Legado, Shoreditch

Location
Borough Yards, London

Client
Chaiyo

Status
Complete

Plaza Khao Gaeng

by Luke Farrell

Plaza Khao Gaeng Borough is a popular market stall serving incredible food that has evolved to support its constant rush of customers. It has organically filled the spaces around it as it has grown. It fills up a railway arch and the alleys and streets that connect it. The front space is a utilitarian restaurant serviced by a rice cart and pop up bar - where the focus is on the food and the atmosphere created in this dramatic double height space.

The space then opens up, down a typical Bangkok style side street,  to reveal a disused "cinema" that the restaurant has taken over. Guests are transported to the original Plaza in a cinema in Bangkok. There are remnants of the faded grandeur of the 1970s cinema and it all beautifully clashes with the stainless steel and fluorescent lights of the restaurant and its kitchen.

The restaurant finds its authenticity in its reference to its original inspiration - it is a faithful adaptation of the Bangkok Plaza. It is loud, bright, colourful and a bit tongue in cheek. Most of all, however, it is a place to enjoy the amazing food in an atmosphere imported straight from Bangkok.