Atique & Moy Choudhury
Yum Yum’s coming to town This summer a new and exciting chapter for Yum Yum Thai Restaurant begins when they open a new branch in The Scene, Cleveland Place, Walthamstow. Starting life as a humble 28-seat eatery in Stoke Newington Yum Yum has grown into one of the largest Thai restaurants in Europe, picking up a host of awards on the way. Dominic Mandrell caught up with founders Atique and Moy and new director Shaz to discuss their latest venture.
You wanted to stay in Stokey Yes we loved the area and luckily 300 yards round the corner, a beautiful Georgian building became available. We moved into it in 2006 and have never looked back. It was a big increase in size. Some said you would struggle to make it work Yes it had a capacity for 500 people, but by then we had built up very loyal customers and a really good kitchen team so we felt confident we could make it work. 22
I heard you now serve over a thousand people a week Yes, the media attention helped. In 2012 we were featured on Channel Four’s the ‘F Word’ with Gordon Ramsay, and we’ve been twice featured on BBC2’s Masterchef. What got you interested in opening a new branch of Yum Yum in Walthamstow? We realised many of our customers were travelling in from E17, E4, E11 and E10 to enjoy our cuisine and service. Plus the borough is going through a healthy phase of regeneration right now so we felt we should be part of that change. Plus you had people like me badgering you as well! Yes, that too! (Laughter) We are very excited to be opening a Yum Yum in Central Walthamstow - the only Thai restaurant offering food and service at this level of quality in the whole borough. The local community is vibrant, progressive and is looking forward to our arrival, so we feel we are in the right place at the right time! Exciting
Photo © Coban Photography www.coban.co.uk
Yum Yum was a key business in the regeneration of Stoke Newington, not many people realise how rough the area was when you first opened. Atique and Moy: Yes, back in 1990 there were boarded up shops on Church Street - but we still saw the potential. The restaurant was small - only 28 covers, but we were successful enough, that before long, we needed bigger premises.