Casual Soho eatery KILN uses wood-burning ovens and grills to cook regional Thai cuisine along with dishes informed by Yunnan and Burma. The menu is crystal clear: just a few choices of meat and fish, and a speciality daily noodle dish. KILN’s austere interiors are an unfussy companion.
Founded by Ben Chapman of the nearby, and much-lauded, Smoking Goat, KILN work with local farmers, using some of the best British produce available and getting to grips with whole animals that have been bred specifically for the restaurant; a benefit of working a year ahead with their suppliers. As is the way with Thai cuisine, the dishes here pack a real punch — although they can be adjusted to suit individual tastes — and many were developed whilst the team travelled through the country’s northern regions in a quest to deliver truly authentic dishes.
Those austere interiors were overseen by Chapman himself, who, along with woodwork collaborator Dan Preston, has created a functional, utilitarian space that features a counter facing an open kitchen — where guests can watch over the chefs’ flaming theatrics, as the food is prepared on the wood burning kiln — alongside a stainless steel counter that curves the length of the room; neutral woods and some nice greenery add a sense of the tropics.
