Thaikhun, Comptoir and Absurd Bird to open first sites in Bath

Set to open in September and October this year on Newark Street and St Lawrence Street, the groups will join existing restaurants in the area including Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Prezzo, and Graze.

This will be the first Bath opening for each of the groups.

Thaikhun, the street food-inspired Thai-style operator, has eight sites across the UK, including in Guildford, Nottingham, Oxford, Cambridge, Manchester, and Aberdeen.  

Comptoir Libanais serves Lebanese and Middle-Eastern inspired food, with a wide range of vegan and vegetarian options, and counts 11 sites including six in London, plus Manchester and Bluewater in Kent. It is also expected to open in Exeter and London’s Poland Street shortly, and also operates outlets at Heathrow and Gatwick airports. 

Absurd Bird – the fried chicken group billing itself as ‘celebrating difference in craziness’ ‒ launched in 2013 in London’s Shoreditch. The Bath site will be its fourth opening, and its second outside the capital.

The Bath venues were secured by Aviva Investors and commercial property agents British Land.

Simon Green, associate director for Aviva Investors, said: “The new restaurants will help further extend the already broad appeal of Bath, establishing SouthGate as a thriving destination in the city centre.”

Ailsa Davidson, retail asset manager for British Land, said: “We are pleased to welcome these three new restaurants to SouthGate this autumn. The businesses already have a strong presence in cities such as London, so we’re excited to bring them to Bath for the first time.”