Kolae

From the team behind Som Saa in Spitalfields – what must be one of London’s best Thai restaurants, on which see my review here – comes Kolae.  Named after a Southern Thai cooking technique that involves coating ingredients in a curry-like coconut marinade and then grilling over open flames, Kolae puts fiery flavours to the fore.  In doing so, Kolae is celebrating the multiple facets of Thai food.  Given Thalians have had relatively open borders throughout history, their cuisine is richly broad and diverse.  With the influences of trade and migration, each region of Thailand has its own distinctive approach: there’s so much more to Thai food than the ubiquitous green curry. 

Luckily for us, chefs Mark Dobbie and Andy Oliver are showcasing this at Kolae.  Despite being Australian and British respectively, they’re impassioned evangelists for the food of Thailand.  After falling for its diverse and characterful cuisines, they’ve devoted their lives to exploring its depth, first through Som Saa and now at Kolae.  Mark learnt his craft at Nahm, the legendary restaurant run by fellow Australian David Thompson, the first chef in Britain to win a Michelin star for Thai cooking.  Andy, who abandoned an office job to take up a career in the kitchen, completed an internship at Nahm after a successful stint on MasterChef.  After Nahm closed in 2012, Mark headed to America and Andy to Bangkok.  The friends later reunited in London to open Som Saa, initially as a year-long residency at Climpson’s Arch in London Fields, then, after a successful crowdfunding campaign, as a permanent restaurant.

Located in the heart of Borough Market, around the corner from Monmouth Coffee HQ and just opposite Aussie skincare guru Aesop, Kolae is surprisingly spacious inside occupying a three storey, 80-cover space in a former coach house.  With a buzzy setting of industrial chic – think white exposed bricks – the atmosphere is warm and relaxed, with waiting staff flitting seamlessly between soft wooden tables and coffee coloured seats, all under the inviting glow of fabric-shaded lamps.

The menu is tightly curated: there are just a dozen dishes in all, split between small, large and side plates, with a good selection of veggie options.  Given the restaurant’s flame cooking USP, we started with the kale and herb fritters with fermented chilli and roasted cashew nuts (£9).  Beautifully crisp and crunchy, and coated in a fragrant sweet-sour chilli dressing, this had an incredibly moreish kick.  The tangle of seasonal herbs and leaves are fried crisp in a coconut cream and rice flour batter to produce a mouthful that’s simultaneously crunchy, chewy, sour, spicy and salty-sweet.  Everything you’d want, all at want. 

Given the Autumn season, the kolae red kabocha squash with ajaad relish (£12) followed.  This was probably the standout dish (amongst many good ones) of the evening.  The squash is marinated in fresh coconut cream and a flavourful paste of turmeric, black pepper and salt before being gently grilled over charcoal and ccoconut.  The sauce – with hints of palm sugar, warm spices, coriander seed, black pepper and nutty roasted coconut – is outstanding.  It’s a revelation to see this side of Thai food. The accompanying relish offset the rich charcoal-grilled squash beautifully: the ferments come from the natural sugars of washing rice and sweet, fresh young coconut water. 

On the side, we went for the stir fried seasonal greens (£8).  An assortment of seasonal British grown greens from Shrub Provisions, cooked fast and very hot with Thai garlic, chilli and in-house fermented soy beans, this is a great addition to any shared Thai meal.  True to its location, Kolae clearly take its produce very seriously: everything is super fresh and locally sourced.  They’ve hit the balance between a dish being as it would be in Thailand, using the best quality ingredients available in England.

To finish, we went for pandan sticky rice, young coconut sorbet, peanuts & jackfruit (£7) – that elusive fruit that sits somewhere between mango & banana. Both sweet and salt, this fresh and light little number hits all the umami notes whilst also being gentle and sweet – a good note to end on.

It’s great to see fiery cooking at the heart of the kitchen.  Whilst the cooking at Som Saa is also over wood and charcoal, fire is being put more front and centre at Kolae – the menu built around the grill.  The kitchen is even pressing fresh coconut cream, and using the leftovers on the grill alongside charcoal and wood.  Som Saa had set the bar high for Thai restaurants and Kolae lives up to that level.  The service is remarkably fast at times, testament to the terrific chemistry of the team here.  Reservations will likely fill up quick here so worth getting in a booking soon, particularly around upcoming festive season.

Kolae, 6 Park St, London SE1 9AB

Website: https://www.kolae.com/

Rating: *****