Pallavi Singh reminisces about the iconic restaurant as it prepares to move to the bright lights of Shoreditch
Singburi stunned Leytonstone last month, announcing it was moving to the breeding ground for all things trendy Shoreditch. As a frequent customer, I wanted to write a goodbye letter to the legendary Leytonstone establishment which has long been recognised as a hidden Waltham Forest gem (until it wasn’t).
The influencer community played a pivotal role in catapulting Singburi to the very top of London’s food scene. Some could say the “virality” meddled in a long, steady marriage and ultimately inspired Singburi’s decision to walk away and reinvent itself in Central London.
Truthfully I was bitter and heartbroken for a couple of days. The press had caught on and it was hard to not obsessively read every new article with the hope that perhaps Singburi was considering holding on to the original location as well.
We have since learnt that a new restaurant from a local husband and wife duo will set up shop in Singburi’s stead. The surrounding area historically has been dominated by independent business sustained by a devoted community so it goes without saying that Leytonstoners will lend their support once more for this new venture.
Change is never easy. While I may have likened this shift to a broken marriage, as I walked past Singburi’s shuttered storefront in the days that followed, it became increasingly clear that this loss actually mirrored the fading of a long friendship; the kind that quietly drifts, not with anger or malice but the bitter-sweet understanding that life opens doors that may lead in different directions.
In Singburi’s case, Sirichai, who inherits the restaurant from his parents, is rightfully carving out his own path by modernising the restaurant and making it accessible to more Londoners. Singburi will no longer be a short bus ride or walk away from us, but I expect us Leytonstoners will be the first to jump on a tube and raise a glass of house wine (rest in peace BYOB) to an old friend moving up in the world who will always be dear to us.
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