Despite its name’s racetrack connotations, Greyhound Café is a restaurant with a fashion pedigree. The bistro is part of a nearly 20-year-old chain that originally started in Bangkok as an offshoot of the hip Greyhound clothing boutique. The sartorially savvy restauranteurs built up enough of a buzz with their quasi-Thai concoctions to spread first to Hong Kong, and now to a chic loft space in Sanlitun Village.

Greyhound defines itself as ‘Thai with a twist’, a roundabout way of saying ‘fusion restaurant’. And here fusion means throwing in a Western touch or two, as well as nudging the decimal point eastwards on the price. There are no red or green curries on the menu, and the pad Thai uses corkscrew fusilli pasta instead of the regular rice noodles – though admittedly a more traditional variation is available. But there is a palpable Thai influence on many of the dishes from start to finish. This is especially true in the delicious tom yum broth, which delivers a rich contrast of spicy and sour notes, and comes with half of a very fresh prawn that’s so big it wouldn’t look out of place in a Japanese monster movie.

The continent-hopping menu might require a guide, with both East and West featuring prominently on the 90-odd-strong list. Chicken wings split down the middle into single-bone segments and fried with fish sauce; they have crispy exteriors and perfectly tender meat, but precious little flavour. The menu describes them as ‘famous’; whether they become that here remains to be seen. Better chances lie with a dish of fried tiger prawns, as ocean-breezy as they would be at a proper seafood restaurant – and also as expensive.

So the food is pretty decent, but beware that title: Greyhound Café doesn’t live up to that second word. Sure, there is a selection of tantalising desserts: the indulgent coconut crêpe cake, featuring a colossal slice of Thai coconut meat and positively swimming in cream, is delicious. In the back, there’s a parlour serving up a selection of ice cream parfaits stuffed with brownies or fruit – ideal for relieving the acrid Beijing heat.

Address: Third Floor, 19 Sanlitun Lu, Building 1, Sanlitun Village South, Chaoyang District 朝阳区三里屯VILLAGE南区1号楼3层

Source: timeoutbeijing.com