Bangkok by the slice: Thai Square takes on London’s pizza obsession

Panang curry, pad kra pao and tom yum are being put on sourdough as Thai Square opens Bangkok Mama, a new restaurant concept in the City

London has rarely encountered a cuisine it was unwilling to put on a pizza.

Some experiments deserve to disappear quickly. Others reflect something more interesting about the capital’s appetite for borrowing, combining and occasionally disregarding the culinary rulebook altogether.

Thai Square is now having its turn.

The restaurant group has opened Bangkok Mama at its Minories site in the City, combining Thai curries, street food and familiar home cooking with artisanal sourdough pizza.

It is an unusual proposition, but not an entirely illogical one. Both cuisines depend heavily on the pleasures of heat, acidity, richness and immediacy. The question is whether a pizza base can carry the intensity of a Thai curry without either side of the equation becoming a novelty.

Bangkok Mama is making a fairly determined attempt.

Its pizzas use sourdough bases from Wildfarmed, made with British wheat grown using regenerative farming methods. On top comes a menu that looks considerably more Bangkok than Naples.

The Gang Panang takes the flavours of panang curry and combines beef or prawns with coconut milk, peppers, kaffir lime leaves and curry paste.

More adventurous is the Bangkok Piccante, which borrows from pad kra pao. Beef or tofu is combined with bird’s eye chillies, soy sauce, onions, peppers and crispy basil, before being finished with a fried egg.

Then comes the Tom Yum Goong Crisis, described rather cheerfully as “Mama’s hangover cure”. Mozzarella is joined by roasted chilli oil, tom yum herbs and coriander.

There is at least one concession to pizza traditionalists. The Mamargherita uses San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella and basil, although fresh Thai chillies can be added for anyone who considers a conventional Margherita insufficiently exciting.

The experimentation continues away from the pizza oven.

Laab is packed into crisp spring rolls, while Cheesy Golden Triangles contain mashed potato, carrot and sweetcorn. Dessert includes mango chilli sorbet with a chilli and salt crust, alongside fried tiramisu gelato.

Cocktails and alcohol free drinks have similarly been developed around Thai flavours.

Behind the playful menu sits a more serious restaurant strategy.

Thai Square has been serving Thai food in Britain for years. Bangkok Mama gives the group an opportunity to reach customers outside the conventions of the traditional Thai restaurant, particularly through delivery, where pizza remains exceptionally well suited to the way London now eats.

Haim Danous, Managing Director of Thai Square, said the group wanted to challenge the perception of pizza as straightforward fast food by combining its Thai recipes with an artisanal sourdough base.

“The result is something truly transformative: the familiar comfort of Thai curry, now enjoyed on a crisp, sourdough crust,” he said.

Whether London needs another fusion restaurant is a question diners will answer for themselves. The capital has seen enough culinary combinations to know that novelty alone is rarely sufficient to sustain a restaurant.

But Bangkok Mama has one advantage. It is not combining two obscure ideas in search of an audience. It is putting together two foods London already consumes enthusiastically.

The real test will be whether diners come for the curiosity and return for the pizza.

Bangkok Mama is now open at Thai Square Minories, with dining in, collection and delivery through Deliveroo. To mark the opening, customers buying a pizza can receive a complimentary Chang beer or house wine until September 2.