Cats Cafe Des Artistes may be a small, local restaurant in Finsbury Park, but it serves its regular clientele well.

The Venue
In the middle of the roaring stretch of Stroud Green Road in North London, Cats Cafe is not exactly situated within what might be considered a pretty neighbourhood. With its tiny exterior, devoid of large signs and obvious attempts to attract the public, it is easy to walk past Cats Cafe completely unaware of its existence. Once inside however, the venue is quite beautiful, with tables created from old farm carts, made of teak wood from Thailand. The space is deep and cavernous but completely lacking in pretension.

The Atmosphere
The vibe is relaxed and quiet; the atmosphere, warm and cosy. The lighting is fresh but not too crisp and, even though very little appears to be spent on advertising, there is a clear sense that the people dining in Cats Cafe frequent the place often. Word of mouth between special friends keeps this venue ticking over and at times manages to fill each and every table.

The Food
In the guise of a typical Thai restaurant, the expected fare of curries, rice, noodles and stir-fries is offered and cooked with precision and know-how. The most popular curries of pork, beef or chicken (£6.70 – £7.70) vary in intensity and are highly aromatic, sending flavours through the nose instead of down the throat. The seafood curry (£7.70) is served with large, meaty prawns in a slightly thicker sauce and is surprisingly light on the stomach. Plain and egg fried rice complement the main. However, both the sticky fried and coconut rice (£3.50) appear to be cooked using a higher quality grain. The portions are fairly large and perhaps enough for two to share, leaving more room to take advantage of the typical noodle dishes on offer.

It’s evident from the portion size and the menu content that this restaurant caters for a regular crowd. Devoid of creativity, the beauty of Cats Cafe lies in its reliability. The Thai food served is simple, but honest and there is plenty of it. The banana split (£4) accompanied by creamy vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream and covered with a sticky chocolate and toffee syrup, is not a particularly imaginative dish and the bananas used appear to be overripe, making the whole thing a little too sweet. It’s difficult to distinguish between the sweetness of the banana and that of the ice cream but it’s clear that it’s offered more as a matter of course. Cats Cafe is not trying to serve great desserts. It doesn’t need to. It serves well seasoned Thai food to a regular following of customers and to good effect.

The Drink
Both bottles of house red or white (£11.45 - £12) are duly well-bodied and flavoursome. Both choices counteract the strength of the flavours in the curries without smothering and masking them. This is important when enjoying the delicate flavours found in the Thai curry and therefore a well elected house choice made by the establishment.

Other than the wine, simple orders include standard bottled beer varieties (£2.50), spirits (£2 - £2.50) or a selection of basic soft drinks (£1.20 - £1.50). Cocktails include choices like strawberry daiquiris and mojitos (£6) but the drinks, like the desserts, are really only provided as accompaniments. Cats Cafe spends more time on perfecting the quality of its main dishes and rightly so.

The Last Word
Intimate and unassuming, without lacking in a little style and obvious experience, Cats Cafe is never going to be a big London-named restaurant but it quietly does everything it needs to do to satisfy the regulars. It’s a restaurant without frills and without an obvious desire to develop or expand but it offers good food to hungry people and deserves fair reward for its efforts.

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