A LEADING UK restaurant has shut its doors after a shock fire.
Som Saa based in Spitalfields, East London, suffered “significant damage” following a kitchen blaze.
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The Thai restaurant’s closure was announced on Monday via Instagram by joint owners Andy Oliver, a former MasterChef finalist, and Mark Dobbie.
The duo said: “Sad news: Yesterday we had a fire our kitchen extraction system.
“It got bad quickly, and we had to evacuate.
“All the team are safe and well, but we have significant damage to repair and a large clean-up to do.”
The pair also thanked the London Fire Brigade.
They said the emergency services “were in the building, saving the day,” just three minutes after 999 was called.
Oliver and Dobbie confirmed that the restaurant will remain closed at least until the end of the week.
But they admitted: “We don’t yet know when we can reopen.
“Our team have been getting in contact with impacted bookings.
“We will post updates (and share some learnings from this very scary day) in the coming days.”
Co-owner Andy Oliver achieved notoriety for his cooking on Series Five of MasterChef UK.
He impressed the judges to reach the final, only to be pipped at the post by fellow contestant Mat Follas, who has gone on to run a series of successful restaurants such as the Wild Garlic.
Nonetheless Andy decided to become a full-time chef after his TV success, and began working at the Michelin-starred Nahm restaurant in London.
Here, under the tutelage of David Thompson, the “Pad-Father” of Thai Cooking in the UK, he met Mark Dobbie in 2009.
After hitting it off in Nahm, the pair decided to go into business together, and launched Som Saa in a pub garden in Peckham in 2013.
Their Southern-Thai pub grub was a huge hit with the punters.
Remarkably, they crowdfunded an upgrade of Som Saa into a permanent restaurant in Spitalfields in 2016.
In 2023, the pair opened Kolae in Borough Market, which also offers Southern Thai cuisine.
The new restaurant received the remarkable accolade of a Bib Gourmand at the 2025 Michelin Guide Ceremony for Great Britain and Ireland.
Kolae remains open and operational despite the fire to its sister restaurant, Som Saa.
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