Speedboat Bar

A canteen in Soho that earns its rating without trying to impress you

This is not a destination built on hype. It is a Thai canteen in Soho that earns repeat custom through consistent cooking, low-ceremony service, a format that works whether you are there for a quick lunch or a longer evening session at the bar upstairs.

Chef Luke Farrell's previous opening, Plaza Khao Gaeng, carries the reputation as the more serious, heat-forward Thai address in London. Speedboat Bar operates with less intensity and more ease; metal tabletops, laminated menus, plastic napkin dispensers, Thai football shirts on the walls, an upstairs room dominated by a pool table and bar. The OAD Casual in Europe 2025 listing confirms the cooking is worth your time, even if the room is not competing on atmosphere.

Lunch is where the value is sharpest

The lunch menu is the clearest argument for booking. Keenly priced dishes include a minced beef with holy basil stir-fry served with rice and a fried egg, purple aubergine with chilli, Thai basil, crisp sweetcorn fritters, both direct executions of Thai canteen cooking done well. If you are deciding between lunch and dinner, lunch wins on value. The price-to-quality ratio at midday is difficult to match in this part of Soho, where competitors in the casual Thai space include Farang and AngloThai, both credible but differently positioned.

Dinner expands the case for the bar side of the operation. The drinks menu is built around Thai-themed cocktails, chasers, Singha beer, a short list of spice-friendly wines, suited to the upstairs room's energy rather than to a focused dining experience. If an evening out at Speedboat Bar sounds appealing, treat the meal as part of a bar visit rather than the main event.

What the kitchen does well

The standout dishes from review data include a tom yam with large, well-cooked prawns, pork belly with crisped crackling, squid, a generous bowl that anchors the savory side of the menu. A cashew, pork crackling, dried prawn salad demonstrates the salty-sweet-sour balance that defines classic Thai cooking. And the pineapple pie, visually close to a fast-food pastry but made with flaky pastry and caramelised fruit, served alongside taro ice cream, is the kind of dish that resolves any doubt about whether this kitchen takes its food seriously. For context on how London's Thai kitchens handle dessert and technique, Kolae and Long Chim offer useful reference points in the same city.

Service is functional and attentive enough, catching someone's eye is easy, which is the minimum you need in a room running at canteen pace. Do not come expecting fine-dining polish; do come expecting food that arrives promptly and tastes as described.

Booking and logistics

Speedboat Bar is an easy book by London standards. Walk-ins are possible, though the Soho location means the room fills reliably at peak times, evenings from Thursday through Saturday and weekend lunches are the busiest windows. If you want to guarantee a table, booking a few days ahead is enough. Groups of four or more may want to plan slightly further in advance to secure the right configuration. Solo diners and pairs have the most flexibility here; the counter and smaller tables are well-suited to two-person or solo visits, the canteen format makes eating alone entirely comfortable.

The address, 30 Rupert Street, W1D 6DL, puts it within easy reach of Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square. For anyone building a wider London itinerary, our full London restaurants guide covers the breadth of the city's dining options, our London bars guide can help extend the evening beyond Speedboat's own upstairs room. If the trip takes you further afield, Waterside Inn in Bray, L'Enclume in Cartmel, and Moor Hall in Aughton represent the country's most ambitious dining rooms at the other end of the formality spectrum. Closer to London, Hand and Flowers in Marlow and Gidleigh Park in Chagford are worth the drive for a very different kind of meal. For Thai cooking at the highest level internationally, Nahm and Samrub Samrub Thai in Bangkok give useful context for where Farrell's cooking sits in a global frame. Our London hotels guide, London wineries guide, and London experiences guide round out the broader trip. For a related UK coastal option at the other end of the formality scale, hide and fox in Saltwood is worth noting.

The verdict

Book Speedboat Bar for lunch if value is the priority, the midday menu makes the strongest case. Go in the evening if you want the bar experience alongside the food. Either way, it delivers honest Thai cooking in a no-frills room that does not require you to plan far ahead or spend significantly. For London's casual Thai category, it is among the more reliable options in central London.