Bangkok Diners Club isn’t your standard Thai restaurant. It’s a fire-fuelled, flavour-first celebration of one of the world’s most vibrant cuisines, reimagined through the smoky lens of US barbecue culture. Brought to life by Ben and Bo Humphreys — the duo behind the much-missed, Michelin-listed District — this new project brings heat, heart and innovation to the upstairs kitchen of the Edinburgh Castle in Ancoats.
The concept was born from a lifetime of eating and cooking together, rooted in Bo’s Bangkok heritage and refined over years of kitchen collaboration and travel. A trip through Miami’s barbecue joints sparked something new — a bold mash-up of slow-smoked techniques with the complex flavour layering of regional Thai cooking. It’s all here on the menu, but don’t expect gimmicks or shortcuts. Every dish has depth and purpose, from Isan-style sauces packed with lime, chilli and fermented funk to the fragrant earthiness of southern curries.
Smoked mutton ribs in turmeric and coconut curry, ex-dairy beef Nam Tok, and BBQ pork jowl with tomato Nam Jim Jaew are just some of the standout plates, with sharp, citrus-forward som tam salads and charred seasonal veg providing contrast. It’s communal food, made for sharing, with spice levels that tingle and build rather than overwhelm.
While there’s no allegiance to a single region of Thailand, the food remains grounded in tradition — honouring the balance of sweet, sour, salty and spicy that defines the cuisine. Dishes pull in techniques and ingredients from across the country: southern turmeric, northern spices, northeastern tang, all filtered through open flame.
The atmosphere channels the same easy generosity as a street-side meal in Bangkok, where food is fuel for connection. That same energy now pulses through the Edinburgh Castle — a historic Manchester pub that’s once again playing host to one of the city’s most exciting kitchens. Bangkok Diners Club is smart, soulful, and unmistakably one of a kind.
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