Kolae

There’s no messing around at Kolae: no sooner have you ordered than your food is there, empty plates quickly replaced with the next full ones – which is ironic as this is food worth waiting for. Sister restaurant to Spitalfields’ Som Saa, this Thai grill and bar in south London’s Borough serves the food of Thailand’s southern provinces, especially the eponymous cooking style that grills coconut-curry-marinated ingredients over flames. And it’s seriously good, throwing massive flavour punches and perfectly balancing sweet, salt and heat all the way through. Crispy prawn heads with turmeric and garlic are unforgettable, as are the richly coated grilled mussel skewers, but decadent soy-braised middle white belly and ribs manages to hit every taste bud. Decadent, flavourful, hearty, it’s the mouthful you never want to end. But then everything here really is that tasty.

Words by Alex Mead.

This article was taken from the March 2024 issue of Food and Travel. To subscribe today, click here.