som saa

Vying for the crown of London’s best Thai restaurant, amazing som saa continues to set pulses racing with its fiery regional food and lively warehouse setting. When we visited, the cavernous bare-brick interiors were heaving – packed out with second dates, City-boy outings and raucous thirty-something catch-ups all blissfully happy amid the noise and clatter.

With Andy Oliver and Mark Dobbie at the stoves, the cooking is also in-your-face: a riot of heat, sweet, sour and more heat that focuses on lesser-known Thai dishes. The duo set out their stall from the very start, whacking your taste buds with chilli-laden yum khamin khao (a prawn and peanut salad with fragrant white turmeric and ka-jorn flowers), followed by an equally spicy som tam salad zinging with lime and fresh tomatoes.

A dish of gai yang (grilled chicken leg with adroitly weighted sweet-sour tamarind dipping sauce) provides temporary respite from the heat, but it’s back to the fiery stuff for gutsy curries – perhaps a braised beef ‘yellow’ riff piqued with cucumber and chilli relish or sour stone bass with cha om omelette. For afters, squeeze in a grilled banana with salted palm-sugar ice cream if you have space.

To drink, cocktails classics are reimagined with hard-to-find Thai ingredients (imagine a ‘no-lime’ pisco sour mixed with betel leaf and cardamom foam), while an entire page of the wine list is given over to napalm-proof Rieslings. Note that Som Saa now takes bookings for parties of any size and has launched two new ‘tem toh’ (‘full table’) tasting menus for lunch and dinner.

Som saa is a celebrated Thai restaurant located in Spitalfields, a vibrant area in East London known for its eclectic dining scene.

Nestled within a cool, industrial-style space, som saa shows off a very East London style. Its location makes it a convenient choice for both locals and visitors exploring the bustling streets of Spitalfields and nearby Shoreditch.

The sample menu showcases some impressive cooking that showcases the careful balance of Thai cuisine. Begin your meal with tua phrik krob, a dish of deep fried cashew nuts with makrut lime leaf and dried chilli, or the crispy chicken skin which is served with sriracha sauce.

Bigger plates offer more deft cookery and generous portions. There’sfive spice soy braised pork with fermented chilli sauce, fiery jungle curry of grilled bavette with wild ginger, and stir fried greens from award-winning Flourish Farm. Dishes travel the length and breadth of the country, from Isaan style deep fried sea bass, to northern style chicken laab with Thai herbs, spring onion and crispy shallots.

Then there's the set menu - still one of the best deals in the capital. For just £42 you can expect a feast that includes some of som saa’s best dishes, and even better, the restaurant offers vegan and vegetarian set menus as well.

The drinks menu is equally as tasty, with all drinks chosen to match the Thai food on offer in one way or another. Cocktails are made to order, and the bartenders love to use Thai ingredients and techniques in their mastery. Try the Green Negroni, made with pandan infused gin, Luxardo bitter bianco and Campari jelly for a herbal twist on a classic.