Silk Thai Cuisine - Bermuda

My husband lived in Thailand for several years while growing up and consequently, loves Thai cuisine. So when we heard that Conde Nast Traveler had listed Silk Thai Cuisine in Bermuda on their 2005 "Hot List," and that the restaurant had been awarded the 2005 Best New Restaurant Bermuda Gold Award - we put it on our list to try for dinner on our recent visit to the island.

Located on Front Street in downtown Hamilton, the restaurant is on the second floor overlooking the harbor, next door to the Pickled Onion. It is one of the few remaining restaurants with outside seating on Front Street, though we opted for a table inside on the quieter upper floor of the restaurant.

Inside the restaurant was dimly lit, beautifully decorated and the smell of aromatic Thai spices filled the air. We eagerly perused the menu, broken down into sections featuring Salads & Starters, Rice & Noodles, Curries, Meats & Poulty and Fish & Seafood. Many of the dishes are offered in half or entree sized portions, which allows patrons to sample a diverse selection of items.

We started with the Sampler Platter ($15.50 pp) which held a selection of Vegetarian Spring Rolls, Thai Fish Cakes (made with local Wahoo), Crispy Prawn Wraps & Chicken Satay. We took a bite of each item and deemed the first three much too greasy. Instead we focused on the chicken satay. Skewered chicken was char-grilled, wonderfully moist, and served with a delicious Thai peanut sauce.

For the entree portion of our meal we shared the Traditional Fried Noodles (Pad Thai) with Prawns & Tofu ($10.50 side dish/$23.50 entree), the Stir Fried Glass Noodles with Chicken ($9.25 side dish/$16.95 entree), and the Massaman Curry Red Curry with Shrimp ($22.50 entree).

The Pad Thai was made with a noodle that seemed more like spaghetti than the traditional flat Thai rice noodles and had too much fish oil, while the Glass Noodles, served with Broccoli, Cauliflower, Shiitake Mushrooms, Carrots and Tofu was oddly sweet and contained an overwhelming amount of white pepper. The Red Curry had at least two dozen plump, juicy shrimp, but the curry itself was too thick and pasty and would have benefited from additional coconut milk.

The food preparation at Silk was so poor, we didn't finish even half of our meal, despite our hunger. Oddly, once the food was delivered, the waitress did not reappear to fill drinks, clear our plates or present our check. We grew impatient waiting and finally meandered downstairs to pay our tab. Perhaps this is customary at Silk, as no one apologized for not returning to our table, nor did they ask how we enjoyed our meal.

Though Bermuda is not known for its fine cuisine, Silk is one-of-the-worst restaurants I have tried on the island. Something must have changed drastically since the accolades of 2005 - perhaps a new chef took the helm. Regardless, there are far better restaurants in Hamilton than Silk; I would avoid this restaurant and spend your time and money elsewhere on the island.