up. The staff were very apologetic and friendly throughout, excellent customer service. Once seated, we enjoyed a delicious meal - the seabass in particular was superb. All in all, not how we expected our anniversary dinner to go, but the initial hiccup didn't ruin the night & we will most definitely be coming back and will recommend to friends.

We loved the food which felt very authentic but it was the staff that are the highlight. Drinks and rice were refilled quickly and they even helped us pack away the leftovers. Food took a while a come but will not stop us from wanting to visit again.

It’s the first time I’ve been to a restaurant and not been able to pick my favourite dishes - they were all exceptional. We left absolutely stuffed. Great service too - thank you Gerry and colleagues!

Outstanding restaurant. The food was divine, the manager was excellent and I can’t wait to go back. The chive cakes are a definite must too

We finally found a Thai restaurant in London that does Thai food. This is not an easy task. The food was fresh and had the correct balance of sweet, salty and sour - as one would expect in Thai food. There was a great range of vegetation options, and a solid cocktail menu. The twist on the Negroni was outstanding.

Beautiful restaurant. Delicious food. Great selection of wines. Super friendly and helpful staff.

What an outstanding restaurant this is. The menu is inventive and not the norm which is great and the food is so good. Excellent service and the help and explanation was spot on, listen to the advice of the host as they know their stuff on portion size. Nice idea with the rice so no wastage. Highly recommended.

Have walked past this restaurant several times thinking we should eat there. I didn’t realise when we booked a Thai restaurant that this was the same restaurant. It was a delight, friendly and very helpful staff good service and excellent and different food. Started with chive cakes excellent, the prawn and crab noodle salad was absolutely delicious as was the flank beef. The deep fried bass was exceptional. Deserts were good too. Good value for the money. Will certainly return.

All the staff were lovely but our waitress Prudence was fantastic!!! She was super lovely, attentive and gave great recommendations. We all can’t wait to come back!! Xx

Finally got to come here and boy was it worth the wait. Great food. I mean, not oily, delicious flavours and a wonderful selection. We ordered nearly the entire menu and it did not disappoint. Great to come in a small group although we will be back for a date night too. Cocktails were slightly disappointing but stick with the wine and you’ll be fine!

A wonderful experience! Extremely accommodating staff and amazing dishes. If you prefer a relaxed environment, I would recommend going on a Sunday :) Will be returning asap.

Food is good but very slow. Waited over 40mins for a Salad. I understand the concept of the sharing the food, but when we ordered we made it clear that we were not sharing, because people have different dietary requirements. The time difference when the first person got their dish and when I got mine (last dish to arrive) was 40mins, that’s really unacceptable. When we asked, we got a very unprofessional answer: “that’s how this restaurant operates, food is supposed to be shared”..and she walked away. We also waited so long for the ice cream, which was simply three scoops in a bowl. We couldn’t understand why took so long. The bill actually arrived before the ice cream 😂 I would not, either recommend or going back to this place. My experience was below standard expectations and frankly very disappointing. 😔

Absolutely delicious and amazing service! We felt so looked after without being overwhelmed, and the waiters' recommendations were all great. Will definitely be coming back! (Was too focused on the food to take any pics)

Why has it taken me so long to eat here? Definitely back for all the food I didn't try. Looked after very well

What a gem! Great service, excellent food. A nice variety of drinks, cocktails and local wines. I particularly enjoyed the pickles and som tam fritters, but my highlight by far the betel leaves - what a crunchy piece of yum! Nice option that you can adjust a lot of the dishes to be vegan/vegetarian.

Wow...wow...wow!!! I had to write this review whilst waiting for dessert to arrive. It's sublime, what an amazing find....my mouth is bursting with all the flavours. Highly, highly recommend this place

Very clean, polite, friendly and helpful service. The atmosphere is busy,chatty and happy. Loved the food and plenty if it. Will deffenetly be visiting again.

Consistently great Thai food, fried see bass is a must

Haven’t stopped thinking about the food since going there. Bit pricey but well worth it.

Exceptional food, fantastic staff

We had an amazing meal. The food was sublime and the service even better. The GM is a real asset to the restaurant and we felt like true VIPs. Thank you for a lovely anniversary meal. Truly fantastic.

Love this place!! The food is honestly AMAZING…one of my favourite restaurants in London. Rema, one of the managers is EXCELLENT!! She is warm, welcoming, friendly, professional and diligent!!! Loved dining here and love the customer service. The bartender Adam was also amazing…he was so friendly and made us feel really special and at home straight away. Thanks Rema, Adam, Prudence (another lovely waitress) and the chefs/owners at the begging bowl. Awesome food, great cocktails and awesome service!!

Didn’t book so were sat at the bar and the bar staff were great company and made us a cocktail which wasn’t on the menu. The food was amazing, packed full a so many flavours. Quite spicy but delicious. Although they suggest 2-3 small plates per person we barely managed 3 between the two of us. Would highly recommend

all in all a great experience. The food was fantastic.

Realllyyy good Thai food. Staff were all super attentive and friendly. Each dish we ordered was so flavorful. Even the cabbage with garlic, might have been my favorite, seems so simple but tasted perfect. Chive cakes are delicious, whole fish in tamarind sauce was soo good, and sticky rice. Will be back soon.

5 stars all round could not fault it , very authentic.

Am not hugely knowledgeable able Thai food so I did have to ask lots of questions about the menu. It’s all dairy free which is perfect for me as I can’t have that, most of the menus is also gluten free which means most of the menu is available to me. The unlimited rice is a bonus too ! The Seabass was a table centre piece as it looks like it’s deep fried and was delicious. Only downside was the fact some dishes are very spicy, should really have a bit of a warning for spice lightweights like me

Enjoyed the meal, at times it was a bit spicy for me but very flavourful (might be good to have a heat rating on dishes). All dishes are dairy free so it was easy for me to order as the gluten free dishes were labelled and most of the menu was available to me.

The best Thai in London hands down. Better than Kiln in Soho. Such fragrant and inventive dishes. Wish I took more photos. Prudence was our server and they were lovely!

I found this restaurant stressful but there are some good points. Don’t go if you don’t want to share - if you have a fussy dining partner (or somebody with a genuine food requirement) - or if you want to dine alone - it fails. Cocktails were GREAT. Betal leaves absolutely delicious. Som tam fritter - very tasty and worth ordering but VERY salty. Pork mince - inedible due to over salting. Jerusalem artichokes - nice. Broccoli - nice. Chive cakes - ok but boring. I don’t understand why the rice was brought out way before the dishes that needed the rice so we were dealing with cold rice for most of the meal although they very kindly brought more. And our wine order went wrong twice - again very graciously rectified. Great vibe and packed out on a Tuesday night so perhaps other people had a better experience.

Delicious authentic Thai food and lovely attentive service. Stand outs were the chive cakes, wing bean salad, duck leg and spicy larb! And the endless rice. Brought my toddler along - high chair was readily available and she had the chicken broth, green beans and sticky rice and loved it all. Can’t recommend this place enough.

Fantastic food! Well executed dishes and warm service, looking forward to my next visit. Favourite dish has to be the fried sea bass! The som tam fritter salad was also a fantastic twist on the traditional dish which I’d highly recommend.

Begging Bowl is a lively, friendly Thai restaurant in Peckham On the night we went it was busy, staffed by v friendly waiters. After a delicious peppery cocktail, our dinner arrived quickly & was delicious, full of taste The minced pork is only for those with a real tolerance for hot/spicy!

Fantastic tantalising tastes, and nice and spicey. Dishes were shared between the group to allow tasting axselection of dishes. Great place and great staff

Really tasty food (seabass, chive cakes, hispi cabbage were highlights), super friendly staff and all at a reasonable price. Would definitely come back again.

Man this was just really bloody good. Everything punchy and full of flavour. Wine list full of bangers

Yummy food and they obviously take pride in it

Absolutely delicious food and fantastic service! Have been several times now and great every time.

Overall It’s an interesting taste experience. Excellent service and nice beer. However every dish tastes so different they don't seem to compliment each other. Personally I feel the flavours are somewhat overpowering - extra limes, extra salt, extra sweet and spicy - good fusion food but not great.

Outstanding. We were looked after the moment we arrived. Lovely atmosphere and very family friendly. The food is exceptional. Delicious small plates of authentic dishes with fabulous flavours and textures. Thank you for a lovely lunch.

Good menu but over priced. Also, for 2 people they suggest to have at least 4 dishes. Not true. We ordered x 3 dishes and we were too full. Bottomless rice but it is not the best Jasmine rice there is - 3.50 per head. A 5 kg rice is about £7. The prices on the menu you would think, will have decent portion but nope! Nice atmosphere, lovely staffs. Oh and the toilets are not discreet at all!

Had a wonderful dinner here with friends, sharing a bunch of plates. Very nice service and the restaurant atmosphere is great, really feels like we're in SE Asia. My favourites were the curries and the cabbage!

Every dish a total stunner - the celeriac curry just standing out from a delicious crowd. Yum. Highly recommend!!

Good selection of unusual dishes; deep fried sea bass was amazing , wing bean salad was very good. Nice atmosphere, good service, 'unlimited' rice a bit slow in arrival but no complaints.

Inspired and absolutely delicious Thai food. So many interesting dishes all using what is clearly high quality and fresh ingredients. Space is pretty special and so was the service.

It was very tasty and the staff where helpful in helping us pick a good selection of food

The food here was incredible. Small dishes so tried lots of stuff. Do many wonderful flavours. Service was also really good. This place far exceeded my expectation

Tasty though on the pricey side.

Excellent small plate Thai dishes. The sea bass was excellent, highly recommended. Attentive staff and decent prices. Great little spot. Update: I keep coming back here and my opinion is unchanged. Fantastic choice.

We came here for New year's Eve and had the set menu. The portions were really generous and we left incredibly full. Every dish was packed with a unique flavour. The highlights were the betel leaf starter and the partridge salad, both of which were fresh and zesty. The only dish that left us wanting more was the massaman curry that could have been more tender. Lovely waiters and setting. The set menu cost £45 then plus drinks and service it came to £67 each

Delicious food, good portion size and good value

Best food. Unbearably loud when busy.

One of the best Thai meals I’ve ever had. Fresh ingredients and fresh takes on traditional dishes. The whole fish is a treat. Went back again two days later. Loved every dish we had. Staff was attentive and warm. Gerry was particularly helpful and gave us advice on wine, cocktails and the menu. Did not steer us wrong! Will be back!

All of the food was really fantastic and so too was the service generally, except that: we had a booking for two hours and were told three times - whilst we were still eating - we needed to leave 15 minutes early so the restaurant could have the table back, which soured the experience for us.

Authentic Thai cuisine in the heart of Peckham. This is not pad Thai or green curry (nothing wrong with that though). This is exquisite Thai cuisine that you’d find in the finest restaurants of Thailand. We loved it, will be back!!

Great modern thai food, lovely staff and setting

This is my favourite restaurant in Peckham! So atmospheric and of course foods is just amazing, great selections of cocktails. They are very busy so make sure to book a table in advance. I wish they are were also open on Mondays

Food was lush! Delicious fresh flavours!

Es un lugar pequeño con un menú muy limitado de alimentos y una carta con vinos caros y malos. Todos los vinos bastante dulces y el más barato en 7.50 por 125 ml. Las margaritas si estaban buenas pero también bastante caras y mini. Los platillos son muy pequeños y te sugieren pedir al centro. Te cobran el arroz en 3 £ pero es ilimitado. Te cobran el agua de la llave a 1 £ por persona. El servicio es amable pero distraídos y te traen primero la comida y luego la bebida. Pedimos los calamares, unos pastelitos fritos de verdura , el pork neck , un fried sea bass delicioso; de hecho el mejor platillo pero literal 60 gramos de carne y el resto espinas y cascarón. Un tipo caldo de champiñón muy grasoso y con poco sabor y una col muy sin chiste. Esta en un área bastante marginada así es de que tampoco es un paseo tan agradable. No regreso y no lo recomiendo. No encontrarás ningún plato tradicional tailandés como curry o sopas o rollitos. Personal muy hipster e informal sin uniformes y con aspecto sucio y descuidado pero precios de restaurante elegante. Las estrellas son por la salsa de ese pescado y las margaritas de passion fruit.

Beautiful plant-filled light and airy restaurant serving interesting food which is quite different to your usual westernised Thai fare. We tried a lot of things- some were amazing like the little betel leaf appetisers, while others like the hispi cabbage (bland) and the Thai sausage (hard, dry and lumpy) were a bit off. The prices are high and this is more fine dining than a neighbourhood regular. Cocktails sounded amazing and cost a lot but were watery and pretty average. The service, however, was exceptional and all the staff we encountered were insanely lovely, humorous and accomodating

Always amazing food and service and atmosphere. Loved the fish in banana leaf and venison. The pork belly with sambal is also delicious.

One of my favorite restaurants in London. Unique flavors... small bites to share. Lovely atmosphere. I forgot to take pictures because it was so good, but I will add them next time. :)

Incredible food and service. We didn’t realise that one of the dishes ordered wasn’t vegetarian and the staff dealt with it without any problems. Thank you so much. Can’t wait to come back again.

Interesting Thai small plates with incredible ingredients. We tried mainly vegetarian/vegan dishes and one Hake Dumpling Green Curry. The Betel Leaf with crunchy ingredients is a must. The food is top notch. The interiors a tad dated and worn. The only downside is that we sat in the conservatory and the doors were open so we were bothered by flies. However, we moved table and it was much better. The restaurant has been going strong for ten years and long may it continue.

Good meal with fresh ingredients. Interesting dishes and ideal for sharing. Good service. The wine list didn't feel that well matched and was quite expensive - not much under £30.

We love Begging Bowl!!! I come with my parents every time they visit London and the food is always so amazing. This is a special place to come to and it never disappoints.

Each sharing dish ordered was a delight. Staff advised on how much to order for three of us and it was just right - neither too little or too much. The interiors are gorgeous.

Absolutely delicious, authentic food and amazing flavours.

The food here is very flavourful and zingy. Attentive staff. And a gorgeous space that feels part greenhouse. Would recommend for a nice meal.

Great setting and atmosphere. Enjoyed everything we ate - especially the sea bass. Just a bit slow to bring out some dishes and more expensive than expected. Must applaud them for having alcohol free cocktails only cost half the price of normal ones though!

Went as a group of 8. Cannot fault. Food was delicious, especially the sea bass. Staff went above and beyond in helping us order and were exceptionally friendly and helpful, especially a big thank you to the girl with tattoos!

Outstandingly delicious and very fairly priced for a special family lunch. We shall return. (Omg the beef thing!)

Seriously brilliant Thai food in an beautiful space. The plants and atmosphere add so much but the food is a knockout on its own. Everything was so fresh and well balanced and the staff were attentive and lovely!

Poor service, waiters tries to upsell and recommended you to order more dishes than needed. Restaurant was only half full, waitress ignored our table, long wait before drinks orders were taken and walked off without taking food order. Waitress was rude and slammed dish on the table. Poor experience, will not go there again.

Poor service, waitress tries to upsell and ask you to order more dishes than required. Long wait even though restaurant was only half full. Takes ages for drinks or food to be taken and even longer for food to arrive. There are so many better restaurants nearby.

Nice atmosphere and cleanliness; but the place is definitely too pricey for the tiny size of the dishes. Nice staff especially the girl hosting at the door. Unfortunately though the young blonde waitress wasn't as nice as and also made us feel pushed out bringing our bill on the table without asking; it wasn't even much later we finished our desert.

Amazin food . Ever better service 👌🏽

In an area with great choices for dining this lovely lively restaurant stands out. Service was outstanding. You know who you are Gerald!! Our waitress was fantastic too friendly and welcoming. And the food…. Sooo good. We had mainly vegan dishes so a huge thumbs up for offering so many choices. A really faultless evening ending with us leaving with huge smiles on our faces. Thanks to all the staff for a great weekday night out!!

Great authentic Thai cuisine in a relaxed and laid back atmosphere. Been coming here for years and can’t get enough. Seats in the conservatory are the best for a summer evening.

Interesting fusion menu. Staff so friendly (Asha). Loved the food.

Awful. Waited over half an hour for a small plate of curry which was cold / warm and needed seasoning. Paid £80 for a few more small plates and a small carafe of house white. Avoid. Better options not far away.

I hate to give a less than enthusiastic review of one of my neighborhood restaurants, but I write this in the hope that management will read it and improve the customer experience. I visited the Begging Bowl tonight with family visiting from out of town. My partner and I had been once pre-Covid, and despite feeling at the time a bit underwhelmed by the quality of the dishes relative to the price, we decided to give it another shot. We told the waitstaff upon ordering that one member of our party has a spice intolerance, and asked for guidance on which dishes wouldn’t be spicy. We were told only to avoid one dish and that the rest would be fine. The food came, and while most of it was quite tasty, six of nine dishes had chilies in them and were by any standard spicy. Having made the waiter and then the manager aware of the situation, and kindly asked if anything could be sent out for our guest that she could eat, we were at first ignored and then told that we had enough dishes that weren’t spicy, that this was a Thai restaurant and that we should know what to expect. I’m sorry, but I’ve been to many restaurants specializing in Thai, Indian and other cuisines noted for their use of spice that are easily able to accommodate tolerances to heat and moreover dietary requirements. The bill was £240 for four people, and despite my telling the staff it was our guest’s birthday, nothing was done to recognize this, despite the fact that she had basically only eaten rice for the meal. While the service was otherwise efficient and attentive, this is an appalling way to treat customers. Hopefully improvements will be made - otherwise, we will not be returning.

The food is amazing as always and Tilly was wonderful! Will definitely be coming back

Staff were lovely, nice atmosphere and a beautiful space but felt the food was overpriced for what it was. While there was nothing in particular that was wrong with it, it didn't live up to expectations and was quite average.

Great potential. I would say that the sauce of the cod salad should be the sauce of the fried sea bass. Amazing service.