Yai will open on Blandford Street in Marylebone in early 2027.
The restaurant comes from Luke Farrell, founder of Speedboat Bar and Plaza Khao Gaeng.
The menu will focus specifically on the food and ingredients of Phuket and southern Thailand.
The new restaurant comes from the team behind Speedboat Bar and Plaza Khao Gaeng.
The UK’s Thai dining scene is about to welcome an ambitious new arrival. Yai will open in Marylebone, London in early 2027, bringing the flavours and culinary traditions of Phuket to the capital through a fine dining format.
The restaurant comes from chef and restaurateur Luke Farrell, the founder of Chaiyo Restaurants and the man behind Speedboat Bar and Plaza Khao Gaeng. While those concepts channel the energy of Bangkok’s Chinatown and the fiery cooking of southern Thailand respectively, Yai will head in a different direction, pairing a fine-dining approach with a relaxed atmosphere and dishes designed for sharing.
Taking over 43 Blandford Street, a Marylebone address previously home to Il Baretto, Yai will unfold across two floors. The interiors will draw inspiration from an ancestral Phuket home, while a large open kitchen will sit at the heart of the restaurant. Charcoal cooking and food preparation will take place in view of diners, putting the techniques behind the menu firmly on display.
Food will focus specifically on Phuket and southern Thailand rather than offering a broad survey of Thai cuisine. Although individual dishes have yet to be announced, ingredients already confirmed include Songkhla shrimp paste, Betong soy sauce, Pattani sea salt, Phatthalung palm sugar and Sangyod rice. The restaurant will also draw on produce cultivated at Farrell’s Ryewater Nursery in Dorset, where he grows regional Thai herbs, chillies, green papaya, limes and other specialist ingredients that are difficult to source in Britain.
Farrell has spent many years immersed in Thai food and culture, and his London restaurants have increasingly focused on the country’s regional cooking. Plaza Khao Gaeng, which first opened in 2022, specialises in southern Thai cuisine, while Speedboat Bar takes its inspiration from the late-night restaurants and drinking culture of Bangkok’s Yaowarat Road. Both concepts have since expanded across London.
Yai will once again see Farrell work alongside JKS Restaurants, the hospitality group whose portfolio includes Gymkhana, Trishna, Berenjak, Hoppers and BAO. The partnership has previously helped develop both Plaza Khao Gaeng and Speedboat Bar, but Yai signals a step into more elevated territory.
Speaking about the project, Farrell said: “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.”
Where: Yai, 43 Blandford Street, Marylebone, London, W1U 7HF
When: Opening early 2027
Contact: https://yairestaurant.com