Baan Thai Take Away Restaurant Review, Alpe d'Huez

Although in its infancy, it's already proving to be hugely popular and it's easy to see why. You can already see loads of people walking around resort in the early evenings with their traditional New-York-deli-style brown paper takeaway bags. Although offering a fairly simple menu, there is enough choice to suit most tastes, with 7 starters and 15 main courses to choose from.

Thai decorations and Buddha’s adorn the walls and give the place a real feel of the far east. All the cooking is undertaken by a native Thai lady, so it’s really authentic and is freshly cooked right in front of you, which I always really like. The natural aromas of the spices fill the air and really get the taste buds going. Even though it's only a takeaway, there is a small table for 2 inside so, this time, we decided to “eat-in”.

The drinks are all authentic Thai as well, you can get Chang and Tiger beers and a selection of Thai soft drinks. I had a Chang beer and my son Harrison went for a baby coconut drink which was lovely. We ordered a couple of freshly prepared chicken spring rolls to start and there were super tasty.

For our main course, we decided to share a Chicken Massaman curry and marinated Thai style spare ribs. The curry was truly Thai in its delicate spices with a nice hint of coconut. The ribs were lovely too – but a bit messy (that was probably just me though!). All the main courses come with steamed rice which is included in the price.

I can wholeheartedly recommend the Baan Thai but, as is the case most Asian food, the portions aren’t enormous. I would consider the portions to be fairly “normal” although, if you have someone with a huge appetite (like the 17-year-old, human-wood-chipper Harrison!) it may be worth getting 4 dishes to split between 3 people or 5 between 4 for example.

Starters range in price from €2 to €7.50, with main courses ranging between €7,50 and €13. We paid €33 for a meal consisting of 2 spring roll starters, a curry dish, a spare rib dish, steamed rice and a couple of drinks – which I think is pretty good value.

The takeaway is open between 12:00 and 14:00 for lunches and between 17:00 and 21:00 in the evenings but bear in mind it is really busy so I wouldn’t leave it too late. You can order by phone and go and collect your food or, as many people are doing, order your food and pop into the Freeride Bar (about 5 yards away) and grab a cheeky drink while you wait.

For me, it’s a definite Arnie Schwarzenegger job – I'll be back!