Speedboat Bar.

Speedboat Bar

Luke Farrell keeps a jungle microclimate at Ryewater Nursery in Dorset and grows the regional Thai herb varieties, green papaya, Thai limes and chillies himself, because as Jay Rayner put it, imported frozen herbs are diminished (The Observer; venue site).

Why go

It opened on Rupert Street in September 2022, on the site of Xu, as Farrell's second project with JKS Restaurants after Plaza Khao Gaeng, and it is now the anchor of his own Chaiyo Restaurants group (venue FAQ; Harden's). The subject is narrow and the execution is literal: the Thai-Chinese cooking of Yaowarat Road in Bangkok's Chinatown, made in London's. About 20 dishes, no filler, built around a row of flaming woks and a huge torpedo-shaped bullet oven made to roast meat until it's perfectly crispy on the outside and perfectly succulent on the inside (The Nudge). Farrell spent nearly 18 years living in Thailand and the herbs come off his own nursery, which is the whole argument for the place (venue site). The room follows the same logic: strip lighting, stainless-steel tables, Thai sports reruns including sepak takraw on the wall-mounted TVs, staff in a Speedboat football kit, and a pool table upstairs (National Restaurant Awards).

Order this / avoid

• Order: the Tom Yam Mama, the house signature, which the National Restaurant Awards describes as modeled on a long-standing restaurant in the area that combines Mama-brand instant noodles with roasted pork, squid, limes and long leaf coriander to create a fragrant soup2. Then the sweetcorn fritters with their bright orange sweet-sour dipping sauce1, the crispy pork and black pepper curry, and drunkard's seafood and beef noodles. One dessert exists and it is a deep-fried pineapple pie, a straight lift of the 7-Eleven version. Drink a snake blood negroni, made from a medicinal blend of Thai roots and barks, or a Singha tower.
• Avoid: walking in at peak. The venue keeps some walk-in space, then runs a virtual queue that "can take up to 3 hours during peak times," and it will not seat large walk-in groups at all (venue FAQ). Also note it cannot handle allium allergies, full stop.

What locals & experts say

• Jay Rayner, The Observer (April 2023): The restaurant at 30 Rupert Street, on the edge of London's Chinatown, was once one of the most beautiful in the city. Now it's one of the most dynamic. On the fit-out, this space is just as clever and just as beguiling an exercise in restaurant stage-setting as its previous incarnation. On the plate: Everything here is vivid and candy-coloured and maximum wattage, including the food. His caveat, in Harden's summary of the piece, is that the spice and atmosphere can become a little relentless.1
• Harden's diners' survey: A bit mad and a lot great, and elsewhere Chaotic and a bit mad, but actually brilliant. The most useful line for a cook: Full-flavoured dishes are authentically and unashamedly packed with the core Thai flavours of sweet, sour, fire and salt.3
• National Restaurant Awards (top 100 profile, edition not stated): Proof that not every restaurant on this list is a polished high-end dining room, with the verdict that it is an undeniably fun restaurant with a seriously authentic food offer.2
• Local rec: Jeff has it from many Instagram recommendations. REAL, and community signal rather than expertise.

Good to know

• Timing: Monday to Thursday noon to midnight with last food orders at 10.45pm; Friday and Saturday noon to 1am with last food at 12.15am; Sunday noon to 11pm with last food at 9.45pm (venue FAQ).
• Booking: online only, maximum 12 people, up to three months ahead, card details required, and no phone line at all. Some walk-in space then a virtual queue.
• BYO: wine allowed at GBP 35 corkage per 750ml bottle, GBP 50 for sparkling, notified in advance.
• Dietary: the venue's own FAQ says it caters for most food allergies but "we are unable to accommodate allergies to alliums," and that there is "only a limited selection of dishes that are suitable for coeliacs," with an allergen menu on request. A separate vegan menu exists on request. The meat is not halal.
• Practical: card only, no cash. Children welcome before 7pm only, no prams. No step-free access at the Soho room; the Notting Hill site has it. Small well-behaved dogs on the ground floor.
• Price: at 2023 prices, snacks GBP 5 to 12.50, salads and stir-fries GBP 10 to 14, curries and specials GBP 12 to 25, cocktails GBP 7.50 to 10, wine from GBP 30.
• Hygiene: FSA rating 5 at the Westminster inspection of 27 November 2025 (FSA).
• The other one: Speedboat Bar at The Electric, 191 Portobello Road W11 2ED, opened July 2025 with JKS and Soho House in the former Electric Brasserie. Different room, different hours, and it holds its own FSA 5 from 2 March 2026.

Jeff's take (his words)

• Note: "Many insta recs" REAL.

Verdict

must-visit — The chef grows the herbs. Farrell keeps a jungle microclimate at Ryewater Nursery in Dorset for regional Thai varieties, green papaya, Thai limes and the chillies, specifically because imported frozen herbs are diminished, and then cooks with them over a row of woks and a torpedo bullet oven in a Chinatown sports bar. That combination of agronomy and high-heat cookery does not exist anywhere else in London, the food is GBP 10 to GBP 25 a dish, and Rayner's verdict on the whole thing was 'completely irresistible style'. Go, and take the Tom Yam Mama seriously.