Rosa's Thai restaurant set to open in York's Coney Street

Rosa’s Thai will open officially in Coney Street, nextdoor to the city’s Mansion House. It is the 29th in a growing chain, which includes one in the Trinity Centre in Leeds, and started out life as a market stall on London’s Brick Lane.

General manager, Mumu Prasert, said she and her 20-strong team can’t wait to welcome diners across the threshold.

“The quality of the food here is just amazing. I started with Rosa’s three years ago in Leeds and moved to the Birmingham restaurant before coming to York.

“I’ve worked in the kitchens and know how everything is prepared and the high quality of the ingredients we use,” she said.

The chain was set up by celebrated Thai chef Saiphin Moore and her husband Alex in 2007 who started out selling spring rolls from their stall before taking over a cafe called Rosa’s in Spitalfields, and the name stuck.

The 80-cover restaurant - at 1-3 Coney Street, in the building that was formerly Joes’s Kitchen - will serve punchy and flavoursome Thai food inspired by Saiphin’s family recipes, using authentic Thai ingredients alongside. Dishes include fiery drunken noodles, pad Thai and creamy massaman curry.

Rosa’s York is housed in a listed early 18th-century building and retains many of the building’s original features.

Timber framing and exposed brickwalls have been mixed with contemporary touches of plush banquettes and lacquered tile detailing, creating a warm and inviting restaurant that mixes tradition with modern Bangkok comfort, said the spokesperson.

There’s also an enclosed courtyard overlooking the Guildhall at the back of the building for al fresco dining in the warmer months as well as pavement tables out in Coney Street itself.

Rosa's Thai's chilli and basil stir-fry with chicken mince

A spokesperson said: “Rosa’s Thai’s signature dishes are made using the best of Thai produce, including chilli pastes from a husband and wife team in the Huai Yod district and rice noodles from a third generation family business that has made noodles for more than 80 years.

“Menu highlights include familiar Thai dishes including fan-favourite pad Thai and comforting green curry, as well as Rosa’s cult favourites from drunken noodles to stir-fried aubergine with yellow bean sauce, chilli, soy sauce and sweet basil.

“The menu offers plenty of meat-free options for vegetarian and vegan diners, from fluffy sweetcorn cakes with kaffir lime to rich butternut red curry with sweet basil.”

The restaurant is open Monday-Thursday 12pm-10.30pm and on Friday and Saturday from 12pm-11pm with Sunday opening from 12pm-10pm

Reservations are highly recommended and can be made via rosasthaicafe.com/