Thai street food concept launches in Brighton

“There are few places in the world where you can buy street food that not only tastes good, but is also safe to eat – Thailand is one of those places. For Thai people and most visitors to Thailand, street food is the best and most authentic way of eating and experiencing Thai food with its wonderful fresh aromas, flavours and colours. It’s affordable, simple and super tasty,” said the executive chef and manager, known as Bookie, who is from the northern province of Lampang.

The new venue, which opened earlier this month in Brighton Square in the popular Brighton Lanes, is spread over two floors, with a vibrant, contemporary interior.

The walls are decorated with colourful graffiti of Thai street scenes, while a working tuk tuk is parked in the entrance space.

Dishes served include: Spicy soups flavoured with chilli and lime; a Thai salad made with green mango, grilled tiger prawns, cashew nuts and toasted coconut; Northern Thai style egg noodle curry soup; and a variety of spicy green red and yellow curries.

According to executive chef, the focus of the dishes is simplicity, authenticity and freshness. “We have selected speciality dishes from each part of Thailand for our menu. We would love you to enjoy the wholesome taste of real Thai street food, as we do in Thailand,” she said.

If the first venue proves successful, Bookie told BigHospitality she hopes the Brighton branch will be the first of many and will be looking to expand in the south.

Street food​

The concept of street food has been picking up steam in the UK, as consumers look for quick, cheap, authentic options.

According to Peter Backman, managing director at the foodservice consultant Horizons, street food is emerging as a good source of new ideas for restaurateurs.

“Many of our most popular dishes started off at street food – burgers, hot dogs, satay sticks and burritos for example. Street food is food eaten on the go and most countries across the world have some form of local cuisine that’s sold on the street such as French crepes, Italian takeaway pizza slices, Thai noodle stalls and Indian dosas. These are food items that are usually cheap to make and buy, quick and easy to cook and whose roots are based in the local cuisine,” he said.

“Restaurants are always looking for new ideas for their menus so it’s natural that some of these best-selling street concepts will be adopted by restaurants and put on their menus. The street is a great source of new ideas for restaurateurs and for sourcing authentic local cuisine.”