The bustling restaurant may only have been open for three weeks, but throughout the evening a steady stream of diners poured into the restaurant, and twice as many take away orders were sent out to be delivered.

Boasting a head chef who has previously cooked for the King of Thailand, the food promised authentic Thai cuisine - and really did not disappoint.

With a full Thai staff, the restaurant which is spread over two beautifully decorated floors, offers an extensive menu with something to suit everyones tastes.

Pouring over the menu in the lovingly refurbished restaurant - with art imported from Thailand - you'll not be stuck for choice.

I struggled to narrow down a selection from the massive choice of starters, salads, soups, beef, chicken, duck, fish, crab, lobster, vegetable, curry, and rice and noodle dishes.

In the end, after much deliberation, I opted for Poh Pia Ped - deep fried duck spring rolls served with sweet and sour sauce, which had me hankering for seconds, and my boyfriend chose Satay Gai - a skewer of tender chicken with Thai spices served with peanut sauce, that was melt in the mouth delicious.

For the main course I decided to test out a Thai curry - Geany Mus Sa Mun Gai, a generous helping of sweet and creamy chicken curry with potato, that has a really thick satay-style sauce that was absolutely to die for.

My other half chose a beef curry - Geang Karee Neau, a mild and creamy yellow curry of beef cooked with potato, onion and Thai spices, that although similar in appearance, had a very different flavour to mine, and also went down a treat.

Between us we also shared a mammoth sized portion of Kaow Phad Gai - Thai style chicken fried rice to go with our curries, all of which was washed down with equally delicious Singha beer.

Everything was heaven on a plate - and there wasn't a scrap of food left when we finished.

Purely for reviewing purposes, we also managed squeeze in a lemon sorbet and a pineapple ice cream, to round off a wonderful evening.

The Thai Royal Orchid was my first experience of Thai food, and it has me wanting to go back for more already.

The busy restaurant is open lunch times from 12pm-2pm and again 5.30pm-10.30pm, seven days a week.

Judging by how busy it was on Saturday night, they don't need me to tell you how good it is, but I'd advise you to book ahead to make sure you get a seat.

For delicious food and a relaxed atmosphere, pop into the Thai Royal Orchid on Priestpopple, Hexham.

Call 01343 600585 for bookings.