Age: Ooh, a year or so.
Previous incarnation: Former watch repair workshop. The eye-catching flower store Aflorum, also owned by the same people, is next door.
Where exactly is it? On the lower – lowest – slopes of Caledonian Road (read our guide here), near the curving, historic Keystone Crescent; almost right up where it rubs shoulders with The Scala, in fact.
So what goes on there? It can be summed up by the Thai saying quoted on the website: ‘Kin Dee, Yuu Dee, Mee Suk’, which literally means ‘Eat Well, Live Well, Be Happy’.
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Too cryptic. Well, in short this is one of the best new wave Thai restaurants in London – and even better, chef-proprietor Wichet Khongphoon is actually Thai (no offence to the likes of Smoking Goat, Kiln et al). “For Thais, food is such an important part of life that they will often ask you what you’ve had to eat before asking how are you,” he says. And, on the evidence of our visit, he knows his shizzle. The menu matches classics like pad thai and spring rolls with its own specialities, listed on a separate sheet (make sure you see both). And the place has enjoyed a spike of popularity after a broadsheet rave or two.
What should I eat? Literally everything. Or everything you can possibly afford/ have room for. “Food taste (sic) better when shared,” the menu cutely warns those who don’t like divvying up their dinner. So give in and share away with gusto.
We devoured four plates, two small and two larger. Kung sarong were fried prawns (£7.50) wrapped in what appeared to be a crispy hairdo of noodles, served with the fruity tang of a dipping sauce with notes of chilli. A good start, sure, but it was an accompanying plate of thai squids (£7.50) that were attention-grabbing, the tender flesh slathered in sharp, sweet, sour tamarind sauce, with just the right level of heat, and hit after hit of flavour. A squeeze of lime added the needed note of acidity.
What else? Mains are better still: moo hong is melting Phuket-style pork belly (£11.50) in five spices and dark soy sauce, with spring onion and aromatic coriander. But top tip is geng ped, a serious duck curry (£12.50), whose flesh came away from the bone with the most casual tap of the fork, the leg bathing in a generous bowl of the richest sauce, lifted by a duo of oh-so-floral lychees. Perfectly-executed jasmine rice mopped up the juices, while a side of beans lay piled up on a terrific umami-rich shrimp paste.
The interior: Discuss. Pared-back, with a touch of quirk: a neon sign illuminates the stairs down to the bathroom, with framed pottery prints and bamboo trays lining the walls. Customers are crammed into all corners and every available spot: we perched by a shelf lined with candles in jars, and the odd ming vase, a good vantage point to survey a crowd that seemed excited to be there.
And what do I drink? Next time we’d go for the local Hammerton beer, brewed a short hop further up the Cally Road; it would match the heat of the dishes admirably. This time we ordered red wine, a pretty poor Montepulciano (£19) to be honest, the kind that can’t be more than a couple of quid in a discount retailer.
What’s the service like? The queue was already out the door when we arrived at 8pm, with potential customers waiting, shuffling, while nothing seemed to happen. After five minutes, a waitress appeared and asked if we didn’t mind sitting at the counter, as no-one else was taking it . And while we were surprised she didn’t write our order down, there were no mis-steps, and the food arrived swiftly.
Do say: ‘This is one of the best restaurants in north London.”
Don’t say: ‘Where’s Ekachai?’
Main image: Supawan (PR)
