Sailors Thai Canteen

Ph: (02) 9251 2466; 106 George St, THE ROCKS 2000

Thai, $$ -, ** for Food
Open Mon-Sat noon-10pm, Closed Christmas Day; Licensed; AE DC MC V, Seats inside 56, Outside seats, Kids welcomed
Chef (Pacharin Jantrakool, 2007-11-3) Owner (Peter Bowyer & David Thompson, 2007-11-3)

Mietta's Review
At street level, upstairs from the more formal restaurant, the Canteen serves good value Thai street market food at one long stainless steel table. The food is fresh, the quality high and the communal table adds spice to the social experience of dining. This is a good spicy, chilli fix for those in need. The serves are generous and service is prompt. A good place for a quick (fashionable) feed.

Other published opinions

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2008 Score: 14/20 "FAVOURITE ASIAN The long communal table is almost always full, mainly because what comes out of the parallel open kitchen is so sensational"

Sydney Eats 2008 "One of the lovely old sandstone buildings of The Rocks, this former sailors' home blends a minimalist, modern interior with an almost anonymous exterior"

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2007 Score: 14/20 "Michelin-starred chef David Thompson's prototype Thai diner hasn't missed a beat since he opened it above the harbour in 1995. It's the very model of a modern canteen - sleek lines, dark woods, bentwood chairs, patina'd zinc communal table and a bustling open kitchen oozing irresistible aromas amid historic sandstone walls."

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2007 Score: 14/20 "Michelin-starred chef David Thompson's prototype Thai diner hasn't missed a beat since he opened it above the harbour in 1995. It's the very model of a modern canteen - sleek lines, dark woods, bentwood chairs, patina'd zinc communal table and a bustling open kitchen oozing irresistible aromas amid historic sandstone walls."

Sydney Eats 2006 "Housed in a 140-year-old sailors' home, this constantly daring and original eatery has a more affordable street-level section, essentially an upscale noodle bar with a long communal table and a few highly coveted balcony tables."

SMH Good Food Guide 2005 Score 14/20 "Sailors Thai Canteen puts most Thai restaurants in the shade. David Thompson is no longer in the kitchen, but the stamp of his innovative cooking - now acclaimed in London and around the world - is all over the excellent green papaya salad, studded with dried prawns and peanuts, and paired with coconut rice and deeply caramelised sweet-and-salty pork."

Sydney Eats 2005 "The brainchild of co-owner David Thompson, founder of now-defunct Darley Street Thai, London restaurateur and cookbook author, the Canteen is a true Sydney innovator."

SMH GFG 2004,Score 14/20,Consistently very good,And-when there are specials,they are very special,'And for this sensual room of subdued lighting and hissing woks within the colonial masonry of the 1864 Sailors' Home.A hot chilli tip:on the balcony outside are four choice tables,beneath Chinese elm boughs,with glimpses of deep water.'