BAO Borough
BAO was founded by Erchen Chang, Wai Ting and Shing Tat Chung and is backed by JKS Restaurants, the group behind South Asian restaurants Gymkhana, Trishna, Brigadiers and Hoppers and the backer of a number of other London restaurants. BAO now operates seven restaurants alongside several food hall concessions. The Taiwan-inspired menu at each site is different but all sites serve the eponymous buns with which the brand made its name (the trio started out with a street food stall in Hackney’s Netil Market in 2013). BAO Borough is one the group’s more established restaurants having launched in 2019.
13 Stoney Street, London SE1 9AD
Arabica
It’s 25 years since James Walters first set up a trestle table in Borough Market selling falafel, a small selection of fresh meze, and spices, and more than 10 years since he went one better and opened Arabica Bar & Kitchen at the market in 2014. The menu offers a creative take on Levantine cuisine. Classic dishes from the menu include halloumi with black honey, toasted sesame seeds, pul biber and mint; feta and spinach sigara borek; watermelon and feta salad with black olives, pumpkin seeds and dill; and grilled chicken thighs with pistachio crumb and charred lemon. In 2019, Walters doubled with a restaurant in King’s Cross.
3 Rochester Walk, London SE1 9AF
Kolae
Kolae takes its name from a dish that is little known outside of Thailand. A cousin of satay, kolae has its roots in Southern Thailand’s Muslim community but is now consumed all over the region. The restaurant is the creation of Thai food experts and Som Saa founders Andy Oliver and Mark Dobbie. It is positioned more casually than their Commercial Street flagship. Other dishes on Kolae’s menu include deep-fried prawn heads with turmeric and garlic, a very spicy relish of prawn, snake fruit and shrimp paste and a trio of curries. Side dishes include hom mali rice, coconut water pickles and a salad of kale and herb fritters with fermented chilli and cashew nuts. In general, dishes are inspired by the cooking of the south of Thailand, which has not been as thoroughly explored as the food of central Thailand and the north by Western chefs cooking what is often referred to as ‘new wave’ Thai cuisine.
6 Park Street, London SE1 9AB
Quill Wine Bar
From the same stable as Plume in Covent Garden and Finch in Brixton and located to the north of Borough Market in the Borough Yards development, Quill is Fables & Company’s largest location to date with space for 75 guests. Overseen by founder Andrew Gray, the wine programme at Quill builds on the two wine lists at Plume and Finch steering them ‘in a more exotic direction’. There is a greater focus on fine wines at reduced margins, with customers ‘able to access prestige wines at a reduced cost’. The core mission continues to be on exploring lesser-tasted wines and twists on known varieties, with ‘accidental education’ being the driving force. Created by Fables & Company’s ‘culinary innovator’ Rob Wade whose CV includes Chez Bruce and Soho House Group, the menu offers ‘the best of British cuisine’.
Borough Yards, Arch 232 Bank End, London SE1 9FJ
This Restaurant Eats Out was sponsored by leading hospitality technology provider Square.