NO SOONER had Splendid Kitchen (pictured) revealed their departure from Manchester’s blooming food and drink scene than another restaurant announced its opening at the John Dalton Street site. My Thai, an informal street food franchise, plans to open there as soon as Friday 24 June; with a smaller branch in the Northern Quarter - focusing on vegan and fish dishes - to follow this autumn.
We don’t even have serviettes, there’s a toilet roll on each table...
Founded in Bradford in 2014 by Simon Grybas and his Thai business partner, Bee Laltham, My Thai now boasts an additional two venues in Leeds and one in York. The duo met when Grybas, formerly General Manager of a hotel chain, used to dine frequently in Bee’s Bradford-based restaurant.
“There’s a lot of banter in our restaurants,” says Grybas. “Customers can anticipate a serving of comedy with their food. The emphasis is on a friendly, informal atmosphere and authentic Thai cuisine that’s very affordable. Plus you can mix things up a bit; we don’t mind here if you want a dessert before your starter.
"All the menus are different at each site but customers can expect all the Thai classics at every branch. I’d particularly recommend the Gra Pow Moo Sub (wok fried minced pork, chilli, green beans, bamboo and holy basil) - served in the traditional Thai manner with jasmine rice and a fried egg on top.”
Freshness is also of utmost importance at My Thai, with staff packed off to buy local produce each morning. Herbs alone are imported from Thailand, with a weekly delivery.
My Thai will occupy the former Splendid Kitchen site
Typical mains cost between £6-£8 (image credit: couscousbangbang)Owing to Buddhist traditions, meanwhile, Bee ensures that each restaurant is ‘free from bad karma’. Searching for sites is often a long process, admits Grybas, because Bee won’t open anywhere there’s a similar offering nearby for fear of harming anyone else’s business. My Thai also give a portion of their profits to charity, whilst all branches are blessed by local Buddhists on opening (let’s hope that all this good karma speeds up the Metrolink 2CC works which supposedly spelled Splendid Kitchen’s demise).
Talking of which, the new restaurant will be taking on eight of Splendid’s former staff, who are currently in training with My Thai.
“We’ve been impressed by their enthusiasm,” says Grybas, “since staff at other venues are predominantly Thai, it’s nice to see them working together, bridging two cultures. It’s a new experience for us as well”.
As for the decor? “Plenty of gimmicks - yes, we have tuk tuks - and we’ve also commissioned a French graffiti artist who’s done a lot in NQ to decorate the walls. Despite the trend for labelling things as ‘street food’, we don’t take the name in vain: all our food is cooked with love, on instinct, and customers dine with metal cups and melamine tableware - exactly like in Thailand.
"We don’t even have serviettes, there’s a toilet roll on each table” (Hmm, we’re not sure that’s a selling point) “and furniture will be a mixture of reclaimed and imported. Plus, there’s an open kitchen so diners can see exactly what they’re getting”.
Whilst opening is anticipated later this week, Grybas says the first couple of weeks will be spent settling in before an official launch.
Napkins or no, Simon says we can expect an experience that - true to their motto - is ‘as Thai as possible’.
My Thai will open on John Dalton Street on Friday 24 June
Powered by Wakelet
