Cockerton in Darlington is becoming filled with hidden gems of independent food businesses, including one of Darlington’s only Thai eateries.

Andaman Home Café is based within The Travellers’ Rest on West Auckland Road, serving authentic Thai cuisine, as well as traditional Sunday lunches.

The café has been there since 2018, following the success of the popular Caribbean café, The Hummingbird Kitchen which occupied the space prior.

The café is small and cosy with a laid-back atmosphere.

The Northern Echo: Andaman Home Café is based within The Travellers' Rest on West Auckland Road, Cockerton, Darlington. Picture: Aja Dodd, NewsquestAndaman Home Café is based within The Travellers' Rest on West Auckland Road, Cockerton, Darlington. Picture: Aja Dodd, Newsquest (Image: Aja Dodd, Newsquest)

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I decided to treat my dad to a Thai meal after work last week and it was delicious, and the portions are certainly generous.

We had a table booked for 6:30 pm, and as the café is based within the pub, in a separate room, drinks must be ordered in the bar.

Fortunately The Travellers’ Rest might be one of the cheapest pubs in Darlington to drink, so we sat down with a pint of Strongbow and a pint of Kronenbourg.

Andaman Home Café is run by Rattana, she cooks, and is the face of the business, and is friendly and welcoming.

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The lighting could be a bit brighter in the café which is why my pictures are a little dark.

For starters, I ordered vegetable spring rolls with glass vermicelli noodles which were crisp and light and not greasy at all.

The Northern Echo: Vegetable spring rolls served with sweet chilli sauce and salad. Picture: Aja Dodd, NewsquestVegetable spring rolls served with sweet chilli sauce and salad. Picture: Aja Dodd, Newsquest (Image: Aja Dodd, Newsquest)

My dad, Pete, ordered grilled chicken satay skewers which he loved. The advantage of taking a parent out to eat is you can nick their food when they’re not looking, and I thought it was the best chicken satay I’d ever tried. Both starters were served with plenty of salad.

The Northern Echo: Chicken satay skewers with salad. Picture: Aja Dodd, NewsquestChicken satay skewers with salad. Picture: Aja Dodd, Newsquest (Image: Aja Dodd, Newsquest)

For mains I chose Phad Thai with prawns and vegetables. This may be Thai food, but these were definitely ‘Darlo’ portions! I ate two thirds of mine before reluctantly giving up.

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The noodles were served with a small ramekin of chilli flakes which wasn’t necessary for me but I thought it was a nice touch that they were there as an option, and there were at least eight king prawns.

The peanut crumbs and crispy deep-fried onions on top of the noodles made for a nice contract in textures and the meal got the thumbs up from me.

The Northern Echo: Phad Thai with king prawns and vegetables, crushed peanuts and chilli flakes. Picture: Aja Dodd, NewsquestPhad Thai with king prawns and vegetables, crushed peanuts and chilli flakes. Picture: Aja Dodd, Newsquest (Image: Aja Dodd, Newsquest)

My dad, who never fails to remind me of the time he went to Pukhet, Chiang Mai, and Bangkok in 1992, can handle more chilli than I can, so he ordered the spicy curry with beef (customers can choose which meat they like).

After a brief chat with Rattana to ascertain just how spicy the spicy curry was, she said she can do any curry ‘mild’, ‘medium’, ‘hot’, or ‘crazy hot’, he opted for ‘hot’.

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It was a dry curry served with jasmine rice and he said the beef was nice and tender and there were also plenty of vegetables. I was quite impressed that he managed to get to the last few mouthfuls before I noticed tiny beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.

The Northern Echo: Spicy curry with beef and vegetables. The rice arrived approximately 20 seconds after this picture was taken. Picture: Aja Dodd, NewsquestSpicy curry with beef and vegetables. The rice arrived approximately 20 seconds after this picture was taken. Picture: Aja Dodd, Newsquest (Image: Aja Dodd, Newsquest)

Overall, it was good clean food and not greasy or stodgy at all.

The café no longer does desserts which I was gutted about because there are few things I like more than mango and sticky rice. We didn’t really need dessert though because we definitely felt well-fed.

The bill came to £30.50 which seemed very reasonable for the amount of food we had.

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RATINGS (out of ten): Food quality: 8.5; Surroundings 7; Value 9; Service 10.

Andaman Home Cafe is located at The Travellers’ Rest, West Auckland Road, Darlington, DL3 9ER.

It is open for collection, delivery or to sit in from 5pm – 9pm from Thursdays to Saturdays and serves Sunday lunches on Sundays.

Call: 07535 142 888, email: Andamanhomecafe@gmail.com or find Andaman Home Café on Facebook to book.