Kolae

Borough Market's Southern Thai Anchor

When Som Saa established itself in Spitalfields, it shifted the register of Thai cooking in London away from generic high-street curry houses and toward something with genuine regional specificity. Kolae, its Borough Market offshoot at 6 Park St, SE1, extended that project into new territory: the kolae tradition of southern Thailand, in which meat and fish are threaded onto bamboo skewers, dipped in spiced coconut marinades, and grilled over open fire. The name is both the technique and the thesis. In a city where Thai restaurants at the ££ tier tend toward the familiar and the safe, that kind of specificity still carries weight. For context on how London's Thai scene has evolved beyond the generic, see our coverage of AngloThai, Farang, Long Chim, and Plaza Khao Gaeng.

The Physical Container: Three Floors, One Clear Mood

The building does a lot of work here. Kolae spreads across three levels, and the design language is consistent throughout: concrete flooring, bare brick walls, exposed ventilation ducts, and substantial counter seating that orients diners toward the kitchen rather than away from it. The ground floor carries the most energy, where the bar connects directly to the open kitchen and the grill is visible from most seats. This is a deliberate choice. In many London restaurants operating at this price point, the kitchen is architectural background — present in spirit, hidden in practice. Here it functions as a performance element, the smoke and fire of the kolae grill contributing to the atmosphere as much as the playlist or the lighting.

The counter-heavy layout also reflects the sharing format of the menu. This is not a restaurant designed around tables for two with a single dish each; the physical arrangement signals group eating, passing plates, and multiple rounds. The industrial aesthetic — common enough in Borough Market's broader dining scene , is handled with more restraint than many neighbours. There is no forced rusticity, no decorative reclaimed timber. The concrete and brick read as honest to the building rather than applied as mood-boarding.

Borough Market itself is one of London's highest-footfall food destinations, and restaurants on and around Park St operate in a competitive micro-environment. The area draws tourists, food-focused locals, and the after-work crowd from the surrounding Southwark offices. Kolae sits in that mix without leaning too hard on any single segment. The three-level layout allows for different social formats , counter drinking and eating on the ground floor, more settled dining above , without separating them into distinct venues.

The Cooking: Southern Thai Tradition, British Produce

The editorial case for Kolae rests substantially on the menu's regional focus. Southern Thai cuisine is less represented in London than the central Thai cooking that dominates the high street, and the kolae tradition specifically , the marinated skewer, the coconut-spiced grill , is a relatively narrow reference point even within that. The kitchen at Kolae works with this specificity rather than broadening it for mass appeal.

British produce underpins most of the recipes. Middle White pork belly and ribs cooked slowly in dark soy sauce, stone bass in yellow curry with kale and betel leaf, mussels on bamboo skewers: these are not fusion constructions but Thai techniques applied to domestic sourcing, a pattern that has become more common across London's serious mid-market restaurants as supply chains have shortened. Crispy prawn heads with turmeric and garlic appear as an opening move , a preparation that signals intent, since prawn heads are the part most restaurants discard rather than feature. The set menu, available in a vegan form, functions as a reliable route through the menu for first-time visitors or larger groups uncertain where to start.

Drinks follow the same logic as the food: practical and considered rather than elaborate. The list includes wines chosen for spice tolerance, tropical cocktails, and a small selection of esoteric beers , among them Jiddler's Tipple, a hazy summer lager flavoured with apricots. The drink programme is not the main event, but it supports the food without creating friction.

Chefs Mark Dobbie and Andy Oliver, whose work at Som Saa shaped this project, bring a track record in Thai cooking that extends beyond London. For comparison against the Thai canon at its most demanding, see Nahm and Samrub Samrub Thai in Bangkok.

Credentials and Competitive Position

Kolae holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand (2025), the guide's designation for restaurants offering good cooking at moderate prices. At the ££ tier in London , where the ££££ end of the market is occupied by the likes of The Fat Duck, L'Enclume, and Moor Hall , a Bib Gourmand is a meaningful credential rather than a consolation. It places Kolae in a peer set defined by value and cooking quality together, not either in isolation.

The Google rating sits at 4.6 across 821 reviews, a figure that suggests consistent rather than polarising performance. High-volume Borough Market restaurants often attract a proportion of one-time tourist visits, which can suppress ratings through unfamiliarity with the format; 4.6 at that volume is a reasonable signal of reliability. For a broader map of where Kolae sits within London dining, our full London restaurants guide provides context across price tiers and cuisines. You can also explore hotels, bars, wineries, and experiences across the city.

Planning a Visit

Kolae is at 6 Park St, SE1 9AB, directly adjacent to Borough Market. The location makes it convenient before or after market browsing, though peak lunch service on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays , when the market itself is at full operation , means the ground floor in particular will be at capacity. The restaurant is popular enough that advance booking is advisable rather than optional. The three-level layout and counter seating make it a workable choice for groups eating informally, and the vegan set menu option gives it more range than most comparable Thai restaurants at this price point. Nearby, Poppy's covers different ground in the same neighbourhood. For longer UK trips, the restaurant circuit extends well beyond London: Gidleigh Park, Hand and Flowers, and Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons are worth the travel for occasions that call for something more formal.