One of the best fish dish I have ever had; deep fried seabass. Loved it! It was mind blowing. It’s a must visit place for all the fish lovers it would not disappoint you at all. The flavour, taste & presentation is amazing. Service was good as well. We will definitely go back to this place and already have recommended other food lovers to go and give it a try
Other than the fact that there was a long wait to get served and clunky service in general this was an enjoyable meal and food tasted fresh and bright.
Add to it a bustling vibe giving this a recommended visit if you are in the neighborhood and craving some Thai that is not run off the mill.
Really enjoyed our meal here. The star of the meal was the deep fried seabass, which was beautifully presented. The flavour was not a let down either. Having been recommended to come here by a Thai person we came here expecting good things and explosive flavour, which we definitely got! Service was kinda spotty though. Would come again, and is a great place to just drop by and chill with good food and drinks.
This restaurant is a great spot for a casual dinner and drinks with friends. They have a great selection of cocktails and bar snacks and a small menu of Thai street food. The service is quick and friendly and the atmosphere buzzing. I highly recommend the crispy pork, but all dishes a tasty and a good portion size for sharing.
Could London finally be catching up with the extremely highly rated Som Saa? The flavours here definitely reminded me of David Thompson's restaurant and what I've made from Thai Food/Thai Street Food previously. After not being able to wait long enough last time, coming in solo on a Wednesday evening was a smart move. I sat at the bar and was entertained by the lovely bartender Marta. I also met a nice dude from OC named Nick who was also dining solo at the bar next to me.
London is a city full of hypes and queues. It’s crazy that people would spend hours to queue for sweatshirts, shoes, H&M, buns, curries, steaks and everything in between. Luckily Som Saa is one of those rare things where there was hype, no queue and even more shockingly, the food was actually bloody fantastic. Shocking, I know, but when was the time you listened to hype, ate the food and thought “well, that was really something else…”. For me, it was probably homeslice, and that was probably 3 years ago by now, lightyears ago in the world of London gastronomy!
Excellent lunch there. Will write a full review once I have had dinner.One of the best Thai food I have had in London (the best being Sukho on Fulham Road but standards have gone down there and it has become expensive)
Having been away from London for a while I missed the frenzy that was when Som Saa opened a few months ago. Maybe that was a blessing to a foodie like me since we didn’t have to face the long queues. On a weekday evening we got there around 6.30 and were seated in about 5-10 minutes. We almost felt a little worried, were we at the right place? The large bar area, at that point, was rather empty but the restaurant opens up to a bustling dining room and by 7 the place was packed.
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Som Saa didn't blow me away, the way their old pop up in London Fields did. Perhaps not sitting outdoors, within view of the outdoor grills tempered the experience. Their pop up was strictly Isaan (NE Thailand) but the new bricks and mortar restaurant features cooking from other regions as well.
I do appreciate that Som Saa tastes authentic in that the flavor combinations are complex. Also they do not have any of the standard issue items like pad thai and green curry on the menu.
There were six of us at dinner so we could book a booth instead of queuing. The standout dishes were stir fried crispy pork which was spicy and caramelized and very crispy as well as the fermented pork salad. I also liked the char grilled chicken with tamarind which was soft and smokey with a very thin crisp skin. Aubergine salad was beautifully smoky and herbal as well. The table raved about the Burmese pork belly curry which was meltingly tender and slightly caramelized. The simple stir fried vegetables were terrific too, being charred at very high temperature in a hot wok. You just can't reproduce that at home in a domestic kitchen.
I liked the grilled pork neck with a clean green tasting dressing. Some of the table complained that it was too hot. Same complaint regarding level of heat in the banana blossom salad from some of our table. The smoked trout was a tiny portion although I did really like the deep fried skin served separately. The prawn pork and peanut salad was okay but not outstanding. Same for the chicken stir fried with chrysanthemum.
We shared a couple of desserts. The Thai Rubies should have been redder, but tasted of memories of SE Asia being a blend of sweet, salt, coconut, chewiness, and crunchiness. I would have preferred shaved ice instead of crushed ice in this dish however. The grilled banana with palm sugar was lovely. Deep caramel flavor in the ice cream contrasted with sumac spice on the grilled banana.
We spent £35 a head including service. We did drink quite a lot of wine and our total wine expenditure for the 6 of us was £54.40. Both red and white house wines are £22 a bottle. Incidentally, Som Saa is actually in Spitalfields, not Shoreditch.
Som Saa. Smoking Goat. The Begging Bowl. Tem Ban Thai. Faring London. These are some of the best Thai restaurants/teams in London – no doubt about it. If you want that authentic heat and a Liverpool kiss of flavour these guys generally have your back. Here’s our original review if you wanted to read our original take.
Every now and again, a restaurant comes along that makes you feel glad to be alive. Som Saa, a former Hackney pop-up that’s now settled down in the Spitalfields border lands between the City and Whitechapel, is one such restaurant. It’s worth bearing in mind that much of the joy in Som Saa’s dishes comes not from the provenance of the meat or fish, but from the artistry in the preparation and execution of the sauces and seasonings
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Dishes were served as when ready. My favourites were:
grilled pork neck with a 'jaew' chilli dipping sauce £8.50 – the meat was moist and tender soaking in a marinade of a well balanced fish, spicy, herby sauce. It was definitely a brilliant dish to start. Not only it brought back the flavours of Thailand but also the ambiance of street food eating.
whole deep fried seabass with roasted rice and isaan herbs £16.00 – nothing can be better than serving the whole fish to me. It is proper full on stuff. Deep fried like that, I ate all the way from it's tail to the head. The sauce like the grilled pork is very light and herby and well balanced.
'panang' curry of braised salted beef cheeks and thai basil £15.00 – the tender meat could convert any non meat eater in this instance and the sauce had a subtle spicy peanutty presence.
Other dishes:
stir-fried clams with turmeric, chillies and holy basil £11.00 – I love this dish except that I did had a gritty shellfish and biting into it was not pleasant because for one moment I thought I had cracked a filling. Otherwise, the flavours were great.
thai style grilled chicken leg with tamarind dipping sauce £7.50 – a dish I longed for so long since their pop up days. A good grilled chicken but I did not get the Thai style aspect if not for the tamarind dipping sauce.
stir-fried chicken and long aubergines with yellow beans and thai basil £9.00
som tam isaan £9.50 – proper spicy
grilled chicken, banana flower, and chilli jam salad £10.00 – the look of the dried chillies can put one off from the dish thinking that it was going to be outrageously spicy but it was surprisingly mild, had a bite and had the look of a tasty fried salad.
burmese style pork belly and shoulder curry with pickled garlic and fresh ginger £12.50 – the meat was so tender and delicious but was such a small cut and I thought that is was slightly on the sweet side
jungle curry with thai aubergines, grilled fish and holy basil £14.00 – the curry is quite watery and this is a personal preference but I didn't like the bitter, slightly tough thai aubergines.
Could be a wow dishes:
palm sugar ice-cream grilled banana £6.00 – the palm sugar ice-cream has quite a strong caramel and condensed milk taste. The grilled banana was way too young to be cooked so when it was cooked, still had that raw and green texture. Had it been a riper banana, it would be sweeter and more melting in the mouth.
seasonal English /Asian fruit plate £4.50 – a plate of fruits after dinner is just how it was in Asia – which is also seen as a luxury. In terms of the variety of Asian fruits it was brilliant with dragonfruit, jackfruit, longan, pomelo, rambutan, guava, mango and pineapple but the fruit themselves were not at their best because they were just not ripe enough so were not at their prime and the texture was not quite just right.
Service was friendly and relaxed. The vibrant energy and enthusiasm from the waiter and waitresses came across and it felt good.
The fixed menu was a great way to know this place’s menu for the first time. All the plates were bursting with flavour, nice acidity and sweetness playing in most of them. The cocktails are also worth a try. I might definitely go back.
Staff were very attentive friendly and knowledgeable. Made you feel welcome. Vegan menu. Food was full of flavour and made to our requirements as not too spicy and full on spice. Highly recommend a visit. Will go again when in London
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Out of all the Thai restaurants I have been to in London so far, this is my absolute personal favourite!
It was an interesting greeting process where the receptionist guided us to the waiting area before getting seated in the restaurant behind the bar. It's a very spacious restaurant with a modern vibe of wooden everything and I liked it a lot.
My friend had already been a few times and highly recommended the deep fried sea bass, so we had to go with that. Alongside that, we also ordered the dinner set menu with sirloin steak in Thai spices as a starter, then stir fry vegetables, duck curry and fried plaice as mains, with both sticky rice and jasmine rice on the side. Finally, to wrap up the meal dessert was palm sugar ice cream with banana.
I genuinely thoroughly enjoyed every single dish that was served to us. The food was absolutely phenomenal and completely blew me away! Thai spices went so well with steak and such a great starter to stimulate your appetite ahead of the mains. Duck curry and deep fried sea bass were my personal highlights - so aromatic and flavourful. The sauce that came with the sea bass was sour because of the tamarind and so so savoury. Combined with the crunchy texture of the sea bass it was absolutely fantastic! Stir fry veggies were average so nothing to comment there. Fried plaice was very tender and soft with the deep fried texture and spices. Sticky rice is always a fun texture to eat. The dessert was so rich with palm sugar, such an unique flavour and the banana nicely balanced out the sweetness of the ice cream.
Service was great, attentive staff who were patient and friendly to explain the menu to us. The only downside for me was the price level, it's definitely not cheap at all but it's a great place for special occasions or anyone who have the budget for this. I do think the portions were quite generous as we couldn't finish everything and I had to take some of the food away but I did think we got greedy and overordered so just pace yourself.
Overall, this was an all-rounder restaurant that I absolutely loved and would be very happy to come back asap!
Solid meal overall in a nice atmosphere. Service was friendly but very slow. We did the tasting menu option, which does all come out at once as opposed to coursed out which we would have preferred. Chicken salad is super spicy but delicious, beef curry is great. The dessert (banana with sesame and ice cream) was ok.
Probably my favourite Thai restaurant in London. The atmosphere is great, the staff are efficient and friendly, the food is delicious and the cocktails and wine list have obviously had a lot of time and thought put into them.
It's not the cheapest but I'd say it's worth spending the extra for the quality.
Unique restaurant that does great Asian inspired cuisine. Interior is very unique but maybe the seating is not as comfortable for everyone but I didn't mind that. Food was really good but portion sizes were potentially a little small.
Extremely crowded Friday evening. Best to book a table. Was rather overcrowded and noisy which affected the ambiance.
Had the tasting menu of a start and two meat dishes and veg with two types of rice for £46 in Hindsight probably better getting the Ala carte as table if four gets two of each of the mains- which could have been different dishes from the Ala carte.
The starter was good albeit too small. Nice prawn and crab.
Mains for beef- nice sauce ever huge pieces of meat which could be cut down a bit more. The chicken salad with peanuts was excellent.
Pad pam greens was very average.
Jasmine rice was ok, the coconut rice was very nice.
Desert was below average- sesame with banana and brown sugar was very simple and was not a great combination. Felt rather disappointed by it.
Cocktails was good - had the Rak tong ham.
Service was ok.
Very tasty Thai food, I came here with my partner and she absolutely loved it.
The place looks lovely and the staff are very friendly.
I would give it 5 stars if the place was not so noisy and if the food was not that expensive.
Don’t get me wrong, the food is quite nice, but for that price… I think it could either be better or they could make the prices more affordable.
Another couple of things that did not work:
We were recommended to share plates but many of the plates have sauces on them or are soup so quite difficult to share. Also, the plates are big making it difficult to eat with such tiny tables. And finally the wine recommended in the menu was not great to be honest, it did not even pair well with the plates.
Most dishes that we order are great. I love the grilled chicken and the fried sea bass. The Palow (slow cooked pork belly) is more like Khao kha moo than Palow itself, but it tastes good with the sour sauce. Kuakling can be added more spices.
Cocktails look too simple, not much garnishing and colors, we order 'Apirom', 'Sangdad' and the other one, but feel fresh after sipping 'Apirom'. Too few for desserts, but those two dishes that they offer are great.
Very good Thai restaurant, nice food.
Good quality.
Average price for the area.
The waiters are very nice and kind.
Toilets are clean
Ideal to go with friends or on a date.
Decoration is very cosy, making it look like thai.
There are vegetarian options available.
Shashank Kidiyur Sathish
+5
We ordered from the vegan menu and the food was to die for!
The papaya salad without fish sauce has been an elusive food item to get in London but they had it here at Som Saa and boy was it delicious!
The green curry was equally delicious and paired well with the jasmine rice. And the jungle curry with aubergine was cooked just right.
We ended with palm sugar ice cream and sweet sticky rice with jackfruit. Both were good.
15/10 would recommend to everyone and we will be visiting again :D
Amazing daily menu keeps the inspiration.
You will find the real spicy taste from Thailand.
I like the papaya salad and laab mueang gal the most.
Reservation needed, really friendly staffs, lovely atmosphere and nice service
20-30 💷per person
Delicious food and could not recommend more. We got the set menu and thought would be more food though, wont lie.
Good vegetarian options and such a good insight into proper Thai cuisine that isn’t just a pad Thai
Proper filling vegetarian curry with great flavours. My friend had the pork soup dish and she loved it. Would definitely recommend and also make sure to ask for the dessert menu, the ice cream is to die for!
Amazing dining experience in a wonderful Thai restaurant. This is not the “pad Thai” restaurant you are thinking about, it is a winning combination of particular flavors and recipes. From the sea bass to the prawns options.. very tasty dishes. Loved the drinks as well at the front bar. Service is splendid with Saverio explaining dishes one by one and taking extra care during the whole dinner. Recommended.
Great food, especially the sea bass and the pork. The taste of food here is something different. Not a large menu but everything is super tasty. Good service, cool ambiance but it was a bit loud and busy when I went on a Friday
Delicious food and amazing staff, Morgan was a wonderful waitress :) loved the vibes of the place! Defo get the roast pork, the Tom yum and the sticky rice. Second time back and will be coming back again!
Absolutely and fabulously authentic Thai food.
I came here during the Easter bank holiday with my wife and everything was SO GOOD. The deep fried sea bass did not disappoint, and the jungle curry was the spiciest (and probably the best) Thai curry I’ve had in London.
If you’re looking for food that turns your spring into summer, just eat here 😎
Thai approved! 😋🪷✨ We ordered the Gai Yang, Som Tum Thai, Num Tok Fried fish, and Tom Yum soup – all dishes were absolutely delicious! 🍲🌶️ The flavors were authentic. The service was exceptional, with attentive and friendly staff making us feel welcomed throughout the meal. We highly recommend this place to anyone seeking an authentic Thai food! 🍽️🇹🇭⭐️
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