The best Thai’s in town!

Thai food became one of my favourite types of food, it's so delicious, and when you finish a meal it's a double whammy; it tasted great and was pretty healthy.

Sir Chris Hoy

I used to LOVE Thai food and eating at Thai restaurants but then, I kind of fell out of love with it, not because the food wasn’t good, it just became a little bit samey, each restaurant serving Thai fishcakes and ribs as a starter, then the ubiquitous main choice of chicken/beef/prawn red/green/yellow curry with either jasmine or sticky rice. When new exciting global cuisine started to get a foothold, I kind of changed my allegiance. Instead of Thai I chose, Vietnamese, Japanese, Sri Lankan, Brazilian, Mexican… the list goes on, such is the joy of living in a global melting point of cultures!

That all said, over the last year or so, I’ve rediscovered a new kind of Thai restaurant where rubbery, fishcakes and bland green chicken curry are a thing of the past, instead we’re blessed with a whole variety of Thai cuisine, a lot of which has been inspired by the vibrant, succulent street food of Bangkok and Chiang Mai. If you’re coming into London, here are a few of my favourites which I can thoroughly recommend!

Supawan

A welcome addition to King’s Cross’ transformed restaurant scene, at Supawan, Executive Chef Wichet Khongphoon harnesses his deep understanding of Thai cookery stemming from his Phuket upbringing. There’s a focus on Southern Thai specialities, such as the goong pad ta-krai – a pile of fleshy king prawns bathed in a sunshine-yellow, soothingly light and fragrant blend of coconut milk, lemongrass and turmeric. The crispy rice salad artfully combines different textures as well as potent aromas and nuttiness. Another stand out are the fried chicken wings, crammed with minced chicken, prawn, mushroom and glass noodles – perfect with the tangy tamarind and chilli dip. There’s a charming eclecticism to the space too, with its miscellaneous collection of furniture, in-house flower shop and apothecary-like cabinet of ferments!

Kiln

Quickly establishing itself as a Soho institution, as its name asserts rather than suggests, open-fire cooking is key to Kiln’s flavour-packed plates. The menu draws influence from the borderlands of Thailand, such as Laos and Yunnan, meaning a spectrum of spirited dishes. Whilst interiors may be more industrial and minimalist than ornate in style, the food is explosively vibrant, drawing crowds throughout the week. Solo diners and pairs can get right into the flame-leaping action at the counter. The smaller plates include favourites such as a smoky cumin cull yaw skewer, and the laap sausage, which is juicy and bears the flavours of fire cooking. For mains, the signature baked glass noodles flecked with pork belly and brown crab meat will have you scraping the sides of the claypot. Spice fiends should look out for the cull yaw pad ped, a stir-fried tangle of minced meat, whole garlic cloves, and a medley of chillies and peppercorns which make for sinus-clearing heat. The affordable cocktails also cleverly infuse British produce with native flavours, such as an elixir of vodka, rhubarb and Thai basil.

Som Saa

Som Saa, taking its name from the Thai citrus fruit, spotlights Thailand’s north-eastern provinces with a compact menu of dishes unified by undiluted flavours. Kick off with the grilled chicken skewers, succulent slabs perfect for soaking up the punchy tamarind jaew dip. The whole deep-fried seabass buried in fresh Isaan herbs and nutty roasted rice powder is a popular constant. Recent highlights also include a mouth-puckering relish combining thick coconut cream made in-house, with fermented pork and prawns, as well as a minced chicken dry green curry - flaming hot with the fiery and fragrant kicks of ginger and holy basil. The atmosphere across the warehouse-chic space is lively, and particularly suited to groups. If you have room for dessert, finish with the musky sweetness of the salted palm sugar ice cream, served with turmeric grilled banana, yummy!

Singburi

A veteran of the Leytonstone scene (and still something of a local secret), this tiny family-run Thai café scores in every department. The BYO policy is definitely key to its boozy appeal, but the food is also a blast – staunchly traditional, potently spiced and delivered without ceremony from the open kitchen. Prices are fair, service is matter of fact and the place is rampantly popular.

Chets

Based on his successful mini-chain Night Market in LA, chef Kris Yenbamroong’s deeply Californian take on Thai food offers everything from authentic larb gai with chicken, lime, mint and coriander chilli, to rich coconut-and-lemongrass-seared sea bass fillet. But there’s also a distinct Americana angle, with blue-cheese wedge salad with candied pork jowl and garlic nam jim dipping sauce, as well as flashy breakfast offerings such as caramel-battered babka French toast and mushroom and cheese roti for lunch. Lots of fun.

Plaza Khao Gaeng

Occupying the mezzanine level at Tottenham Court Road’s Arcade Food Hall, Plaza Khao Gaeng feels like a separate world from the bustling food hall below, but maintains its own contagious buzz. From the mismatched serving dishes, to the unadorned wooden chairs and coloured plastic tablecloths, the commitment to recreating the feel of a ran khao kaeng, a local rice and curry spot, is commendable. This commitment carries through into the menu too, which hones in on the flavours of Southern Thai cuisine. Start with the Miang Phuket, a sticky sweet and spicy melange of coconut, cashew and palm sugar wrapped in betel leaf, an encouraging indication of the culinary skill running through the menu. The Hat Yai fried chicken dusted with shallots is crispy heaven, and bricks of fat-sandwiched pork belly swim in a delicious soy-based sauce. The Massaman curry brings together tender beef shoulder, fluffy potatoes and shallots in a chunky, multi-layered gravy. For a cooling, delicately sweet and floral finish, try the wobbling ball of coconut and lychee pudding studded with tapioca pearls.

Smoking Goat

There’s a merry bar-like feel to this Shoreditch favourite, and whilst the cocktails are expertly blended, excellent food is very much central to the offering. Menu items draw influences from Northern and North Eastern Thai barbecue dishes, as well as from other regional cuisines. Recent memorable plates range from Massaman smoked short rib - a glittering centrepiece of fall-apart-tender beef, in a pool of delicious, richly savoury and aromatic sauce, to a “ceviche” of trout belly chunks nestled in a thicket of fresh herbs. A tangy salad of plum, apple, pear and mint is a sweeter cooler dish to offset spikier ones. Oh, and the shatteringly crunchy fish sauce chilli wing is a bestseller for good reason, do not attempt to share!

I know these restaurant reviews are a little parochial but hopefully the descriptions of the food is enough to inspire you to try something a little different however, if you are in town, go on, give one a go, I promise they’re all fabulous!

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