From humble beginnings as a Thai street food residency at Hackney’s Climpson’s Arch, som saa had enough fans to raise £700,000 after just three days of crowdfunding. Joined by co-founder Tom George and chef Mark Dobbie, today Andy Oliver officially opens som saa in a fabric warehouse on Commercial Street. We had a coffee with the man of the moment to find out all about it.
How has it been opening your first restaurant?
I’ve been thinking about it for about five years and working on it with Tom [the general manager] for at least three. We’ve got a good team and a bit of confidence from the residency at Climpson’s Arch; we’re looking forward to carrying that on and taking it up a couple of notches.
Was the restaurant always going to be East London?
We looked for a site in various different places. Not being in the middle of Soho has given us space to really express what we want to do. It’s nice to be slightly more central without moving completely away from East London.
What is the interior inspired by?
We want it to feel part London, part Bangkok. It’s an old warehouse: we stripped it back to the original brick, with lots of wood, nice lighting, booths and an open kitchen. We’ve got lots of pictures which we took in Thailand, as well as old Thai movie posters and vinyl, so we’ll be playing country-style music from Isan [Thailand’s north-eastern province]. It’s lo-fi, warm and friendly.
Can you tell us more about the new menu?
In terms of new dishes, we’re really excited about the curries. At this site we can make fresh coconut cream every day: we ordered a machine from Thailand to help us to press it and we’ll be offering a bigger range of curries, using the coconut cream and our own curry paste. Expect penang with salted beef cheeks, for example. We’ve also now got a wok section which didn’t have at Climpson’s Arch because we just didn’t have the equipment – we’ll be doing really exciting stir fries.
Are you going to have pad thai?
We’re going to do really high-quality versions of single-plate dishes like fried rice with crab and possibly a pad thai, but made with the best ingredients or khao soi, which is a curry noodle soup from north Thailand. It’s like the Thai version of a laksa with crispy fried noodles on top and a Burmese-influenced curry sauce. Really delicious and a really good one-plate dish, which is filling and very Thai.
We’re seeing a trend for counter dining. Is that going to be an option at som saa?
At the front of the restaurant is a substantial bar, which is going to be a big part of the operation. At lunchtime people can pop in, sit on a stool, eat a bowl of crab fried rice or noodle soup, and be gone quickly. In the evening, there’ll be drinks and bar snacks which people can tuck in to while waiting for a table.
What about the drinks?
Tom is really interested in wine and has chosen a nice list to go with the food. We’re also going to have super-exciting cocktails which draw on ingredients used in the kitchen; fresh kaffir lime, tamarind, salted plums – you name it.
But if I was going to choose one thing, it would be ya dong. It’s a home-brewed rice spirit infused with different woods, herbs, honey and spices – you can make all sorts of different ones. It’ll be very unique; I don’t think anywhere else in London sells it, especially not ya dong that’s been made in-house with bits ‘n’ bobs we’ve found in Chinese medicine shops across Bangkok.
So, why Thailand?
I always gravitated towards cooking Asian food more than I did Western. On my gap year I travelled solo around Southeast Asia for four months, visiting Cambodia, the Philippines and Thailand, where I fell in love with the food. After that I returned as much as possible and I spent a year working at Bo.Lan in Bangkok.
Do you have a favourite region in Thailand?
I change my mind all the time but probably the south. I love seafood and coconut cream, the food there is really hot and I like all the aromatics – they use lots of turmeric and kaffir lime leaves. I think everywhere is better than Bangkok. I know that’s a controversial thing to say, but I think Bangkok waters the cuisine down.
What would you say that London is missing in terms of Thai cuisine?
Thai restaurants in London don’t represent the diversity of Thai cuisine. In Thailand, Thai food is as big as French cuisine or Italian cuisine – big and sophisticated.
We hear you live in Peckham – any recommendations?
I used to work at The Begging Bowl and the food’s great there – really fresh Thai. I also love Peckham Bazaar and Artusi is decent too.
Do you like drinking in Peckham or do you tend to go elsewhere?
I like Peckham. I’m a fan of The Montpelier pub and Bar Story, where I used to do a pop up. In fact, that’s where I met Tom.
Do you have a favourite London restaurant?
I had one of the best meals I’ve ever had at Lyle’s in Shoreditch. It’s food that chefs really want to eat –ingredient-led, not over-fussy but super delicious, with clever technique, too.
Find out more about som saa here
Want to know what else is hot? Take a look at London’s latest restaurant and bar openings here.
This article was published 12 April 2016