With a name that translates as ‘curry over rice’, Plaza Khao Gaeng is a Southern Thai restaurant and sister restaurant to chef-owner Luke Farrell’s Speedboat Bar (on which, see my review here). Awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand in March 2023 the Plaza seeks to recreate the flavours of the region’s neighbourhood khao gaengs or local street stalls and cafes in Thailand that specialise in this popular meal.
In Thailand, khao gaeng restaurants fill the space around them the more popular they become. Plaza is inspired by one such place that has taken over an old movie theatre in Bangkok. Imagine curries set out in gleaming trays fill the entrance under the faded façade and up the stairs to the box office. This anytime comfort food provides pause in a place cool and quiet from the bustle of the street below. Plaza Khao Gaeng has paid meticulous attention to detail and managed to bring Thailand to Londoners without it ever feeling gimmicky or fetishized.
It is in this spirit Plaza Khao Gaeng fills the mezzanine at JKS-backed Arcade Food Hall next to Centre Point. Set upstairs on the mezzanine level, the space is enclosed by wooden slatted blinds, lit by industrial strip lights and clad with blue vinyl tablecloths. Plaza Khao Gaeng’s decor evokes the feel of a cheap and cheerful Bangkok eatery with its stark lighting and plastic tablecloths. We were welcomed by the sounds of ladles rattling against the woks, the sights of towering flames waving over the open-plan kitchen and a fish sauce funk that stung the nostrils. All very good signs.
True to its name, the restaurant is a celebration of coast to jungle cuisine. This means a kaleidoscope of curries thick with fresh coconut milk and aromatic curry pastes and searingly hot stir fries with cooling herbs alongside. Amazingly, they have a veggie menu which can be adapted to be vegan.
To snack, we started with the very intriguing sounding Miang Phuket (£9.50) – a miang (or combination) of coconut and cashew nuts with palm sugar. A DIY starter, this bowl pushes the typical appetisers of cashews or almonds that you see on any other menu totally out the window. Toasted cashew nuts combined with coconut chips in a tangy / chilli pickle offset by the sweetness of the wonderful depth of palm sugar. This wonderful mixture is left to the diner to spoon inside the mellow betel leaves and bite into for one very satisfying mouthful. Seriously addictive stuff.
For mains, I went for Gaeng Massaman Tauhu – a Tofu massaman curry with potatoes and shallots (£15). A deceptively simple-looking bowl of creamy and comforting potatoes, the bowl was rich and complex. The more you ate, the more heat built, seared and spread. This is a no-frills approach. The depth and richness of its sauces are good enough to whisk you away – not off to southern Thailand, but away from the noisy cacophony of one’s mind. Away from the little everyday hassles furrowing one’s brow. Or, at least, they did for me. That kind of travel, that kind of escape, is always well worth savouring.
Farrell doesn’t hold back or try to dumb anything down to appease the masses. Farrell is carving out his own path with his unapologetically expressive cooking and he doesn’t care if you can’t handle it or not. Be prepared for some heat.
Plaza Khao Gaeng, 103-105 New Oxford St, London WC1A 1DB
Website: https://plazakhaogaeng.com/
Rating: *****
Yumtini 