The Pepper Tree

We went on a Friday night with no booking, it was packed but we only had to wait about 10 minutes for a table of 4.
We set out to make sure we didn’t spend more then £10 on our meals and every meal on the menu was around £7-£8 which was perfect. I ordered the chicken laksa which was huge and amazing and i want to go back every single day to eat it !!! My friends enjoyed their meals, i didn’t hear them rave on as much as I did though haha but they still had only good things to say about it.
I had no idea about this place before but I will definitely be going back time and time again.

Chicken Pad Thai was amazing! Service great! Very happy! Affordable, £7.75 for a massive portion is a bargain! Highly recommended! ⁵⁄₅

Really warm and informal restaurant serving authentic Thai food in a canteen style format — much like that at Wagamama!
Really decent menu serving a variety of options though I would suggest the starter dishes are slightly too small when compared to pricing and cocktails I would steer away from next time I visit though despite this the food is very food! This small restaurant has grown in popularity hugely over the past couple of months so expect to wait to be seated for up to 20 minutes during peak hours.
Good transport links from Clapham Common so easy to get to. Service could be better but I’d highly recommend trying The Pepper Tree out, or at the very least getting a takeaway — which is handy!

The Pepper Tree is a very warm and informal small thai restaurant just off Clapham Common tube station. We popped in for an easy and quick bite on Monday evening and surprisingly the place was really crowded.
The quality of food was good and main courses quite generous. I found their Pad Thai a bit too dry and the pork meat in the soup might have been seasoned a bit more, but in general nothing to complain on the food.
Staff was very friendly, even if the service has been too slow (about 35 minutes to get some dim sum and spring rolls and 50 minutes for the main). I brought this to the attention of the manager and they made it up, explaining there were a lot of new staff.
I think I will go again, even because they have an agreement with Clapham Picturesque and you get food and cinema at a very good deal during the week.

The Pepper Tree et moi, c’est une histoire d’amour qui dure depuis 2005. Presque 10 ans alors que ce restaurant thai est a plusieurs centaines de kilomètres. Bön, il faut savoir qu’avec plus d’une centaine d’aller-retour (merci le travail :)!) à Londres à mon actif, un endroit comme le Pepper Tree était obligatoire (je remets absolument pas en cause la gastronomie anglaise mais bon vous voyez quoi…).
Et oui, le Pepper Tree m’a sauvé. Je n’arrivais jamais à trouver un resto sympa pour manger pas trop cher, healthy et bon. Ces 3 critères, c’était assez rare à trouver. Mais, juste en face de mon boulot, à Clapham Common, j’ai découvert ce petit restaurant aux allures de cantines thai. Ces grandes tablées avec des bancs, pas mal de choix, mais leur truc de fou qui m’a tué le ventre à chaque fois: leur pad thai. Délicieux. Divin. À rivaliser de goût avec ceux que j’ai mangé en plein Khao San Road en Thaïlande sur les chariots. Pareil. Le soja, la bonne sauce, les cacahuètes… Le bonheur.
En plus ils avaient un partenariat avec ma boîte qui était vraiment juste en face et à qui ils faisaient des super prix le midi (pas folle les guêpes de faire un partenariat avec une boîte de 500 personnes juste en face et qui n’a pas de cantine).
Alors ça c’était en 2005. Mais depuis, vous allez me dire?
Ben depuis, c’est toujours aussi bon. J’y retourne à chaque passage londonien (assez fréquent je l’avoue :p). C’est vraiment une très bonne adresse. En plus c’est pas non plus excessif, et à Londres ça fait du bien quand vous savez que même le Burger King à deux, c’est 20 € (et que là, vous mangez plus que bien et avec une sensation de satiété qui durera plus de 2h). Et puis, ils sont tellement gentils :).
Pourquoi 4*? Parce que j’y suis allée 50 fois, et que j’ai toujours pris le même plat! Prochaine promis, je teste autre chose pour valider que tout est aussi bon… Enfin, j’essaie :)!

The food we tried were adequate, but the Pork Ball and Spring Onion (Big Bowl Noodle Soup) was glorious, especially if you appreciate spare ribs, nourishing broth, and flat rice noodles.
Food we tried were Fish cake, prawn toast, green curry (small portion), prawn pad thai (big portion, mushy noodle, overcooked prawns).
Friendly service, clean modern atmosphere.

I just moved to clapham yesterday, and as two of the remaining housemates hadn’t moved their stuff in yet, me and my mate Mimi did some wandering as a duo.
After a good walk (okay, pub crawl) we were both peckish and I was feeling Thai. Completely missed this place and walked past it, but I thought it might be a good chance to give my Unilocal app control of my fate.
The app may has well have shouted ‘It’s BEHIND YOU’ as it directed us 50m away to the easily overlooked Pepper Tree.
Seated in a couple of minutes, the style is similar to that Wagamama’s– but think smaller, cheaper, and a bit more special.
Started off with Dim Sum– delicious, if not a little on the small side. Mimi took on the massaman curry (sadly I’ve taken on the spelling as opposed to the eating) and I cracked on with one of the specials– spicy barbecue pork.
I’m a huge spice fan, and I was NOT disappointed. Beautiful sweet and spicy flavour, sticky rice and salad were a great accompaniment, and a couple of beers to wash it down with (Tiger, if you’re interested)
I got a bit over excited with the optional dressings and sauces. Basically each spicier than the last! Ended up with a mouth hotter than Satan’s undercrackers but still a pleasure nonetheless.
Ended up paying £15 each for the whole lot, (inc.) service, which wasn’t bad at all!
Would go again — Mimi loved her curry too. She’s definitely up for going again. Mind you there were quite a lot of attractive guys in the restaurant, so if that’s also a factor for you, then great.

I know it’s London, and not SF, but this Thai food was so so so bland. I got pad thai and it was basically just boiled noodles with some peanuts and maybe a splash of soy sauce. Not really so delicious. It was food and I was hungry, but that’s about it. Not super impressed.

I came to the Pepper Tree after a particularly hot day on Clapham Common following a recommendation from my housemate who likes to get takeaways from here.
I had the garlic chicken and rice which was good and reasonably priced. The outdoor seating area is an added bonus in warm weather.

I was at The Pepper Tree on Saturday night with one of my closest London friends. I am not very familiar with Clapham but my friend lives there so he suggested we should go.
I loved the straight forward menu. We shared a started (for 2) which was delicious and went on to have a main each with prawns. My friend took a stir fry while I took a green curry. On the menu it said the curry is medium hot but really, it was quite hot so be aware! It was great food though in any case.
Please do go here if you’re in Clapham and fancy good, Asian food for good prices. We paid around 15 quid each for starter, main, rice and drinks. I think I might come back next time I’m in London!

The Pepper Tree curry is one of the spiciest I’ve had in London and for that reason, I will be back! The food is good, the service is OK, and the atmosphere is like Wagamamas.
But the prices are reasonable, the menu extensive, and above all the food is pretty good.
Portions are quite big too the Pad Thai is absolutely enormous, and done well.
If you go for lunch on Mondays to Fridays, go for their set lunch for £7.50 its a steal for both a starter and main course!

Lovely cheap meal! I had the pad thai chicken!

Popped in yesterday with a group of friends on our usual Monday night tour of Clapham eateries. Inside, the tables are arranged a bit like Wagamama’s (but the benches are not as high up!).
The menu has a good selection of Thai foods — most of us ordered some form of Pad Thai noodles (we’re an imaginative bunch), and one brave soul ordered a laksa. The food arrived super, super fast — I’m talking about 3 minutes! Which was good, because we were eating in a hurry!
The Pad Thai was good, but in my humble opinion, nothing to write home about. I had prawns, which were really good. The Pad Thai here is a bit spicier than other places that I’ve tried. Not bad. I also got to try the laksa, which I thought was better than the Pad Thai.
Enjoyed my meal (cleaned the plate!) and will be back to try other dishes on the menu, because I think judging on a Pad Thai alone is unfair!

Communal style dining on large benches, sizzling stir fries and an authentic selection of Thai dishes and drinks makes this a great place to dine in Clapham. We love the sweet corn cakes here, yellow and green curries are also excellent. But be warned portions are on the tiny side…
My last visit was unfortunately marred by going off-​piste. I ordered a ‘Special of the Day’ and to cut a long story short… it wasn’t very special.
My ‘Stir fried chicken in a Sesame sauce with Pineapple, Chilies & Spring onions’ was a soggy affair that tasted primarily of Soy sauce; actually quite revolting. Almost put me off the place, but I know they do other dishes well, so I will return.

Pepper tree is a small local Thai restaurant at Clapham. My friend has been raving about it for the past month and so I went along with him this Sunday to see what the fuss was all about.
We started with vegetable rolls and crispy fried wontons, made of chicken and prawn. The wontons were tasty (as also the sweet and sour sauce that accompanied them). The vegetable rolls were not that good though. The stuffing had more noodles than vegetables and it was oily.
For the main course my friend strongly recommended the Penang lamb curry. The dish had quite a lot of meat for less than £6. The taste was good … but it tilted slightly towards the sweet side. The Massaman Chicken Curry was much more spicy and enjoyable. They serve a variety of Asian beers which are worth a try.
Pepper tree has a small dining area with communal seating (like at Wagamama). There is a long table outdoors too. It seemed quite popular … being almost full even on a sunday night. The food was good and affordable … a two course dinner with drinks cost us around £15 per person.
They also have this fabulous offer of food and cinema for £12. You get a main course with rice and a ticket for the Clapham picture house (which is a couple of minutes walk away) for that price. That would surely make for a pretty good evening for less. I have rarely seen restaurants and theatres jointly selling a deal (though on reflection it seems so obvious that they should) and i hope that its a huge success :)

It’s a simple and popular little Thai joint opposite Clapham Common tube station. Very pared down (almost unfinished) white walls, the long bench seating and communal tables are packed solid most evenings.
At 12:30 on a Saturday I shared it with a couple of Clapham happy families and a pair of joggers fresh from the common. Ignoring their uncommonly good Pad Thai, I briefly flirted with the idea of a deep and cheap bowl of Tom Yum soup before settling on the chicken Pepper Tree curry, their spiciest dish, guaranteed to blast away my ills.
A side of sweetcorn cakes didn’t set my world (or tastebuds) alight. They are fine, nothing more. Slightly overfried and a little too doughy. The treat comes with the Pepper Tree curry, exactly what the doctor ordered. Foolishly skipping the rice, I plough straight into my bowl, nearer a soup than a curry but packed with flavour. Lemongrass, Thai basil and tamarind provide the backup complexity to a punchy peppery heat. Chicken, krachai (a mild ginger-​like root used in Thai and Indonesian cooking) and bell peppers cook in the heat with Thai aubergines and green beans retaining their bite and adding texture to the bowl. It’s not complex, but boy is it satisfying.

Quick, cheap, and cheery — not the best Thai food you’ll ever have, but not bad. Staff are efficient (they need to be, given the Pepper Tree’s popularity), and were able to accomodate our request to take our food away halfway through the meal (need driven by a minor family crisis).

Food is some of the best thai I’ve ever had. (and I could be crowned Pad Thai Queen) I would have given it 5 stars, but the wait staff seemed to have an attitude problem. They don’t speak, nor get what you ask for the first time. But go for the food! It’s awesome.
FYI, it’s LOUD! Order a bottle of wine, pad thai, green curry & use sign language.

I went here with a group of random friends and it worked out lovely for us!
The big picnic tables with benches is a perfect setting for a hodge-​podge of people who want to eat good, quick and cheap.
We split a few bottles of wine and had loads of dishes that we just passed around like some sort of drug — which is cool, if you like drugs, but we like food…

You know what you’re going to get from the Pepper Tree and I do like to go and get it often.
Great for a quick dinner — the food is consistently tasty and fresh and the menu is varied. They serve a good range of starters/​sides and I like their curries and noodle dishes alike.
The seating is canteen style, so you’ll get to know your neighbours. Some people aren’t so keen on this… but it’s quite likely your fellow muncher is going to a be young professional Claphamite who isn’t going to bite and probably smells quite nice anyway!
It gets really busy in here at times, so be prepared to wait for a few minutes for the next seats. The turnover is quick though, so don’t expect a romantic and unrushed meal. You come here to eat and chat… then move on.
They do takeaway too so if it’s too busy to grab a seat and/​or the weather is good, carry your deliciousness over to the common and grab some beers. Happy days.

It’s tasty, filling, flavoursome and fast… and so darned cheap! Possibly even cheaper than making it at home for yourself.
You sit down on benches, sometimes at large shared tables.
I’ve been there a few times and everything I have tasted has been top-​notch. The restaurant is said to be Thai, but it’s unlike any other Thai I’ve had with slightly more interesting flavours and combinations. Don’t get me wrong, I like traditional Thai, but it’s noce to have something a little different on occasion.
It’s always packed so be prepared to wait your turn as reservations are not taken. But once you taste the food and see your bill, you’ll know it was worth the wait.