Siamese dreams: why London offers the best Thai food outside Thailand
Innovation is on the menu at Som Saa, Smoking Goat, Kiln and Farang
London makes a lot of noise about being the world food capital thanks to its culinary diversity, offering everything from Peruvian and Indian to Italian and Spanish.
There are other contenders to the title, including New York, Hong Kong and Melbourne - but when it comes Thai cuisine, London is arguably a clear winner. The Thai street food produced at four of the English capital's restaurants – Som Saa, Smoking Goat, Kiln and Farang – is among the most innovative and impressive served anywhere outside Thailand itself.
What makes this even more remarkable is that the head chefs at these restaurants are all British, and only one of them has lived in Thailand.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The first of these "New Thai” to open, in 2014, was Smoking Goat, a funky Thai barbeque concept in Soho headed by Ben Chapman. As you might expect, there is a heavy emphasis on BBQ, with dishes such as smoked aubergine, egg and chilli, and khao soi smoked goat shoulder with crispy noodles. Last year Chapman opened another Thai restaurant, Kiln, offering memorable dishes such as red mullet with sour yellow curry, as well as a superb Tamworth pork belly with brown crab meat. All the ingredients are painstakingly sourced and the results are well worth the effort, though the sharing plates may not be large enough for hungry diners.
Som Saa, which began as a pop-up in Hackney, was another of last year's openings, and now has a permanent home in trendy Shoreditch. Chef Andy Oliver, who worked at David Thompson’s Nahm in Bangkok, offers a feast of searingly hot versions of Thai cuisine with a twist, such as dry jungle curry stir fry with pheasant, wild ginger and fresh green peppercorns, and five-spice soy-braised beef cheek with chilli vinegar sauce.
The newest addition is Farang, which takes its name from the slightly pejorative Thai word for a white foreigner and which initially opened as a pop-up, in February in Highbury, north London, on the site of a former Italian restaurant. Chefs Seb Holmes and Dan Turner have previously worked at the other “Anglo-Thai” London restaurants and keep it real by making regular trips to Northern Thailand. Again, this is not strictly classical Thai street food – one jungle curry is made with Cornish monkfish and salmon - but it's utterly delicious. Mouth-watering starters include salt beef croquetas with pickled bamboo shoots, fish sauce, mustard greens and burnt chilli dipping sauce. My favourite dish though, is a meltingly tender half spring chicken and minced tiger prawn red curry with sweet basil. The chicken is brined for several hours and then cooked in the old pizza oven – proving necessity is the mother of invention.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Big Tech critic Brendan Carr is Trump's FCC pick
In the Spotlight The next FCC commissioner wants to end content moderation practices on social media sites
By David Faris Published
-
ATACMS, the long-range American missiles being fired by Ukraine
The Explainer President Joe Biden has authorized their use for the first time in the war
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
The bacterial consequences of hurricanes
Under the radar Floodwaters are microbial hotbeds
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Raise your glass at these 7 hotel bars where the vibe is as important as the drinking
The Week Recommends Have a pisco sour in Peru and a Bellini in Rome. Or maybe run into Bruno Mars in Vegas.
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
Love design? These hotels are ready to startle your eyes and drop your jaw.
The Week Recommends A treasure trove of curios and resplendent decor await
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
5 animated hotels where the wild things very much are
The Week Recommends Elephants and giraffes and penguins, oh my!
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
How London fell back in love with the brasserie
The Blend From Brasserie Zédel to Café François, we sample the best bistros in town
By Charlie Teasdale Published
-
Take advantage of sublime October weather at these 7 hotels
The Week Recommends Rain, snow and sleet will absolutely not be keeping you from your destination
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
Why a Michelin star can spell danger for restaurants
In the Spotlight Winning chefs face heightened financial pressures, changing customer demands and professional limitations
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
6 immersive experiences that bend reality
The Week Recommends Take a journey into the fantastic
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
Battersea Power Station: trip to the top
The Week Recommends Head high for a bird's-eye view of the award-winning redevelopment of this landmark building – and views over London
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published