Thai Express Kitchen chooses Edinburgh's St James Quarter for its first Scottish venue

A global eatery brand known for its fresh take on traditional Thai food has officially opened the doors of its first ever Scottish venue in Edinburgh’s St James Quarter.

Thai Express Kitchen offers Edinburgh foodies casual dining and a licensed bar, centred around an open-plan kitchen, with expert wok chefs cooking to order and using fresh and seasonal produce.

The Edinburgh restaurant features Scotland’s first example of double decker restaurant seating – inspired by a setup popular across Southeast Asia.

Also offering food on the go, it serves a selection of traditional Thai and custom dishes, including pad Thai, papaya salad and its popular Thairatcha wings – with customers able to customise dishes to their preferred spice level.

Nick Peel, MD of St James Quarter with Lam Ly.

The launch is an exciting moment for Uzma and Sachin Pattani, who brought the 300-outlet “Thai Express” brand to the UK in 2012.

As the first Thai Express “Kitchen”, Edinburgh will be the eighth and largest setting, with the dining in element a much bigger focus. The St James Quarter restaurant joins similar buzzy locations including Croydon, Wembley and Birmingham.

St James Quarter: Edinburgh’s ‘most significant transformation since the Castle’ opens after half a decade of construction

The opening marks the moment Sachin, 42, who has overseen the £500,000 transformation of the site, hands over operations to his 35-strong team who will oversee the day to day running of the venue.

Thai Express Kitchen Double Decker Booth

He said: “Our launch events could not have been more successful and we are delighted to have started serving up our world-famous Thai food to the Edinburgh public.

“As our first ever ‘Kitchen’ – a lot of care and hard work has gone in behind the scenes to make this our most creative and extensive venue so far.

“We’re fiercely proud of the business we have built in the UK so far and are looking forward to offering our Scottish customers delicious Thai flavours in a special setting that we hope will get people talking.”

The eatery, within the £1billion St James Quarter’s Leith Street Eats area, will feature 100 covers

The first double-deck dining experience in the St James Quarter development

READ MORE: WATCH: St James Quarter gives viewers a sneak peek into life 'Behind the Quarter' after ten weeks of trading

Originally from Canada, Thai Express is the global leading brand for fast casual Thai Dining – and it attracts a wide audience, from families to students to office workers, with a combination of fresh food at a reasonable price.

For more information about Thai Express Kitchen at St James Quarter, visit: https://thaiexpress.co.uk/ or follow us on Facebook and Instagram

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