Restaurant Find: Som Saa London
Thai joint Som Saa in London’s East End has had an Evolution of Man-style rise. Only the best-adapted pop-ups thrive. Ever since helmsman Andy Oliver ”“ who refined his house-made curry pastes and coconut milk at Nahm and Bangkok’s Michelin-starred Bo.Lan ”“ began operating off a single grill in Peckham’s Bar Story with head chef Mark Dobbie (chimp), which was followed by a three-month residency in Climpson’s Arch in London Fields (Australopithecus), where high demand kept them for a year (Homo-erectus), they have now planted roots at this Commercial Street site (Man).
Gone are the fairy lights, plastic plates and grill from Hackney; in are a full kitchen and menu that casts a wider net, integrating southern curries, and dishes bordering on Laotian and Burmese. The buzzy market feel of Som Saa’s former digs remains ”“ a long communal table lets you spy on kitchen staff and eavesdrop on fellow diners. Bronze accents, rugged tables and sleek palm-wood cups add to the fine details.
Som Saa London is primarily a walk-in restaurant, so a wait is inevitable, but cocktails laced with ”˜sticky-rice rum’ (Dragon’s Milk) and sandalwood-smoked bourbon (Krahang Old Fashioned) in the forecourt bar make time fly. Delayed gratification pays off; dishes feel authentic and cater to increasingly Thai-cuisine”“fluent Londoners. Red curry ”¯pad prik king ”¯plays with Eastern dining’s five sensory pillars ”“ a shock of kaffir lime cuts the sweetness of its crispy pork, and signature seabass dish ”¯nahm dtok pla thort ”¯is startlingly served with head and tail intact ”“ its resemblance to the ”¯monkey-fish hybrids ”¯once passed off as mermaids doesn’t diminish its pungent richness. Its successful hyper evolution means this may not be Som Saa’s final form; but judging by the crowds of patient table-seekers, its survival is absolutely assured.
Som Saa London
43A Commercial St, London E1 6BD, United Kingdom
+44 20 7324 7790
 As part of Mr & Mrs Smith’s editorial team, Kate Weir has been dispatched to some of the world’s most luxurious and unique hotels. Aside from subsidising her travel addiction, she’s previously flitted from gallery to gig as an arts correspondent for Spoonfed London, covered artsy miscellany The Journal of Wild Culture and Eye See Sound, and surveys west London’s cultural scene for the Kensington & Chelsea Review. |
(All images courtesy of Som Saa London)
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