Chaophraya Edinburgh opened last week on the city's Castle Street at the site of Tony Singh's Oloroso, which closed in August.
The Thai restaurant group, founded by Kim Atcharaporn Kaewkraikhot eight years ago, ramped up its expansion earlier this year after receiving £2.4m of investment through Santander’s Breakthrough programme for SMEs. The addition of Edinburgh takes the number of restaurants Chaophraya operates to seven.
Chaophraya chief executive, Martin Stead, said: “We have been steadily growing our business over the past eight years with intention of opening in Scotland from an early stage; the key was finding the right location.
"Our aim is to take the Chao experience to as many cities as possible and with the support of Santander’s growth capital investment, will continue to forge ahead with expansion plans throughout the UK."
Refurbishment
The 200-cover Edinburgh restaurant, which includes the Palm Sugar bar and a private dining room, was opened following £1.2m of investment by the group.
Interior design company JMDA carried out an extensive refurbishment of the site, creating a glass-enclosed private dining room for 16 people and integrated pieces of Thai furniture, specially selected by Kaewkraikhot.
Classic, regional dishes
As with its other sites Chaophraya Edinburgh's menu is made up of classic, regional Thai dishes, such as Panang beef curry and Chicken Pad Thai noodles. Its focus, it says it to use the 'finest, freshest ingredients to produce delicious authentic Thai cuisine'. Prices start from £6.95 for lunch and £9.95 for dinner.
David Bassett, former manager of the Angels With Bagpipes restaurant on the Royal Mile, has been appointed manager with the kitchen headed up by Yiam Dok Pudsha who will oversee a brigade of 14.
Established in 2004 with its first site in Leeds, Chaophraya, was the realisation of Kaewkraikhot's vision to bring an authentic Thai dining experience to the UK which paid respect to the culture of the country and its cuisine. The group, which so far has only operated within the north and Scotland, went on to open sites in Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield before entering Scotland.