After launching two Speedboat Bars and three Plaza Khao Gaengs – all about casual, uncompromising Thai dining – Luke Farrell is going fancy. The chef-restaurateur will open Yai in Marylebone in early 2027. It will lean more fine dining than his other restaurants and focus in on the cuisine and culture of Phuket, Thailand’s biggest island, where seafood plays a starring role.
“Our ambition is to transplant the cuisine of Phuket into London at a level not previously attempted, rather than define itself against London’s existing Thai landscape,” Farrell said in a statement. “We’re excited to bring this new dimension of southern Thai culture and cuisine to the city.”
Farrell and his team will harness classic southern-Thai ingredients, ranging from deeply umami shrimp paste from Songkhla and Pattani sea salt to palm sugar from Phatthalung. Seafood and fresh produce will be sourced from across Britain, including Farrell’s own greenhouses in Dorset, where he grows ingredients in a tropical climate.
The restaurant will be split across two floors, with an open charcoal-fuelled kitchen. While the menu is currently under wraps, dishes will be for sharing. And though it’s billed as a fine diner, it will be fine dining in its precision and commitment to quality ingredients, without the accompanying formality.
Like Farrell’s other venues, Yai will be opened with JKS Restaurants, which is also behind Ambassadors Clubhouse, Gymkhana, Berenjak and Legado, among others.
Yai opens in early 2027 at 43 Blandford Street, W1U 7HF.
