Chinatown, Thai Restaurant Guide

“Addictive! Watching the chefs fire the meat whets the appetite” at Ben Chapman’s “boundary-pushing classic” in Soho: a “unique and amazing” Thai BBQ whose “visceral cooking over flames provides a sensory experience, with food that’s also exceptional”. “And it’s such a cool place”, if “crowded” – “lovely sitting at the bar, enjoying the ordered chaos of the kitchen, having a drink and sampling all the different dishes; and the committed front of house team make this a very special meal”. Food quality is “holding up well: they don’t seem to have downgraded their offerings to make them more ‘accessible’”; although they are “able to satisfy a chilli-phobe as well as a spice seeker”. Top Menu Tips – “their pork chop haunts me with its fatty char and savoury flesh”; and “the Chicken & Soy is still an all-time favourite”.

For “a more upmarket Thai experience”, head to the branches of Khun Patara Sila-On’s “very pleasant” group (which is over 30 years old, with branches from Asia to Europe). “Well-presented flavoursome dishes” from “good-quality ingredients” are provided by staff who “always seem happy to see you”.

“Chaotic” and “a bit mad”, but “actually brilliant” – JKS Restaurants’s genius if gaudy Chinatown two-year-old is inspired by Bangkok sports bars and hits the spot with a vibrant menu of “really good-value” morsels plus funky cocktails that go down a treat. It’s like being in Bangkok… it “just needs to be about 20 degrees warmer outside!”

A tribute – via Hong Kong – of H o C h i M i n h’s street food ‘Lunch Lady’, N g u y en T hi T h a n h – this September 2025 newcomer opens on the former Covent Garden site that was once Frenchie (RIP). On the menu: bun thai, bun mam, and banh mi (baguette sandwiches).

“Slightly frenetic, great fun, always packed and rightly so” – this “kick-ass” two-year-old from chef Luke Farrell (the flagship of JKS Restaurants’ Arcade Food Hall in Centrepoint) is for fans “the one and only Thai in London”, whose “elevated street food” “takes you back to Thailand” and whose “hot and cramped atmosphere fits the vibe”.