Kolae is in a former coach house and has a sophisticated New York neighbourhood eatery air; all exposed brick and intimate seating stacked over three floors, with old time rock’n’roll playing at a tasteful background volume. Food comes from the same team as Shoreditch's Som Saa, so expect full-throttle Thai flavours, including amazing mussel skewers, red kabocha squash, crunchy kale and herb fritters with fermented chilli and cashew nuts, sour mango salad with roasted coconut and dried fish and wild sea bass curry.
With the twin food heavens of Borough Market and Bermondsey Street at its heart, plus an abundance of hidden restaurant gems, you’ll struggle to eat badly in SE1, an area of London with something for every taste and budget. Eating around London Bridge is like a backpacking world tour these days, and our selection includes picks from the global melting pot. Kolae does phenomenal southern Thai slow cooking, while serious Spanish style can be found at Pizarro. Mexico is represented by the brilliant reboot of Santo Remedio and taco joint El Pastor, while Rambutan does Sri Lankan heat extremely well. And that's just for starters. Here are our favourite restaurants near London Bridge.
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Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.