Luke Farrell doesn’t do things by halves. When he opened the first Plaza Khao Gaeng in Arcade Food Hall’s mezzanine in 2022, it came in swinging with unapologetically spicy and aromatic southern Thai cooking that both blew people’s heads off and won their hearts. Three years later, he’s turning the heat up again. Together with Chaiyo Restaurants, the Thai restaurant group he runs in partnership with JKS Restaurants (which operates Gymkhana, Berenjak and more), Farrell is opening a second Plaza Khao Gaeng under the railway arches of Borough Yards, a sequel that pushes the genre even further. It opens November 19.
If Tottenham Court Road was the debut gig, Borough Yards is the homecoming tour. The new 78-seater, tucked beneath Stoney Street’s Victorian arches, extends into the adjoining alleys and feels like a Thai market-side khao gaeng (curry-rice) shop that’s dropped into south London. Designed by Applied Studio (Anglothai and Fonda), it’s full of meticulous details shipped straight from Thailand, including fold-up stainless steel tables, Doraemon tablecloths, melamine crockery, plastic chairs and battered cutlery tins. At its heart sits a gleaming cart, custom-built in Thailand, shipped to London and stacked high with soy-braised pork shoulders and hocks.
“There’s a restaurant in [the southern Thai province] Phatthalung that’s right by a railway line and train station, and when I took my team and dad there, we just fell in love with it,” Farrell says. “We actually looked at this location in Borough a long time ago with a different concept in mind, but a railway arch felt like the perfect place to recreate that spirit here in London.”
The idea is to have tables spilling outside, where people can pull up a chair or add a few more, if they need to. “You’ll probably smell it before you see it,” he says, laughing. “It’ll be a fragrant, lively space filled with big pots of braising pork legs, giant rice cookers, and hefty tamarind chopping boards, where the aromas drift through the restaurant and into the street.”
Things on rice anchor the menu. The kha muu paloh (slow-cooked pork hock in soy, cassia, clove and star anise) and gaeng som (sour orange fish curry with garcinia and lime) sit alongside larger samrub (sharing dishes) like pad phet pla tor, a whole sea bass in red jungle curry, and gaeng gati puu bai cha plu – whole crab simmered in coconut curry with wild betel leaves. Bold salads such as yam strawberry phrao kua, made with Borough Market strawberries and house-made Thai sausages, are adept accompaniments.
“Yes, the food is spicy, but we’re not going to tone it down one bit,” Farrell explains. “I wanted to shine a light on other southern Thai dishes that deserve the same love as braised and sour dishes, soups, salads and sausages, too.”
Much of the menu’s produce comes from Ryewater Nursery, Farrell’s family farm in Dorset, where Thai herbs and vegetables are grown year-round. While not everything can be sourced locally, the nursery helps shape the menu’s seasonality.
“Right now, there’s a glut of bitter melons, snake gourds, green papayas and elephant foot leaves that get shredded up and used in curries,” he says. “We use whatever’s thriving in the greenhouses for recipe development and specials.”
Drinks take a playful turn. Traditionally, khao gaeng is eaten with iced tea or coffee at breakfast or lunch, but here the bar leans more experimental. The Taeng Mo Martini uses watermelon-infused vodka, while the Paricha Margarita mixes mango tequila with kumquat liqueur, lime and Thai chilli for a hit of sweetness and heat.
“We’ve tried to be as dutiful and uncompromisingly southern Thai as we can,” Farrell says. “It’s exciting to see London’s Thai food scene grow and for diners to understand regionality more. Being near Borough Market, with its diversity and global flavours, makes it even better. We want to capture that same warmth and spontaneity of Thailand’s street dining culture.”
Plaza Khao Gaeng
Arch 207, 18 Stoney Street, SE1 9AD
Hours:
Mon to Sat midday–10pm
Sun midday–8.30pm
