Hotel tonight
Best London new guard & old guard hotels, Plaza Khao Gaeng, Endo Kazutoshi at Annabel’s, Clara Pinto, Rules, MORE
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RESTAURANTS • First Word
Sugar ‘n’ spice
The Skinny: A casual spot inspired by the markets and street stalls of southern Thailand, Plaza Khao Gaeng is a collaboration between chef Luke Farrell of Speedboat Bar, and JKS (the group behind BiBi, Gymkhana and Legado). After opening the original in Arcade Food Hall in 2022, the second Plaza Khao Gaeng opened in November in a railway arch in Borough Yards.
The Vibe: Outside-inside. It’s designed like a street market, with exposed brick walls, plastic tablecloths, laminated menus and signs in Thai. In the front of the restaurant, you’re in full view of passersby through the window, while the back (above) is more cosy and private. There’s a street cart dedicated to paloh, a Thai-Chinese stew, and the walls are adorned with Thai movie posters and pictures of royalty. Trains rattle and vibrate overhead – it can get noisy. It all makes for a good after-work cocktail spot, along with lively group dinners and larger events.
The Food: Spicy, flavoursome, fun. The picture-illustrated menu is split into snacks, sides, curries, salads and stir-fries. Our server handily marked up notes on spice levels. Refreshing strawberry salad was laced with tiny, crispy jasmine fish, slices of green mango and fresh herbs. A highlight from the snacks is miang pla, slow-grilled pork sausage made in-house and served with fermented fish and peanut, coconut and galangal, and served on a peppery betel leaf – eat it like a taco and feel the contrast of flavours.
From the curries, whole brown crab and coconut milk curry was milder than billed, and made for a fun few minutes of plastic bibs, seafood picks and a crab cracker to extract the meat. Whole crispy sea bass is the highlight from the stir fries, with crunchy, chewy skin, lots of tender, soft meat, and a sauce of green peppercorns and jungle herbs. We finished the spread with simple jasmine rice and soft, flaky roti in the Thai-Muslim style. Young coconut pudding with candied pumpkin and tapioca pearls makes for a very sweet ending.
The Drink: Hard drinking is encouraged, with shots of mango tequila, lychee vodka and a Fernet Branca-Crème de Menthe concoction that looks like a macchiato topped with hundreds and thousands. Less hardcore (but still pleasingly punchy) is the Paricha Margarita, a winning combo of mango-infused Cascabel tequila, lime and kumquat liqueur, with a Thai red chilli on the side (decorative or not? You decide). The three-litre Singha beer tower makes for a fun addition to the table, and daring diners can try a durian-infused cocktail with peanut butter and coconut rum. Iced tea and coffee are available, too, with plenty of condensed milk to offset the spicy food.
The Verdict: Banging flavours and an emphasis on fun – Plaza Khao Gaeng is a welcome addition to the already excellent food offering at Borough Yards. –Laura Price
→ Plaza Khao Gaeng (London Bridge) • 18 Stoney St • Mon-Sat 12-1030p, Sun 12-830p • Book.
RESTAURANTS • Intel
IT’S NOT THE END(O): Several months after his flagship restaurant, Endo at the Rotunda, closed due to a major fire, Japanese chef Endo Kazutoshi has revealed plans for a comeback. Starting 20 February, the Endo at the Rotunda team will be back together for a five-month pop-up at Annabel’s, the Mayfair members club. Endo, Upstairs at Annabel’s will seat 10 people per sitting, twice each evening. Bookings sold out straight away until March, but diners can add themselves to the waiting list or stay tuned for future reservations. –Laura Price
LONDON RESTAURANT LINKS: Handroll bar Temaki moving to Mayfair from Brixton • Nicolas Rouzaud opening Le Café • Darjeeling Express relocating to Rupert St • Napoli on the Road planning pizza tasting menu • Dishoom launches functional health drinks • The charming trio transforming London’s pubs.
WORK • Wednesday Routine
Highbury’s finest
CLARA PINTO • founder • Clara Pinto
Neighbourhood you work & live in: Highbury
It’s Wednesday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
I’m at my studio, working on whatever deadline we’re facing. Fashion is cyclical, which makes it both entertaining and nonstop. I’ve just finished Fashion Week in Milan and Buenos Aires, so we’re closing orders for the season and preparing fabrics to send off to the factory for production. It’s a month of hands-on textile work.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
I really enjoy going to the same restaurants and knowing the people who work there. Eating out usually depends on my cravings that day, so I know exactly where to go, and it’s all local. My favourite restaurant is Quality Wines; it’s always perfect. I also love Trullo for delicious pasta, Frank’s Canteen for the perfect hangover-cure bacon bap, Farang for fried chicken and a glass of white, and Top Cuvée for bavette and fries.
How about a little leisure or culture?
There’s an exhibition at the Barbican I’d love to see called Dirty Looks. I’d also love to visit The Wallace Collection.
Any weekend getaways?
Kendal in the Lake District. I went in December. The lake at night, the lights of the old town and the cold winter air made it perfect. Another favourite is Coombeshead Farm in Cornwall. I’ve never eaten or slept better in my life.
What was your last great holiday?
Namibia for my honeymoon a few months ago. We travelled around the country, which varies quite a lot from north to south. Each day, we woke up early to go on safari; tracking animals is incredibly exciting. The elephants blew my mind; they’re intelligent and full of quirky behaviours. You might come across a group of 20 elephants standing perfectly still; they’re taking a nap while standing up. Flying in a hot-air balloon was completely different from what I expected. You float like a bird, carried by the wind, with no sound and no gusts, and you feel surprisingly safe in that little basket up in the air. For a few days, we stayed at Zannier Sonop, a lodge built on top of a rock formation in the middle of nowhere. I’ve never experienced anything so surreal.
WORK & PLAY LINKS: The bitter battle over the future of Truman Brewery • In Walthamstow, new 18 storey residential tower approved • For cyclists in Regent’s Park, the red lights have arrived.
RESTAURANT • First Person
New rules
What makes a tourist trap? Is it the location? A dubious claim to fame? The décor, or being featured in a film? By any of these benchmarks, Rules qualifies. It’s in Covent Garden, claims to be the oldest restaurant in London, is featured in a Bond film and played host to Dickens. Even Kingsley Amis famously hated it.
But two weeks before Christmas, I needed to seat six people in Covent Garden for a pre-theatre lunch. We’ve all dined at The Ivy, Balthazar and Din Tai Fung a million times. Let’s try something new! Or old, rather.
When we arrive at Rules, the host leads us upstairs to the Winter Garden bar. There, we find paisley-red velvet couches, rattan chairs and lovely live plants.
I partly booked the table because I thought Rules would be pure British Christmas camp. The cocktail menu delivers, with drinks like the Duchess of Cambridge and Lipsticks at Dawn. I ordered the seasonal Aunt Nellie’s Tipple, a blend of Christmas gin, ginger wine and brandy. When the cranberry-coloured drink arrives in a frosted V-shaped glass, it’s elegant and well-balanced, camp only in name.
Our table is ready. We stumble down the stairs (Aunt Nellie is made of strong stuff) and slide into the banquette seating. A true-to-size oil portrait in a gilded frame hangs above our heads, and the red carpet is at our feet.
The seasonal grouse tempts our table – Rules is a game restaurant – but we all go in on the pies. I have the steak and kidney, while others order the chicken, leek and mushroom. One has sirloin steak, and we share starters and sides. Of course, we have potatoes two ways, mashed and Dauphinoise. The smoked eel starter was a bright and tangy balance to the savoury pies, but the surprise favourite of the meal was the creamed Savoy cabbage with bacon.
This is no Rainforest Cafe for upper-crust English culture – the food is excellent; homey, but refined. Our server was professional and prompt, but didn’t rush us. These are the classics, done well.
I once had an art professor tell me that if you’re going to look at Picasso’s Les Meninas, you also need to see Velázquez. I advise similarly: dine at St. John, but try Rules first. –AC Kienbaum
→ Rules Restaurant (Covent Garden) • 35 Maiden Ln • Tue-Thu 12-10p, Fri-Sat 12-1130p, Sun 12-10p • Book.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Sat Night
The 502s • O2 Forum (Kentish Town) • Sat @ 7p • downstairs standing, £31 per
Lost Frequencies • O2 Academy (Brixton) • Sat @ 7p • stalls standing, £50 per
Guy Manoukian• Barbican Hall (City of London) • Sat @ 730p • stalls, £150 per
GETAWAYS LINKS: Dishoom’s Permit Room opening in Liverpool • Ambassador Hotel in Inverness relaunches after £6mn revamp • Welsh fine dining spot Ynyshir reacts to poor hygiene rating.
GETAWAYS • The Nines
London hotels, new guard
The Nines are FOUND’s distilled lists of the best in London and further afield. Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or found@foundldn.com.
The Emory (Belgravia, above), London’s first suites-only hotel, opened in 2024 w/ state-of-the-art cigar room, rooftop bar w/ panoramic views, excellent dining options incl. veg-forward abc kitchens, £944
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