Is This Authentic Thai Restaurant The Best In London?
Generally, I don’t like to know too much about a place before going in to review – too many preconceptions can play tricks on a palate. A cursory glance at the Instagram page and some word of mouth so you’re not completely in the wilderness, but steer clear of Google reviews. For Plaza Khao Gaeng – meaning ‘curry over rice’ – one thing came up repeatedly: spice.
It feels almost reductive to whittle this love letter to Thai cuisine down to a single sensory element, but it’s hard to avoid it. Uncompromising authenticity means not watering anything down for the UK tongue, and you’ll find no Thai Green Curry with a single chilli symbol on the menu here.
What sets it apart
The place is small, a mezzanine on the second floor of the Arcade Food Hall, but fizzing with energy. A celebration of southern Thailand, it takes inspiration from one specific Bangkok café above a movie theatre. It is the brainchild of Luke Farrell (also known for Speedboat Bar in Chinatown) and part of the restaurant group JKS, whose portfolio is as hot as one of Plaza’s currys with Berenjak, Lyle’s and Gymkhana also on the bill.
The atmosphere – filled with blue plastic tablecloths decorated with cartoon elephants, Buddha figurines and Thai pop, is striking, and familiar to those who have visited Thailand. All very good signs, however even the most minor misjudgement, or slight air of anything bordering on insincerity, would turn it into something ridiculous. Instead, it feels genuinely authentic and incredibly fun.
It is the brainchild of Luke Farrell and part of the restaurant group JKS, whose portfolio is as hot as one of Plaza’s currys
Our experience
I was there on the hottest day of the year when, even in the early evening, the temperature comfortably bubbled over thirty degrees, the perfect environment in which to singe your tastebuds. This was clearly a popular opinion because even on a sunny Tuesday evening the place was absolutely packed. Spice, as mentioned, is a big thing – it dominates conversations on the tightly packed tables, and before taking your order the friendly staff offer a warning – or guide, depending on your tolerance – as if we’re about to see a play with strobe lighting.
What We Ordered
To start, Miang Phuket – an almost impossibly flavourful mix of cashew, toasted coconut and palm sugar topped with lime, red chilli, ginger and tamarind, eaten inside betel leaves homegrown in their own off-site garden. Incredibly fresh, sweet and spicy, it’s the perfect pre-curser for letting your tastebuds know they’ll be working overtime today.
The drinks menu is fun and delicious – snakeblood negroni, anyone? – and ideal to combat spice. You could opt for a Singha beer tower, but for a hot day, there are few things more satisfying and soothing than Cha Yen, a traditional sweet iced black tea with condensed milk.
The Mussel Gat with Bai Cha Pluu comes with plump, juicy mussels in a sweet coconut broth laced through with a proper whack of spice without veering into anything masochistic – for anyone who claims spice overpowers flavour, come and taste this and accept you are wrong.
The Mussel Gat with Bai Cha Pluu comes with plump, juicy mussels in a sweet coconut broth laced through with a proper whack of spice without veering into anything masochistic
Gaeng Som Pla, a sour orange curry with meaty sea bass, papaya, and pineapple, is balanced beautifully. The sweetness of the pineapple rescues you from being overwhelmed by the spicy broth, allowing you to ladel more over sticky rice. For the spice-nervous, more moderate options are available, but this is certainly a place for the purist.
Verdict
Your friend who incessantly tries to drag you along to a park run on Saturday, or convince you to do one of a never-ending slew of half marathons that always seem to be six months away, might try to tempt you by talking mythically of a ‘runner’s high’. Eating here, sweat beading up, mouth ablaze and the Singha-beer tower ready for a refill, you enter something of what I’m coining a ‘spice high’. A state of sort of flash delirium, ensconced in heat and flavour. Bring a group, and there are few more equally delicious and just plain enjoyable dining spots in London. The main course comes reasonably priced (£16 for the most expensive option) and is packed with enough choices to make you already plot a second visit into the calendar.
103-105 New Oxford St, London WC1A 1DB
Plazakhaogaeng.co.uk
