On a Sunday morning last June, Som Saa founders Mark Dobbie and Andy Oliver received the call every restaurateur dreads. A fire had ripped through their critically acclaimed Thai restaurant’s ventilation system, causing serious damage to the kitchen and its recently relaid dining room floor. Thankfully, the fire brigade responded quickly, and nobody was hurt.
Six months later, the pair have reopened the doors. While the incident was a major setback, Dobbie, Oliver, and their team have used the downtime to reflect, travel, and evolve Som Saa’s offering, rising from the ashes with a refreshed menu and renewed energy. We caught up with Dobbie to discuss navigating insurers after a serious incident, the new dishes and cocktails on Som Saa’s menu, and the continued evolution of London’s Thai restaurant scene.
Talk us through what happened back in June
It happened on a Sunday just before lunch, so fortunately there were no guests in the restaurant. One of our chefs spotted a glow in the kitchen’s ductwork. The team tried to put it out with a fire extinguisher, but it quickly became clear that wasn’t going to be enough. They evacuated immediately, and within minutes the fire brigade had a drone with a thermal camera overhead. Luckily, the fire station is just down the road. They accessed the flat roof above the kitchen and put the fire out. It was devastating but Andy and I were also very relieved that nobody was hurt.
How bad was the damage?
The volume of water caused the suspended ceiling to collapse into the kitchen. The dining room floor, which had only just been installed earlier in the year, was badly damaged by water. It looked like a pump track. Other than that, the damage was largely confined to the kitchen.
You initially said you’d be back up and running within a week. Why did it take so long?
The building work only took about six weeks, but we couldn’t start until the insurance was sorted, which took over three months. Both the landlord’s insurers and our insurers were involved. Contractors couldn’t assess what needed doing until approvals were in place. It felt like a long wait, but we now now that six months is pretty quick as these things go.
It must have been so stressful for you and Andy
Absolutely. At the start, we were tearing our hair out because we didn’t know if we’d get anything from our insurers. Eventually, there was an agreement on a rough payout, and we received an interim payment, which allowed us to start work. On top of that, there’s a business interruption claim, but we won’t have clarity on that until we’ve been trading for several months. It’s been tough, but hopefully we can offer practical advice to anyone else that has to go through this.
What has a six-month closure meant for your team at Som Saa?
We’ve retained most of our core team. Some were kept on payroll for research and development, refining systems and dishes. Others went to our sister restaurant Kolae in Borough Market, and some of the more casual staff were coming to the end of their contracts anyway. For our key team members, it was a chance to step back and rethink how we do things. Some went to Thailand to learn, visiting suppliers and observing Thai cooks in restaurants and homes. Even if every dish they saw doesn’t end up on the menu, it helps us understand the broader context of Thai cuisine - the history, heritage, and how it all comes together. We feel both the food and drinks have taken a big step forward as a result.
Tell us about some of the new dishes
We have a warm salad of vegetables, herbs, and grilled pork dressed with curry paste; and gaeng om, a spicy, herbal curry that’s very different from what most people expect of Thai curry. People’s reactions have been interesting, but in general it’s been a big hit. We are also offering a dedicated bar snacks menu for the first time featuring creations such as pickled mango with fried shrimp paste and rice crackers topped with grilled cockles and chilli jam. Most of our new dishes are from northern Thailand, reflecting where the team focused their learning, though Som Saa continues to serve food from across the country. Our new cocktails include the Green Negroni (clarified Campari, pandan-infused gin, Cocchi Americano) and the Snowglobe Sour (bourbon, coconut cream, lime, Thai tea, and cassia foam).
How is the reopening going so far?
We did some soft openings at the end of last week and had our first official service on Tuesday (11 November). It’s great to have the doors open again and see friendly faces enjoying the food. We’ve been operating for nearly ten years now, so we’ve had a decent number of bookings. It’s reassuring to see people still want to come, especially with so many new Thai restaurants opening in London.
Thai food seems to be having yet another moment. Why do you think that is?
Over the past 10–20 years, there’s been a lot of coverage of authentic Thai food in both mainstream media and social media. Bloggers like Mark Wiens and chefs like Andy Ricker have done a lot to showcase Thai cuisine. Suddenly, people could see these dishes being cooked in Thailand which set the stage for ourselves and other restaurants.