Overview
Location: Borough
Price per head: £40 – £50
Our opinion: Great value
Summary: Stunningly delicious, and nicely inventive Thai food at a very reasonable price.
Our plans to eat at Mambow in Clapton were scuppered when they flooded the day before we were meant to visit. Fortunately we live in London, a city with thousands of places to eat, so we knew we would be ok. Louise and I have an extensive list of places we want to try that only ever seems to get longer, so I opened this up and looked at what was tickling my fancy for the Easter weekend.
Kolae caught my eye immediately. A restaurant opened up by the same team that brought us Som Saa, that focuses on Thai dishes from the Southern regions. It takes its name, Kolae, from the style of cooking that is common in the region. This involves covering food in sauce or marinade and then cooking over hot coals.
London is blessed with number of great Thai restaurants (see review of our recent experience at Plaza Khao Gaeng), and this place is definitely now up there with one of our favourites. The food was truly excellent and the restaurant just felt great. It has a really nice aesthetic with neutral colours, dark woods, exposed bricks delivering a refined ‘beachy’ feel. The atmosphere was welcoming and the staff were outstanding.
Honestly, the staff were great. I often say “nice service”, but here it was different. Our waiter was so helpful at explaining all elements of the menu, talking through how dishes might go together and really taking the time to understand our specific likes, and heat tolerances! Bravo to the team there.
The Food
The food was genuinely delicious. Every dish delivered big Thai flavours, and also felt really unique. The Kolae cooking style meant there was a lot of food cooked over coals, meaning charred smokey flavours, powerful marinades, and lots of skewers. It is a menu designed to be shared, with a few smaller snack options moving into the larger main dishes.
There are some extremely spicy dishes on the menu, but your waiter will walk you through which those are, and some much milder choices too. There were 4 of us at lunch which was a good number. If there were more of us I would probably consider doubling up on some of the dishes because it would be hard for everyone to get a reasonable portion of some of the dishes.
Let’s take a look at what we had.
Snacks
Crispy prawn heads
Prawn heads deep fried until super crispy and served with turmeric and garlic. Whilst the idea of eating prawn heads can be a little off putting to some, I really urge you to dig deep, face your fears, and try these. Wonderfully light and crispy, bursting with prawn flavour, and seasoned to perfection, these little bites were the perfect snack to kick the meal off with. You get about 8 heads in a portion and I think this was the perfect amount to share across the 4 of us.
Mussel mussel skewers
I had read about these before arriving at the restaurant and was very keen to try them as they get rave reviews from seemingly everyone who tries them. I can see why. They are cooked so well, nice and soft and not at all chewy. They are marinated in a concoction of spices that delivers notes of coconut and turmeric, and cooked on the grill, giving them a deep Thai BBQ flavour, and they are impossible not to just devour. Each portion costs £6 and comes with 2 skewers. A skewer each and a couple of prawn heads had us excited and ready for the main courses.
Mains
We had been warned that some of the mains packed such a punch that customers had previously been reduced to tears. We only have a medium spice tolerance so we avoided the dishes that the waiter noted as ‘blow your head off’ spicy. Fortunately there were plenty of options for us on the menu.
Pork belly
Phuket style soy-braised middlewhite belly and ribs, to be precise. Ultra soft pork belly, with a generous coating of well rendered fat, cooking a deep brown sauce with hints of cardamom and star anise, this was a warming and satisfying bowl of food. The meat was tender and the fat delivered an additional depth of flavour that elevated the dish. The sauce was fantastic to pour over any remaining available. We only got 3 lumps of meat in the whole bowl however, which felt a little on the stingy side, so if I had any complaint it would be that.
Chicken bamboo skewer
Butterflied chicken thighs, lathered in marinade, and cooked over hot coals. We got 2 of these to share between the 4 of us, but they were so good I wish I had one to myself. The marinade was reminiscent of satay, with coconut flavours running throughout, and a lovely sweetness to every bite. Charred and delicious, get the skewers.
Southern gati curry
A yellow curry with stone bass, prawn and betel leaf. This bowl of spicy goodness had a certain level of heat to it that slowly built on the palate, never getting overwhelming, but warming the mouth up and reminding you that you are eating unapologetically Thai food. Hints of lemongrass and kaffir run through this, 2 of my favourite flavourings from the region. Coconut and turmeric flavours ran throughout once again, key elements of Kolae style food.
Sides
Kale and herb fritters
In an extremely light batter that was similar to tempura, these were a fun little snack to go with the rest of the meal. The fermented chilli and cashew sauce added a pungent but enjoyable, extra dimension to the flavours of this dish. We all loved it! It was quite hard to share between 4 however. We should have got 2.
Dessert
We were satisfied but not stuffed after the end of our main meal. This meant we had space to have a pudding each, rather than share. This was partly by design, because we had spotted mango sticky rice on the menu. This could well be Louise’s favourite pudding in existence, so the likelihood of her wanting to split one with me was extremely low.
Thank god we shared. It was incredible. Black sticky rice was covered in a mango custard made with duck eggs, giving it an extra richness. The mango sweetness was complemented with a coconut sauce which was creamy and refreshing, and it was topped off with some toasted rice which gave a lovely bit of crunch to the whole thing. Simply stunning.
Conclusion
There are a lot of Thai spots in London, but this place really deserves its place amongst the best of them. The food is inventive, interesting, and tasty. The price is extremely reasonable. It is easy to book. It has a wonderful atmosphere. We will be going back.
