Downtown New London is a small but vibrant area with many bars, restaurants and shops, many advertised by large lit signs or visible outdoor seating.
But a closer look reveals the Lazy Leopard Thai Cafe, which is tucked inside a Bank Street building with windows looking out onto the street and an entrance down a bare hallway accessed from a nondescript door on the building’s front. A small sign hangs above the doorway, but it’s easy to miss, which would be a shame, because this is really good Thai food.
A friend and I had been wandering aimlessly on Bank Street when we stumbled upon the Lazy Leopard one day earlier this summer. It seemed to be the only place where people were actually eating, so the choice for lunch was made for us. Finding myself slightly stressed about where to eat in an unfamiliar city, I was quickly calmed by Lazy Leopard’s quiet and low-lit interior. About a dozen tables line the side walls of the narrow dining room, with a bar and TV in the back, just outside the kitchen. The walls are coral and light teal, and each table is covered with brown paper and has a tea light in a jar to offset the subdued lighting that mixes with natural light from the windows.
To start we ordered seafood kebabs ($12) and curry puffs ($7) and a Thai iced tea ($5). Both appetizers came as an order of three, which meant we had to get creative when trying to split things evenly, but the food was so good we didn’t complain. The kebabs were both sweet and spicy, with plenty of sauce slathered over the sticks loaded with shrimp, scallops, calamari, grape tomatoes, red pepper and pineapple in between. The curry flavor in the puffs was balanced nicely with the potato and chicken inside, with just the right amount of pastry outside.
The red curry with chicken ($12) was my main course. It comes with a dish of molded white rice and plenty of curry broth for the amount of chicken and vegetables. It’s not very spicy, but they will up the spice level at your request. My friend decided to be adventurous and try the tamarind duck ($23), which was nice and crispy, served over steamed greens and topped with a tamarind sauce. Our dinner portions weren’t monstrous, but we did end up with leftovers.
I couldn’t leave without sampling at least one sweet dish. I opted for the crispy banana ($7), three little fried egg rolls filled with warm, gooey banana, which I happily ate by myself because my friend was stuffed.
We were given leopard-print plastic bags for our leftover containers, a cute addition that was just one more thing that made our Lazy Leopard experience stand out. In addition, Lazy Leopard donates money each month to the World Wildlife Fund for leopard conservation.
I’m glad we took a chance on a restaurant neither of us had heard of, which has become a favorite.
>>Lazy Leopard Thai Cafe, 45 Bank St., New London, is open Monday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4:30 to 9 p.m.; Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4 to 10 p.m.; Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; and Sunday, 4 to 9 p.m. 860-333-1329 and facebook.com/lazyleopardllc.
