Same Same

Same Same is a Thai restaurant on Ada Lane in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, part of the precinct around The Calile Hotel. Tyron Simon and Frank Li own it.

Simon started out with Longtime, a Thai restaurant on Ann Street that he opened on a shoestring in 2014. Longtime served its last meal in November 2019, and Same Same took over as its successor on Ada Lane that same month. Richards and Spence, the architects of The Calile, designed the room in concrete, cream brick and vermiculite, laid out with precise geometry. A long communal table runs under an arched ceiling, window benches face the lane, and woks hiss and flare in the open kitchen at the center.

The cooking draws on Thai street food and the grill. Chicken is grilled with lemongrass, turmeric, ginger and shallots, and pork neck comes with toasted rice, chili and fish sauce. Curries mix traditional recipes such as panang and massaman with Queensland seafood, as in a turmeric curry with banana prawns. Brisket is cooked slowly and served with green guava and a rice roasted with coconut.

Small plates include betel leaves with eggplant and pomelo, and prawn tacos in shells of rice paper. A whole crispy fish arrives with a dressing of several chilies, and desserts lean on tamarind and pandan. Upstairs, a green-tiled bar called Los pours from a long list of tequilas. The restaurant itself keeps a wine list of around 140 bottles to match the spice.