This bright, neon-lit gem opened in September 2022. It was the idea of British chef Luke Farrell, who is very good at Thai food and has spent years studying Thai food while living in Dorset, London, and Thailand.
His first restaurant, Plaza Khao Gaeng, opened with the help of the increasingly popular JKS. It was an instant hit, getting great reviews from almost all of the national newspapers soon after it opened in the spring of last year.
His second, Speedboat Bar, came out later that same year. It’s safe to say that his tribute to Bangkok’s Chinatown has taken off. Or, better yet, speed down the river…
Speedboat Bar gets its name from the bright lights of Bangkok’s Chinatown and the exciting sport of speedboat racing along the city’s canals, or klongs. The two-story restaurant’s main eating areas have a simple, stainless steel design that looks like a Thai-Chinese shophouse. The upstairs clubhouse bar has signed portraits of speed boat racers and plays Thai pop, turbo folk, and molam music over the speakers. Be careful not to down a few jelly biases while you’re up there.
Many of the Thai herbs and ingredients used in the food are grown at Farrell’s nursery in Dorset, Ryewater. This gives the flavors realness, like in the chicken matchsticks (chicken wings cut in half lengthwise) with a cute tangle of shredded green mango salad or the clams stir-fried in nahm prik pao, a dish that is popular in Bangkok Chinatown restaurants like the famous TK Seafood.
The name of this signature is a tribute to the famous Jeh O Chula, which is on the edges of Yarowat, and her famous Tom Yam Mama Noodles. We’ve eaten the original more times than we’d like to admit in public, and we can say that Speedboat’s version is just as good.
Don’t forget to save room for the pineapple-filled pie, which is a nod to the Ezy Bake pies you can get at 7-Eleven stores all over Thailand. Be careful, these flaky babies go fast, so if you want something sweet, place your order at the start of the meal.
It’s possible that Speedboat Bar is better than taking a bus to Thailand in the coming months if you can’t use that time to go there.
