Singburi for Service Works

Singburi is a Thai restaurant founded by Sirichai Kularbwong's parents, Tony and Thelma Kularbwong, in Leytonstone in 1999. Operating as a local neighbourhood restaurant with a iconic blackboard menu for nearly two decades, Singburi was known for dishes like Moo Krob - crispy pork belly with chilli and holy basil, Lamb Laab and Clams with Holy Basil, Garlic, and Chilli. By the early 2020's, hype for Singburi had reached terminal velocity with Timeout, Eater and The Guardian naming it as one of the best restaurants in London, getting a reservation was near impossible.

Then in 2024, the restaurant closed.

Since then, the restaurant has now reopened in a larger site in Shoreditch with Sirichai Kularbwong, Nick Molyviatis and Alexander Gkikas at the helm. Honouring the legacy of the original Singburi whilst introducing the restaurant to new audiences with dishes like Aubergine Pad Phet and Wild Ginger Chicken Thigh and Smoked Tomato Salad.

An Interview with Alexander Gkikas

How do you honour the legacy of the original Singburi in Leytonstone whilst continuing to move forward into a new direction for the restaurant in Shoreditch?

When we originally opened up in Leytonstone, our simple intention was to just cook good food. It sounds cliche, but that’s how we have to honour Sirichai's family’s legacy in Shoreditch. Just cook good food.

What are some of your favourite dishes on the menu right now?

We love the lamb riblets, the crispness of the fat pairs very well with the slight tartness of the tamarind chilli dip. We also like the simplicity of our stir fried cabbage in pork fat - a classic at the old place!

When you’re tired of London, where do you go and how do these trips influence the menu at Singburi?

When we have the chance, we always love to go back to Bangkok, because there is always something new to try. For us the essence of Thai cuisine is that it has always been open to take inspiration from other cultures.

Originally, Thai curries used peppercorns as source of spice, it wasn’t until the arrival of Portuguese traders that Thai people were introduced to chillies. Massaman curry has many differing opinions of its origins, some say it was inspired by a Persian explorer who enchanted Thai royalty, Others believe it was another iteration of Rendang.

At Singburi, we try to be open to not only ingredients but also to cooking techniques such as the smoker, which we use to smoke our tomatoes for salad and Pork belly which we lightly finish off on the grill and serve alongside a burnt chilli dip.

There’s orange and green decor with pastel pink and blue plates running throughout at the restaurant, what inspired the interiors at Singburi?

The design of our Shoreditch site is a nod to the old Singburi. The challenge was figuring out what those elements were and recontextualising them. The orange colour is reminder of the orange ceiling at Singburi in Leytonstone. The green is a reminder of our shutters and the old shop sign (which we still have) and the blue and pink plates are typical of every casual restaurant in Bangkok.