Test Driving Khao Bird - graduating to a permanent Soho home proves to be a great move for the Thai barbecue spot

Downstairs at Khao Bird - you can just about see the open kitchen at the back

What's Khao Bird, then?

This is the first permanent London restaurant by the duo of restaurateur Mike Palmer and chef Luke Larsson. Simply put, it's mainly about Northern Thai barbecue dishes (among other regional Thai food).

And this is the second Khao Bird in London?

Yes and no. Khao Bird originally started in Brighton as Lucky Khao (which is still there) before embarking on a one-year residency in Borough Market's Globe Tavern. That went so well that they've now graduated to a permanent restaurant in Soho. They've taken over a space that was apparently once Soho's last adult cinema, but in more recent life was actually a Chilango. Either way, it's a definite upgrade. 

As for getting to it, Piccadilly Circus is the nearest tube.

Head for the neon sign on Brewer Street

Where should we meet for a drink first?

Being bang in the centre of Soho, there are obviously a lot of options here. The closest one to recommend is Bar Lina, an excellent speakeasy-style bar hidden under the nearby original Line Stores deli. A little further away (just a couple of minutes), we'd also recommend Soma, the bar by the Kricket Team that's just under their Soho restaurant. 

The cocktails at Khao Bird shouldn't be missed either - we'll get back to those in a bit...

Where should we sit?

The restaurant is much bigger than the neon-adorned frontage suggests. The restaurant goes back quite a bit, leading to the open kitchen at the rear (see the photo at the top of the page). But there's also another room upstairs, not actually used in its Chilango days and this is where the adult cinema was. Both spaces are great choices (there's even a small bar for serving drinks on the top floor) and were absolutely packed on our December visit. 

As for the best table, we grabbed the one right at the front window, seating about four, and we'd highly recommend that.

Upstairs at Khao Bird. Yes, apparently there used to be an adult cinema up here. 

So what about the food?

Skipping to the end, the food here is fantastic. We'd been to the Borough Market residency and enjoyed it, but this is a distinct cut above that and Khao Bird has clearly raised its game for the Soho opening. Every dish we had was very, very good and we'd easily recommend everything highlighted below. We did order a little too much mind, so we'd say stick to 2-3 small plates and a bigger dish each for the main. They're also extremely generous when it comes to the jasmine rice (£3.80), so don't over-order that. 

As you'll probably imagine, several of the dishes are billed as being on the spicy side, but from our experience, we'd say they're still on the lighter end of that compared to some of London's hottest Thai dishes. With all that in mind, here are our highlights:

While you're deciding what to order, get the beef jerky (£5.50). Based on a version from Chiang Mai's Kafe 1985 and pounded with lime leaves, this is a strong start. You'll want to order another portion straight after. 

Mutton Fries (£10.40) are actually large chips topped with a braised Burmese mutton curry, sour cream and crispy leaves. This would also work as a great side for one of the larger dishes. 

Beef and Camparil larb - a steak tartare with galangal, mah kwaen relish, chilli and burger lettuce on tofu crackers. Billed as spicy, we'd say this is perfectly pitched heat-wise. If you like good beef tartare, this amps up the heat nicely. 

Talking of heat, if you're looking for something warming in the colder weather, their version of Khao Soi is what to have. They say they make the "hill country version" with egg noodles two ways, a coconutty broth, sweet soy, pickled mustard greens and chilli relish. You can have this with BBQ lemongrass chiken but just LOOK at the BBQ brisket on this version!

There are regular specials on the blackboard. On our visit, there was a whole fried sea bass with beetroot som yam for £25 and this crispy sour pork belly with garlic, coriander and ginger sauce (£15.90). Really living up to the "crispy" part of the billing, you should absolutely get this if it's on the board. 

What about dessert?

There's just one dessert, as there was at their residency, and it's still 100% worth finishing up with this:

The doughnut bao (£6.90) - a deep-fried bao with either cinnamon or coconut choc chip ice cream. We still haven't worked out how to eat this without making an almighty mess, but it's still worth having. 

So, back to the drinks?

There is one cocktail on the menu that we missed but has become one of their signatures since our visit - the "I Am Broke", which is a double vodka (proudly advertised as from Lidl, no less), lime and soda for £7.90 - easily one of Soho's great steals on the cocktail front right now. The Chiang Mai Milk Punch sounds like a must-have, but was unfortunately off the menu when we visited - although the frozen margarita was a good substitute:

The frozen "white lotus", a lemongrass and lychee margarita (£10.70) and the non-alcoholic Burmese milk tea with grass jelly (£5.70)

There's a good selection on the no-alcohol list here too, while wines start at a very reasonable £33 a bottle (a St Felix Sauvignon/vermintino) with a few orange options on the list as well as some highlighted wines from Alsace winery Josmeyer. Ultimately, the one-pager drinks list a great edit of excellent choices.  

Overall thoughts

Late last year, there was a bit of a boom of new Thai restaurants, not to mention the return of Som Saa. Yet even with that strong competition, Khao Bird really does stick out as a fantastic new Soho gem. It's well-priced, we love the look of the rooms (upstairs or downstairs), and the food is excellent throughout (we didn't even mention the great Shan BBQ meatballs or the fried Burmese tofu - both also worth a try). If, like us, you're catching up on some of the many new openings of late 2025, this needs to be high up on your list.