REVIEW: The Lime Leaf, London Street (From Basingstoke Gazette)

REVIEW: The Lime Leaf, London Street

2:45pm Monday 16th January 2012 in Taste and Tell By Richard Garfield

The Lime Leaf

25/25a London Street, Basingstoke

RG21 7PG

01256 355272

THE Lime Leaf has got to be one of the best draws to the Top of The Town area of Basingstoke when it comes to a lunchtime spot to eat.

And for those who have limited time, you can’t fault the restaurant for its speedy service and the quality of its Asian food.

My friend and I were impressed by the business lunch menu, and were also very hungry, so we opted to go for the two-course option at £9.95, involving a starter and main course, which comes with steamed rice.

Keen to try more than one starter, we decided to share, with my friend going for the dim sum while I chose the spring rolls.

Attractively presented, we soon polished off the starters. The vegetarian rolls were certainly crispy and very delicious, while the other dish of steamed dumplings fried in a light tempura batter and served with a sweet chilli sauce was excellent.

With high expectations, we decided to stick to our own dishes for the main course.

I picked beef in oyster sauce, with broccoli and mushrooms, which was fantastic. The beef was very tender, while the broccoli was on the right side of being slightly crunchy.

My friend went for Singapore chicken curry, with its spices, potatoes and tomatoes all simmered in coconut milk.

She thoroughly enjoyed it, commenting on how much she liked this mild, creamy curry.

All in all, we thought £9.95 was a fair price to pay considering the prompt service and quality of the food.

My only gripes were that the cosy and attractively decorated restaurant, complete with ancient beams, lost some of its relaxed ambiance because of a rather noisy table of diners nearby – they were clearly enjoying their meal – and the service was not quite as friendly as I had expected, having eaten at The Lime Leaf a few times in the past.

That said, we’ll certainly be going back again.