In an area not short of cool places to eat, Slurp Noodles keeps it simple and tasty and with a surprise cocktail bar in the basement.

Slurp Noodles’ specialises in well-priced authentic Nam Tok noodles inspired by traditional family recipes and Thailand’s popular street food.

It’s quite a bare place inside, no one has bothered overmuch with redecorating since the last restaurant moved out, but that doesn’t matter. This is not a place to linger overlong but somewhere to fuel up before heading out. Or heading downstairs, but more of that later.

The menu is not too long, which is just as well because while the staff are very sweet their English is not great. I was assured that every dish I asked about was ‘very nice’, and I am sure it was, but some expert advice would have been welcome.

I had heard already though that the Hat Yai Chicken was great, made with deep fried chicken thighs pre-marinated in coriander, garlic and white pepper all topped with crispy shallots. It was better than good, we could have easily eaten even more of what was already a generous portion. We abandoned our chopsticks and used spoons to clear up all the delicious shallot debris.

Some vegetarian dumplings were also excellent, slippery as greased eels; they were packed with flavour. We sipped Thai beer and noticed a couple of almost famous actors sitting nearby. We couldn’t name them though and it rather drove us crazy.

All the food here is full of flavour and to heck with Masterchef presentation, which suits me fine. Peppery Pork Noodle Soup (kuaijab) made with pork, duck blood, half-boiled egg and rolled rice noodles made me think of the time I once ordered chicken feet in a Chinese,  and almost ran away when I saw what it was.

So I passed on that, I can’t stand the sight of blood and went all veggie with Pink Delight noodle soup (yen ta fo) the house special noodle soup – thick rice noodles in a fermented bean curd broth with morning glory. You can have a seafood version  (squid, prawn, mussels and duck blood again), but mine had fried tofu and a mushroom like a cauliflower.

The pink colour was kind of strange, pink is not a colour you find normally in food. Neither is blue by the way, which is why kitchens use blue bandages for cuts, they’re easy to spot if they should fall into prepped food. I assumed/hoped the pink came from the morning glory, and not the mistaken addition of duck’s blood.

Anyway it was a top bowlful. Nicely chewy tofu, big silky noodles for bulk and a rich umami broth. I would have welcomed some more saltiness and a bit more chili, though.

L had a  bowl of off-thebone pork leg with rice, half a boiled egg with a bowl of soup on the side. Good to see another dish using the cheaper cuts, as one would expect of any street stall in Bangkok. He found it a good dish, although the Pak Choi put up a struggle, and a little bit dialled down. Like me he rather expects street food to always be more ‘in your face’ on flavours and spice.

Desserts don’t seem to be a thing at Slurp,  so we ambled downstairs to the aforementioned Dangs cocktail bar. It was only about 8pm so no one was there except two barmen who were awaiting trade and stood to attention behind a circular bar.

A very affable pair as it turned out, very welcoming, and so were the comfy chairs in a rather cosy space with brick arches and low lights

So we had two excellent cocktails, Honey Thai Tea – Phraya rum, Thai tea, condensed milk, honey, crushed ice, and a Tom Yum – Makrut lime leaf, galangal, tomato, chilli vodka, lemongrass, lime, noodles, coriander,  and relaxed as other punters started to come in via Dang’s own side entrance bypassing the restaurant.

There’s a choice of small plates from upstairs available, which is handy and to be honest I’d rather eat downstairs. Upstairs is a bit too canteen-like.

The food is good at Slurp, authentic and no-nonsense and Dang’s bar is a surprisingly good space.

Two attractions in one location,  that’s a good dinner deal.

slurpnoodles.co.uk/locations/spitalfields

60-62 Commercial St,, London E1 6LT