There's a bit of a mismatch here: an actor making pizza on camera for a shoot promoting Christopher Nolan's new film, yet ending up talking about a completely different cuisine. On July 14, Tom Holland sat down with The New York Times to promote "The Odyssey" (2026), cooking pizza alongside Matt Damon, who plays his father in the film. Mid-interview, the conversation veered off to his favorite restaurant back home—a Thai pub called The Cocoanut in Kingston upon Thames.
This isn't some Instagram-famous spot—it's a family business that's been running for over a decade. The Cocoanut has been open since 2010 and is now on its third generation of ownership, blending a dog-friendly English pub with a Thai kitchen. The menu keeps things homey: pad kra pao, glass noodle salad, garlic black pepper fried rice, pad Thai, and a few curries, with vegetarian options listed separately on their website.
Holland isn't the first in his family to publicly love this place. His brother Sam Holland—who also starred in "The Impossible" (2012), set against the backdrop of the 2004 Thailand tsunami in Khao Lak—visited back in 2024. The coincidence also serves as a reminder that the Holland brothers' connection to Thailand runs deeper than just that one film.
The restaurant takes "proper eating etiquette" seriously. The Cocoanut once posted on Instagram reminding customers that traditional Thai dining doesn't involve chopsticks—instead, you use a fork in your dominant hand to push food onto a spoon held in the other, then bring it to your mouth.
If you want to check it out yourself, the address is 16 Mill Street, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey KT1 2RF. Lunch runs Monday to Saturday from 12pm to 3pm, and dinner service is from 6pm to 11pm.
