Ikoyi

Impactful exotic flavours

mackerel, caviar and beetroot

Even since it first opened in 2017, Ikoyi has become a highly regarded fine dining restaurant with its unusual approach, blending African flavours along with an Asian touch with modern European techniques. It relocated from St James to the Strand in 2022 to a much bigger space with well spread out tables, and became a tasting menu only restaurant and soon it landed itself a second Michelin star. I never got the chance to experience what the buzz is all about so it is about time for me to set things right and give it a go.

Kima

 Fin to gill

Raw seabass in lemon and olive oil

Kima is a one-of-a-kind seafood restaurant that does something outside the box. It transports diners from the bustling city to the serene shores of the Mediterranean, where the fresh sea breeze mingles with the scent of fresh seafood. This elegant Greek seafood restaurant offers a contemporary dining experience, blending traditional flavours with modern culinary artistry. It has a fresh daily catch counter load with top quality fish, you would find wild seabass, and seabream as well as more rare fishes such as grouper and madai, and Kima has a unique way of serving fish.

Kima

The finest Greek seafood in London?

2.4kg grilled wild Cornish turbot with Greek extra virgin olive oil

I have been on a mission lately to locate restaurants that serve a whole large fish in London, that is not an easy task as many places would only offer fish fillets as seeing a fish head on a dining table can still be offputting for some. After some online research, I came across a Greek restaurant called Kima that is all about seafood, and it has its own fish counter of daily fresh catch which the chef is able to serve in many ways, from raw, fish stew, grilled to steamed etc, this sounds just perfect for me, as cooking a whole fresh fish is no easy task so I was glad to find a place that has such a strong focus in fish cookery. The menu also contains plenty of other seafood items besides whole fish, all cooked in a Greek cuisine manner.

Hide

A new 'Hide'

Grilled lobster with black pepper, pickled rose petals

Located in the smart address of Mayfair, Michelin-starred Hide by chef Ollie Dabbous has gone into a transformation. Beforehand, I recalled it used to have 2 different concepts across 2 floors which was confusing, and I had a very underwhelming meal there. The revamp of the restaurant has since merged the 2 concepts into a pretty standard ALC and tasting menu format. The food offering is still very creative, with a Nordic theme blended with international flavours. For my visit, I opted for the ALC menu and I noticed the restaurant was busy on a random weekend lunch, showing Hide is going strong.

Abajo by Humo

Italian x Japanese counter affair

Squid, courgette, amalfi lemon

I have been writing on this food blog for over 10 years, and lately, I have slowed down catching on trying to visit as many new openings as possible. Instead, I keep going back to places I enjoy and I got to the point that, having eaten around London, I kind of got an idea of what type of food I seek. That is until I encountered Abjano by Humo. I am always a bit funny about fusion cooking, but when I discovered a hidden counter dining fusion restaurant overseen by a sushi master Endo Kazutoshi, I couldn't ignore it, and it turned out I enjoyed it so much I went back again a few months later...

Humo

Fire and smoke

8-day aged yellowtail, citrus sauce & Castillo coffee

I have always been a massive fan of BBQ cooking, when things are cooked over an open fire, the charred and smoky flavours, work wonders no matter if it is vegetables, meat, or seafood. Launched in 2023, Humo has taken the fire cooking concept to another level. The open kitchen has a bespoke wood fire device, and its cuisine takes inspiration from Japan, with an injection of international flavours, from South America to Europe. I was lucky enough to secure a counter dining space, watching chefs at work with the impressive open-fire griller.

Abajo by Humo

Fusion counter dining  

Tuna, smoked artichoke, Amalfi lemon

I always love a good counter dining experience, watching chefs at work, turning out small plates, and having them explain what they are doing is an eye-opener. Abajo is somewhat taking it to the next level. It is hidden downstairs of another restaurant called Humo, and it focuses on European and Asian fusion in a tasting menu format over 5 steps, with each step containing a few dishes which you would end up eating over 12 dishes. It is headed up by Italian chef Giacomo Tranquilli who also worked at La Dam de Pic London in the past.

Restaurant einsunternull Berlin

 Technical supreme fine dining joint

Char, salad, brown butter

To round off my Berlin trip on a high, I happened to pick Einsunternull for a few reasons, it is only a 1 min walk from my hotel. Another factor is if I compare the food presentation to other Berlin Michelin-starred restaurants, it appears its refine level is a notch above most, visually very impressive. The restaurant label itself approaches cooking in the Berliner manner with a creative touch, as I am a tourist with a very open mind, I was more than happy just to sit back and see what Einsunternull has to offer me.

Cordo Berlin

Casual vibe with innovative food

canapes of sturgeon, shrimp and wagyu

Unlike Spanish, Italian, or French cuisine, German cuisine is hardly on travelers' top list to try, so it wasn't easy for me when I was researching where to eat when I got a trip to Berlin. Interestingly enough, Germany has more Michelin-starred restaurants than the UK, and far more 3 stars too. While Berlin is not the biggest city in Europe, and most things are within walking distance, it is packed with restaurants, many new Asian concepts, and high-end western venue openings. I came across Cordo as somewhere close enough to the center and has a casual vibe despite being a high-end venue with a tasting menu only format, but in a very relaxing manner with no dress code, just what I need in the summer when wearing a shirt and jacket is a tough demand.

The Glasshouse Kew

The ideal neighborhood restaurant

Veal, tuna, capers and asparagus

When I used to work at Hammersmith, the classy neighborhood restaurant La Trompette is perhaps the finest restaurant in the area. Since I moved to East London, heading west is not really high on my agenda, but that changed when I decided to take a day out to visit Kew Garden, heading back to La Trompette was on my mind. Then I discovered its sister restaurant Glasshouse is actually located right by the Kew Garden tube station, and I noticed the menu format and price is in fact the same as La Trompette, so the visit to Kew Garden was perfect for me to try out the 1 starred Glasshouse.

Lyle's

Modern international cuisine 

Raw Scallop, Pink Grapefruit & Smoked Roe

10 years ago, people would associate fine dining/ Michelin restaurants to be something formal, for a special occasion, or only for the elites. It is amazing to see how things have developed over the years and now there are plenty of 'casual fine dining' venues popping up that has done a great job to make top-level cooking to be more accessible and less formal. Without a doubt, Lyle's is a perfect example, the 1-star venue kept things simple, with an Ikea feel dining room and an open kitchen, with no dress code enforcement. All the dishes use no more than 5 ingredients and have no fancy presentation but do deliver in great taste.

The Ledbury

The peak of London fine dining

Lobster, caviar and cauliflower

I can believe this is my 16th visit to The Ledbury, the fine dining restaurant has had a makeover since relaunched back in early 2022. One thing I really enjoy about the place is that, unlike many other fine dining restaurants, it doesn't care much for unusual or wacky concepts, and is all about prime ingredients, cooking to perfection with smart flavours combination. This means I can revisit often when I am in search of great tasting food, with a regularly changing menu. Places like Dinner by Heston, with a menu largely remain the same for over 5 years, not somewhere I would head back in a hurry.

Kitchen Table

 3 stars in the making?

Aged pigeon and cherry

Kitchen Table is easily the best 2 Michelin stars restaurant in London, and for me always a good candidate to push to the 3 stars status. Having eaten there a few times, I always found from the strength to strength, the restaurant kept on improving, and is great to see chef-patron James has such passion and hunger to progress to go as far as possible. Since Covid, a major change happened, with the restaurant taken a massive revamp, taken over the sister restaurant space Bubbledogs and switched up to become a bar area, for diners to enjoy canapes and petit four. The price also had a big change, switched from a fixed £150 tasting menu to £250, a crazy change and has become the most expensive Michelin starred restaurant in the UK! Does it warrant the price?

Sola

US modern fine dining experience

 

Scombridae

Sola, the newish restaurant on Dean Street by Victor Garvey was an interesting one for me. I have no idea what is American modern fine dining, but judging from the menu, it just sounds so inviting with plenty of fusion elements and the use of top-grade ingredients, not to mention the dish visuals are stunning from what I could see online. I was scheduled to visit back in Christmas in 2020 but thanks to the 'C word', that did not happen in the end. Since then, Sola gained a Michelin star and to be honest, that wasn't a surprise for me. Given the positive reviews, the modern and creative fine dining approach, etc. Fast forward to the 2021 summer, I finally got the chance to see what is it all about.

Casa Fofo

International small plates flair

Age pollock, kale, lemon

To my surprise, the Michelin guide went ahead and launched the 2021 guide despite most restaurants weren't operating for a large part of 2020, and Casa Fofo was one of the big winners and secured a Michelin star, making it one of the cheapest Michelin starred restaurant in London with a fixed price blind tasting menu at £48. You do not know what you be having till the dish arrived at your table, so great if you are not a fussy eater and willing to explore. The food is based on Modern European cuisine style but filled with plenty of International elements, especially from Asia. 

James Knappett at Carousel

Makeshift Kitchen Table

Pumpkin, walnut

2020 has been a crappy year, with 2 very top London restaurants Greenhouse and The Ledbury is no more. Which left only Kitchen Table and Core to be what I would consider the very best in the capital. Kitchen Table has been closed since March and decided to go under a revamp over the summer so we got to wait sometime before getting to try chef-owner James Knappett's masterful cooking. However, he has teamed up with Carousel restaurant near Baker Street to offer a week of pop up in December, offering some classic Kitchen Table dishes with some new dishes along the way.

Da Terra

 4 hands dinner

Moqueca

I was super gutted when Greenhouse was shut down for good in early 2020, as chef Alex Dilling's cooking has to be one of the finest in London, I have eaten at Greenhouse when it was headed up by Antonin Bonnet and Arnaud Bignon, and I got to say Alex's offering is far better than both. When I discovered he is doing a one-off dinner with chef Rafael Cagali at Da Terra, I wasted no time to book a table. Da Terra has long been high on my visit list, headed up by Rafael who worked with some top the greatest chefs in the world such as Martin Berasategui and Simon Rogan, Latin style creative fine dining is rare in the UK so I was eager to see what Rafael got in store for the dinner. The meal came in a tasting menu format, with 5 dishes from each chef.

Davies and Brook

 US fine dining import

Grilled duck with Kohlrabi, Poppy Seed, and Apple Dumplings

You can not get a name that is so unoriginal than US chef Daniel Humm's London restaurant called Davies and Brook, purely because the restaurant is located by Davies Street and Brook Street in Mayfair. Serious foodies would know Daniel Humm's New York restaurant was once voted the best restaurant in the world by the 'World's 50 Best' guide and held 3 Michelin stars to these days. His London outpost was launched in winter 2019 and quickly become one of the hottest tickets in town. Fast forward to 2020 on the back of COVID 19, the restaurant has reopened with more or less the same menu, which is modern European in principle but with many international influences. Diners can pick either the 4-course alc menu or a long 8-course tasting menu. 

Bridges Amsterdam

Seafood hotel fine dining in Amsterdam

Trout, Pumpkin, Buttermilk, Dill, Pear

There are more than 20 Michelin starred restaurants in Amsterdam, so it is not easy to pick a place when you are not familiar with the city. However, as I am a seafood addict, and the city is pretty much surrounded by water, Bridges stood out to me as it is not too far from my hotel, and has a big focus on seafood. It is located inside a grand hotel and oversees by Ron Blaauw, the famous Duch chef that also runs the Ron Gastropub empire. The Bridges is a proper posh hotel restaurant, it has a modern, stylish decor, with eye-catching bar space and large windows overlooking the canal. It has a 7-course tasting menu on offer, besides the standard alc format where fish play center stage.

Trivet

Not Fat and not duck

Scallop, barbucine and sesame

When there is a new restaurant opening, one of the first thing I check is the CV of the chef behind it. Whoever is the PR agency behind Trivet, the new opening by Johnny Lake must be one of the easiest jobs as Johnny's record is seriously impressive. You might have encountered him on some of Heston Blumenthal's TV shows in the past, as Heston's right-hand man and the company's Executive Head Chef. I never got the chance to try out Fat Duck so it was a great opportunity for me to test out what Johnny's cooking is all about, with his very own restaurant that he has total control of it. Trivet is located in London Bridge, which lately has somewhat become a popular location for restaurant launches.