Som Saa will open their long-awaited permanent restaurant in Spitalfields, East London on 18th April, 2016 which will be preceded by fifty percent off soft opening period between the 11th and 17th of April.
The new opening will follow Som Saa ’s humble beginnings; from a pop-up in Peckham, to a year long residency at Climpson’s Arch in London Fields and a crowdfunding campaign, which raised over £700,000 in 3 days. The team, Andy Oliver, Mark Dobbie and Tom George will open Som Saa in a former fabric warehouse on Commercial Street, just a minute’s walk from Spitalfields Market.
Som Saa takes its name from a rare Thai citrus fruit, representative of the founders’ passion for old style Thai cooking and the lesser-known dishes of regional Thailand. Their new menu, devised by co-Head Chefs Andy and Mark, will be divided by cooking techniques and include a daily changing ‘chef’s selection’ bringing together seasonal British produce with quality Asian ingredients, to serve regional Thai dishes with uncompromising flavours. Curry pastes and fermented pork sausages will be made in house and this time, the kitchen will have a wok section and the ability to produce their own coconut cream, hugely expanding the repertoire of dishes.
Alongside the evening menu, Som Saa have announced a brunch and lunch menu to launch six weeks after opening that will offer quick, street-food style dishes and for those who want the full experience, an edited selection of the evening menu. Lunch will see one-plate dishes such as, ‘pad grapow pbet’, stir fried duck with holy basil, chillies and a crispy duck egg over rice and ‘khao soi neua’, Northern style beef curry noodle soup with crispy egg noodles and pickled mustard greens.
At weekends, a Thai brunch will be available in addition to the lunch menu and will list, ‘kai jee-o’, traditional crispy wok fried Thai omelette with fermented chilli sauce; ‘khao dtom’, Thai rice soup with crispy pork, pork balls slow cooked egg, ginger and spring onions and ‘pa thong ko’; Thai-Chinese style doughnuts with pandanus custard. Bangkok Mary cocktails, created by co-founder and General Manager Tom George will come from Som Saa ’s dedicated bar.
Som Saa has been designed in conjunction with Coriander Buildings and will be sympathetic to the site’s former incarnation as a fabric warehouse. Part London, part Bangkok and part home, with vintage decorations brought back from trips to Thailand. The new site will have a substantial bar and an 80-cover dining room in the rear. The feel will be warm and buzzy with a sharing table near the open kitchen and booths for larger groups.