london
Farang
• Thai• Highbury
About the restaurant
After a year or two of highly successful pop-ups, chef and founder Sebby Holmes opened Farang permanently in Highbury. With a background in classic British cooking, Holmes changed tack and gravitated towards the punchy flavours of Thailand, being part of the team that opened the original Smoking Goat in Soho and working at the Begging Bowl in Peckham before Farang.
Inside, Farang is classic North London neighbourhood in its look and feel: bare brick and specials written on chalkboards give it a down-to-earth feel without verging into hipster territory.
Like its contemporaries Som Saa and Smoking Goat, Farang builds on Thailand's classic dishes and ingredients but reimagines some of their executions. Jungle curry is hotter than hot, while deep-fried and spiced fish is always worth an order. For something out of the ordinary, the restaurant puts on regular feasting nights, where for £65, diners are treated to a nine-course tasting menu served by the chefs.
Reviews from the Web
Critic reviews
The Infatuation
In Farang’s favour, the food’s good, the menu’s easy to understand, and the staff are great at explaining dishes if you’re not sure what the hell a ‘miang bite’ is.
Time Out
Farang serves some of the most tastebud-smashing Thai food that north London has seen in years. Possibly ever.
Standard
In the Royal Institute Dictionary — the official listing of Thai words — farang is defined as a person of European ancestry. “White boy cooks Thai food” is the way Seb Holmes, head chef and founder of the north London restaurant Farang, puts it.
The Nudge
Everything’s served in both small and larger plate portions, so you can mix & match fragrant stews like Cornish mussels in a coconut-scented green curry broth; spicy meat dishes like flat iron-grilled beef steak with roasted chilli jaew (a kind of dipping sauce); and fresh veggie options like aromatic crispy wontons and dipping vegetables.
- 72 Highbury Park
- N5 2XE
- London
- +44 20 7226 1609
- Visit website
