Kiln, the Thai wood-fire restaurant on Brewer Street that has occupied a position near the top of most serious London restaurant lists since opening in 2016, has confirmed it will open a second site in Brick Lane, E1, with a late 2026 opening targeted. The announcement ends a period of sustained speculation about whether Ben Chapman's restaurant would ever expand — and where it would go if it did.
The Brick Lane site will be housed in a converted arched railway unit near the junction with Bethnal Green Road, offering a slightly larger footprint than the cramped but beloved Soho original. Kiln has confirmed the format will remain consistent — a counter-dominated room built around open fire and clay pot cooking informed by the food of the Golden Triangle region of Thailand and Myanmar — though specifics of the menu and kitchen format will evolve to reflect the new space.
Why now, why Brick Lane
Chapman has spoken in the past about his reluctance to expand prematurely and his determination to find a site that felt architecturally and culturally right rather than simply commercially convenient. The Brick Lane railway arch unit — raw, industrial and close to a neighbourhood with a long-established relationship with South and South-East Asian food culture — appears to have satisfied those criteria.
"We weren't looking for growth for its own sake," a spokesperson for the group said. "The Brick Lane space presented an opportunity that felt genuinely right. The bones of it are different from Soho but the spirit of what we want to do there is the same."
The East London site will also allow the group to ease what has become one of London's most persistent booking problems. Kiln Soho operates a walk-in only policy — no reservations — which has meant queues of up to two hours at peak times. The Brick Lane site is expected to maintain the same walk-in format.
What changes, what doesn't
The Brick Lane kitchen will be led by a head chef drawn from the existing Kiln team, with Chapman remaining across both sites in an executive capacity. The menu will share its philosophical foundations with the Soho original — clay pot curries, grilled skewers cooked over charcoal, fermented ingredients and an emphasis on regional specificity — but will not be a direct copy of the Brewer Street menu.
The wine list, which at the Soho site has developed a devoted following for its emphasis on low-intervention producers and unusual varietals from overlooked regions, will be a distinct offering at Brick Lane developed in collaboration with the same buyer.
The opening is expected in November 2026, with further details on the space and team to be announced in the autumn.