Rosa’s Thai Market Kitchen: A “break away from shopping centre food”
The Rosa’s Thai Market Kitchen concept has opened in the Westfield Stratford shopping centre, and is the fourth concept from the group, after the original Rosa’s Thai Café, Laos Café, and the just-launched Saiphin’s Thai Kitchen.
Distinct from the other brands, Rosa’s Thai Market Kitchen is aiming to offer “customisable, market-style” dining, in a takeaway setting more conducive to shoppers in a hurry. The emphasis will be on fast service.
The menu will focus on simple takeaway-style dishes, including Tom Yum soup, Massaman curry, and Pad Thai noodles.
There will also be ‘build your own’ salads with chargrilled mixed vegetables, papaya or lemongrass, topped with satay chicken, grilled prawns or boiled eggs, and finished with a choice of salad sauces, including spicy mint, roasted chilli, and spicy tamarind.
A new drinks menu will feature new Thai smoothies such as the ‘mango and sticky rice’, ‘tropical paradise’ and the ‘Thai colada’: a twist on the classic piña colada with bird's eyes chilli.
The space first opened as a Rosa’s in 2011, so has also received an update in style and décor.
“The new concept was designed to give the Westfield site a welcome refresh, as the traditional food court set-up tends to have some negative connotations,” says Alex Moore, co-founder with wife Saiphin of Rosa’s Thai Café (pictured, right).
“We wanted to break away from the idea that shopping centre food has to be low-quality / unhealthy, and so have devised a faster, more customisable way of delivering the Rosa’s offering, without compromising on quality.”
Ongoing expansion
The brand is the latest opening from the group, which runs to eight Rosa’s Thai Café sites across London, including Brixton most recently in March 2017.
Laos Café opened in Chandos Place in Covent Garden after a successful pop-up in London Victoria early last year.
Saiphin’s Thai Kitchen opened in London Fields, offering a delivery and takeaway-focused service to complement the Café concept.
The group is also planning further openings of Rosa’s Thai Café in West Hampstead, Seven Dials and One Tower Bridge.
