Harden's survey result
Summary
“Full of a young crowd who really want to enjoy the flavours of Thailand” – this “noisy” former factory near Spitalfields Market has won renown for offering “a unique flavour of ‘real’ Thai cuisine with a wonderful selection of zingy, spicy, aromatic and refreshing dishes”. Top Menu Tip – “nothing can beat the whole deep-fried seabass with crunchy bones, and sitting at the counter they’ll do half portions for a single diner. Excellent!”
Summary
“Better than any Thai food I had in Thailand… and with a cool Shoreditch vibe” – this former factory near Spitalfields Market offers dishes with an “intensity and complexity of flavours that’s second to none” – the “real Thai tastes (spicy, hot, sour, sweet and sharp) are tongue tingling!” “The front of the restaurant is more light and airy. The back gives a kitchen view but is dark”; “the team are relaxed, friendly and informative about the dishes (an essential point, as many options do require explanation for those not ‘au fait’ with Thai cuisine)”.
Summary
“Food just like you get in Thailand” – “the quality and the range of flavours are superb” – can be found at this “amazing and very cool” five-year-old in a former factory near Spitalfields Market. “Zingy and authentic”, “each dish looks and tastes like it’s comprised of ingredients you’d be hard-pressed to source yourself”. “Vegan options are plentiful”, and “one price for ‘eat as much rice as you want’ feels generous”. There’s also a serious list of drinks that can cope with such highly flavoured cooking – including a “great Riesling menu”.
Summary
“Possibly the most authentic Thai cooking in town” (“fresh”, “fragrant” and focused on fiery, north-eastern-Thai cuisine), plus some “delicious cocktails” have carved a major culinary reputation for this trendy four-year-old, in a converted factory south of Spitalfields Market. Its ratings were dragged down this year though by a few less rapturous reports: “perfectly good, but not the outstanding blow-out we expected from some reviews”.
For 33 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at Som Saa?
43a Commercial Street, London, E1 6BD
Restaurant details
Som Saa Restaurant Diner Reviews
"Pork shoulder Jungle curry with venison Jackfruit sticky rice"
"Authentic, zingy, firey Thai "
Prices
| Availability | 2 courses | 3 courses |  |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lunch | £35.00 | £40.00 |  |
|
|
| Starter | Main | Veggies | Pudding |
|---|---|---|---|
| £4.00 | £12.80 | £4.00 | £5.00 |
| Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £26.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £3.50 |
| Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Bread | £0.00 |
| Service | 12.50% |
43a Commercial Street, London, E1 6BD
Opening hours
| Monday | 6 pm‑10 pm |
| Tuesday | 6 pm‑10 pm |
| Wednesday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 6 pm‑10 pm |
| Thursday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 6 pm‑10:30 pm |
| Friday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 6 pm‑10:30 pm |
| Saturday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 6 pm‑10:30 pm |
| Sunday | 12 pm‑3 pm, 5 pm‑9 pm |
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