A Thai restaurant whose “unapologetically spicy” cooking is based around pastes pounded by hand using a pestle and mortar opens tomorrow in Peckham, from a pair of chefs who have worked in some of London’s most exciting Thai kitchens.
Kruk – a mash-up of Thai words ‘klook’ meaning to mix or stir and ‘krok’ meaning mortar – is the debut restaurant as owners from Rob Willcox and Josh Lyons, childhood friends who grew up in East Dulwich and Peckham and who between them have worked at Som Saa, The Begging Bowl, Plaza Khao Gaeng and Farang.
They say: “We wanted something that sounded real, raw and punchy. Kruk also plays on the English word ‘crook’, a nod to London’s gritty charm, its edge. No actual crooks allowed though, just good people and big flavours by hook or kruk.
“We want Kruk to be less stuffy and formal, somewhere you can come for a good time as well as a great meal, with a real push towards being sustainable.”
Their menu includes many ingredients they ferment themselves, from lotus root to mustard greens and homemade yellow sriracha, and every dish on the menu comes in both omnivore and vegan versions.
Kruk is at 230 Blenheim Grove, a couple of minutes’ walk from Peckham Rye station and almost opposite well-known restaurant Levan.