The team behind Shoreditch restaurant Nest will relaunch it next week as a ‘British bistro’ called Tavern, while Mayfair restaurateur Samyukta Nair has revived her Thai restaurant Koyn under the name Miko Mei Fair – as hospitality owners shuffle their packs in response to customer demand. Nest established the reputation of chef Johnnie Crowe with his […]
Rufus Thurston launched Oli’s Thai with his wife Ladd in 2013, and followed up with tapas bar Arbequina, which he opened with Ben Whyles and Ben Bateman three years later. Harden’s caught up with him as he prepared to unveil a second branch of Arbequina in Oxford Covered Market later this spring. HARDEN’S: Oli’s Thai […]
Three new restaurants that celebrate regional Thai cuisine are opening in London in quick succession this month – all with the word ‘khao’, meaning rice or a casual meal, in their name. First up this week is Khao-So-i, just off Oxford Circus, the first international opening from chef Win Srinavakool and his wife Por Haruethai Noicharoen […]
Oli’s Thai, the massively popular Oxford restaurant whose closure in early 2022 upset its legion of fans, reopens today – on its original site in Magdalen Road. Owners Rufus & Ladd Thurston closed the business after a nine-year run, replacing it with Elle’s Deli to improve their work/life balance – in particular, to spend evenings with […]
Two well-known London restaurants closed temporarily this week following fires in their kitchen extraction systems – Som Saa in Spitalfields and Straker’s in Notting Hill. Straker’s will reopen as soon as possible, initially as a cold bar, following a fire that damaged parts of both the kitchen and restaurant. No injuries were reported. “We’re still investigating […]
Leytonstone’s wildly popular Thai canteen Singburi is to be reborn in Shoreditch under a new guise this spring. Run for many years as a family-operated, cash-only BYO that was packed out for every service, the Leytonstone venue announced its closure in November for an open-ended “sabbatical”. Now chef Sirichai Kularbwong (left in photo), the son […]
Fooderati favourite Australian chef David Thompson made his long-awaited return to the London food scene this week with the launch of Long Chim – 12 years after he closed Nahm in Belgravia and relocated to Bangkok. Billed as a modern interpretation of the cooking found in Bangkok’s markets and alleyways, Long Chim – meaning ‘come and […]
Leytonstone’s legendary Thai canteen Singburi has closed for a “sabbatical” of at least two months, to allow the family behind it to take stock after a quarter of century’s hard work. Described in the 2024 Harden’s guide as “wildly popular” for the “fabulous and authentic” dishes listed daily on a blackboard menu, the tiny cash-only […]
A northern Thai barbecue specialist inspired by the night markets of Chiang Mai launches in Borough Market next week. Khao Bird is the latest residency upstairs at the Globe Tavern, and is an offshoot of Brighton restaurant Lucky Khao. Khao Bird will use produce from suppliers close to the market including Kernel Beer, Ice Cream […]
The highly rated pop-up AngloThai duo are to open their first bricks-and-mortar restaurant this autumn, having found a permanent space in Marylebone. AngloThai are Desiree and John Chantarasak, the latter a chef who combines ingredients ‘from a British landscape’ with ‘recipes rooted in Thailand’. Desiree runs a drinks list with a focus on natural and […]
