London & South East

Relaxed Thai dining at Naamyaa

 Naam Yaa- London

Alan Yau, founder of Wagamama, Hakkasan and the Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant Yauatcha, has just launched Naamyaa, a new concept in Thai dining.

Naamyaa is a sister restaurant brand to Busaba Eathai and the design is based on the eclectic cafes of Bankok which offer authentic Thai dishes alongside western items.

Since the first Busaba restaurant opened in 1998, the brand has expanded throughout London and there is now a restaurant outside the capital in Bicester Village shopping outlet in Oxfordshire.

The combination of its stylish interior, relaxed atmosphere and delicious food provide London with a youthful yet sophisticated dining venue which is increasing in popularity; there is now ten Busaba restaurants open in total. The 110-cover Naamyaa restaurant provides a more approachable, all-day focused and slightly cheaper menu to sister brand Busaba.

The main contractor was PBH Shopfitters and the architect was Cotton Thompson Cole. David Archer Designs, having previously worked with Yau on Aaya and Hakkasan, created the interiors for the restaurant. These feature modern lighting, handmade Thai bricks and ceramic tiles which reflect old Siam traditions.

The menu features a breakfast, lunch and dinner which showcases the naamyaa sauce after which the restaurant is named – cooked in traditional terracotta pots and served with fresh rice noodles.

Steve Moss from PBH Shopfitters said:

“We took Naamyaa from a bare ground floor shell unit to a completed, stylish restaurant. This involved firstly raising the entire floor by 400mm so we could incorporate the new drainage, onto which a Terrazzo floor was laid. All services are exposed and framed inside perimeter oak beams. We also created all of the structural display walls”.

“Two of the main feature walls are stepped displays which house the “Lucky Ladies”– gold religious effigies – the walls are uplit to enhance the stepped effect.

“Either side of the restaurant are large formatted tiled walls which again are a Thai design. These have been commissioned and printed in the UK.”

The new restaurant is within The Angel Building, Islington and opened November 19th 2012.

Steve said:

“The building has won some design awards recently but basically it’s a multi storey office block with Naamyaa situated to the left of the main atrium reception “

“All the timber, beams, doors and joinery are in oak and manufactured in-house and it’s all been finished to compliment the design. There are a lot of leather twined screens which again came from Thailand and are used to separate the restaurant area”.

“The main challenge was that we have very high profile neighbours and there were severe noise restictions imposed on ourselves.

“This is an important contract because they are a new client for ourselves, it’s the first contract we’ve been involved with Busaba and Naamyaa and we’re hopeful that its success will maintain our current relationship with them.”

North Design worked alongside David Archer Designs to create graphics for the brand, which is used on signage, menus, crockery, flooring and the walls of the restaurant.

The branding uses an elephant icon and a colour palette of purple-blue, gold, burnt orange and white.

Sean Perkins, North Design founding partner said:

“The identity used on the menus and graphics is like a kit of parts that all comes together in a very eclectic way, just like Thailand itself.

“We tried to capture that eclecticness in the identity – it’s a bit of a car crash but we like it. There are a lot of textures and patterns.

“The identity, as with what we’ve done in the past, evolves from an initial brief about the food platform. We researched into it and that’s where the inspiration comes from, so we had to choose a font that has both Thai and Latin characters. It’s an eclectic mix of icons and references to the food.”

David Archer, Director at David Archer Designs said:

“The design of Busaba has developed over the last ten years and the constraints on our time have changed – we spent a long time on the development of the initial site, but on some of the Busaba Eathai restaurants we have times when we have had two or three other projects on. Luckily as the main concept is adaptable we have been able to work successfully on these restaurants.

“Now we want to do the same with Naamya which will expand the brand outside London. It is important to us to have been involved in the development and creation of a vibrant, attractive, imaginative business that’s active across London and we are looking forward to the new phase that Naamyaa will bring.

“Really what’s been good is that it’s been an ongoing relationship with the client for 10 years and it has been great to sustain.”

PBH Shopfitters

PBH Shopfitters provide full-service interior refurbishment to companies nationwide. With extensive experience in the retail, leisure and commercial sectors, they work closely with project managers, designers and architects to ensure designs are realised to exacting standards and clients’ expectations are met and exceeded wherever possible.

PBH Shopfitters pride themselves on the craftsmanship, skill and service they provide. The quality of work that they do is illustrated by long-standing relationships with a number of high profile designers and architects and repeat business from numerous clients.

PBH Shopfitters have Altius Assured Vendor/SSIP Certification status for their health and safety standards on site and are committed to delivering each project to the highest specification on time, every time.

Steve Moss said:

“We take pride in the quality of our workmanship and meeting the clients’ requirements.”

Delta Contracts Ltd 

Founded in 1986, Delta mainly supplies clubs, pubs and bars with all types of associated metalwork including footrails and handrails and overbar units. Delta Display has now progressed to become Delta Contracts Ltd, operating directly with clients and main contractors alike.

With the ultimate aim of achieving the best aesthetic results Delta presents clients with accurate 3D models to give them a better understanding of how the project will look when completed.

Recently Delta has worked to deliver Naam Yaa Restaurant with stainless steel decorative metalwork.

Delta supplied a large suspended, satin polished stainless steel over bar unit including bespoke integrated led lighting channels, glass shelving, glass panelling and glass screen.

When asked how Delta sets itself apart, Director of Delta Contracts ltd, Chris Wood said:

“We pride ourselves on working closely with designers who push the boundaries. Our job is to work with the main contractor and to achieve the ultimate design solution.”

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Roma Publications