Smoking Goat, the Thai barbecue bar in London's Shoreditch, has just announced that it will be reopening its 60-seater heated and covered outdoor terrace from 12 April.
Inspired by the atmosphere and menus of Bangkok’s brilliant late-night canteen spots, Smoking Goat has built a cult following cooking food that continues to spotlight carefully-sourced ingredients and underrated seafood from UK waters.
Throughout lockdown the team have been enjoying working together on dishes they've missed eating. These include a spicy and garlicky Dorset clam som tum, a pounded salad made with sweet clams and bitter green beans, eaten with chicken slow grilled over charcoal and sticky rice. A hot and sour variation on Sup Nor Mai - the Isaan bamboo salad, which here is made with salsify, roasted rice and monksbeard.
A section of the daily menu is now donated to laabs (spicy chopped meat salads), including a Northern Thai prik laab of chicken and offal and a raw laab of ‘cull yaw’, aged mutton.
Head chef Ben Curtis said, ‘The silver lining about lockdown has been the chance to work without distraction on a focused set of dishes that reflect the energy of Smoking Goat on a lively night. Laabs, som tums and grills from the barbecue are what we all love to eat, the challenge is remaining in tune with the farmers and growers we have always worked with.
'We’re really grateful for the all the messages of support we’ve had from those who are waiting for us to reopen and having the outdoors terrace Redchurch street feels perfect for these dishes.'