Bangkok Diners Club began life as District, a Thai fusion tasting menu restaurant on nearby Oldham Street that attracted plaudits from local and national press before closing in 2022 due to financial difficulties.
In the three years since, husband-and-wife team Ben and Bo Humphreys have been travelling across Thailand and America gathering inspiration (along with a stint opening Gordon Ramsay’s Lucky Cat in Miami) before returning to the M4 neighbourhood with a new iteration for their Thai dining concept.
Their restaurant has taken over the upstairs dining room at Ancoats favourite The Edinburgh Castle – an unusual but welcome switch up from the gold-standard pub fare served up under Shaun Moffat (now at Winsome). Drinks come from the bar downstairs and are as reliable as always, with the signature pint of Guinness as good as the collection of mini martinis and the sharp choice of wines.
Bangkok Diners Club centres on Bo’s Isaan heritage which shines through in a concise menu of hits ranging from £9 to £16 for sharing plates, and with sides and rice from £4 to £6. Starters included raw bass with calamansi nam jim and rice bran, and salt-aged beef nam tok salad with bone marrow aioli and tonnes of fresh mint. Leading the friendly front of house team, Bo was on hand to advise on Thai dishes we weren’t familiar with, but it was nice to see nods to the pub setting with dishes like battered pickled onion rings and curry salt.
The menu continues into grilled corn-fed chicken skewers doused in a milk caramel sauce (a play on satay) while the papaya salad proved a zingy palate livener with peanut and shrimp floss, which packed a spicy punch. Both dishes proof of a kitchen well versed in layering spice and building heat.
From the larger plates, Herdwick mutton gaeng khua arrived garnished with a smattering of pickled celeriac to provide an acidic cut through to the rich, fiery curry. Likewise, pork belly phat phet came with wafers of rhubarb to balance the fatty richness of the meat. A massaman curry with golden beetroot and earthy artichokes was mildly spicy with a gentle sweetness, and the final dish of the night was a coconutty sea bream tom kha, packed with subtle fragrant flavour.
Despite the laid-back setting, District’s former tasting menu DNA shines through with elegant restraint and and immaculate execution in every dish, right down to the rice – perfectly steamed granules soaked in chicken fat. The kitchen, in full view of diners, was a picture of calm.
The menu stopped short of dessert on our visit (though we can recommend stopping in at Higher Ground for a slice of honey tart and a glass of mead), but don’t let that put you off. Bangkok Diners Club is well worth the visit.
WHEN 2nd April 2025
WHERE 17 Blossom St, Ancoats, Manchester M4 5EP
FOLLOW @bangkokdinersclub
BOOK bangkokdinersclub.com
The Good Food Guide allows three to six months before anonymously inspecting a new restaurant. Look out for a full review coming soon.
