We’re constantly on the look out for new Thai spots in London, particularly those that offer the more interesting dishes than your bog standard pad thais and curries. And we recently came across Korat Thai Cafe in Newington Green, which is one of the best we’ve discovered in London. It’s not a new opening but once we spied the menu online, with promises of Khao Soi, Nam Tok, and homemade Sai Krok Isan, we knew we needed to get down there sharpish.
It’s also worth pointing out that Korat allows you to bring your own wine and only charges £2 corkage per person, which is an absolute steal! We headed down there with a bottle from home, but if you needed to buy something on the fly, then Cadet is just up the road.
It’s a big menu but we waded through the more crowd-pleasing dishes to find some gems – we were absolutely made up when the very sweet lady that owns the place said that we ordered like Thai people. Must-orders for us would have to be the Yam Khao Tod, a crispy rice salad with fresh herbs and leaves, peanuts, chillies and kaffir lime; the Larb Gai, a minced chicken salad with herbs, rice powder, chillies, and fish sauce; and the Som Tum, a classic papaya salad (though this could have been a bit spicier). YES, we love a Thai salad.
Nam Tok, a grilled pork neck salad, was decent but in all honesty just way too big and could have done with more zesty lime. Just a big pile of meat to get though, but in a smaller portion it would be a great extra snack. We enjoyed the Sai Krok Isan, the fermented sausage from northern Thailand, made with glass noodles, chillies and pork. We wouldn’t get it every time like the salads but when you’re in the mood it definitely hits the spot. Another Northern dish, Khao Soi (curry chicken noodle soup), was a certified winner – this might just be the best one we’ve had outside Thailand.
We left very impressed with Korat and we’ve got a whole big list of dishes we can’t wait to go back for. It’s proper Thai cooking the likes of which you don’t find all too often in London – and that £2 corkage just seals the deal. A friendly team too, so we highly recommend it on every level.
39 Newington Green Rd, London N1 4QT
koratthaicafe.co.uk