Whole fish champion
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| Dry aged Yellowfin tuna steak |
This is my fourth time coming to Kima, and I come here for one reason: For top-class fish cooking. Kima champions a “fin-to-gill” approach - whole fish cooked over charcoal, with minimal waste and a reverence for flavour born of fire and sea. The team behind it is experienced — the restaurant is a Marylebone project from people connected to the OPSO group, and the menu and presentation make clear they are aiming for a modern Greek seafood identity rather than a nostalgic one. What you eat at Kima is the reason you come, and the cooking keeps that promise. The menu is built around whole fish, seafood grilled or barbecued over coals, and a handful of meze and vegetable dishes meant to complement rather than compete.
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| Madai sashmi |
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| Greek salad with barreled feta and sourdough |
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| Grilled octopus |
For my whole fish, I had a 2kg madai that came from the Japan sea — served in a soup, raw and grilled, the grilled collar, the flesh just barely yielding to the fork and carrying a whisper of smoke that speaks to the grill. Taste-wise, the cooking has two strong notes: directness and restraint. Ingredients arrive with seasoning that accentuates but does not bury the fish; just some citrus, capers, and olive oil, and there is an undercurrent of traditional Greek technique without a slavish replication of recipes. The madai fillet arrived with crisped skin, moist flesh, and accompaniments that felt considered — in my case was the tomato orzo, which offered a refreshing cleanse of the palate between bites.
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| Grilled madai collar |
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| Dry aged Yellowfin tuna steak, tuna bones demi-glace sauce |
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| Grilled madai |
No restaurant is only its food, and Kima’s service and atmosphere are important parts of the equation. Staff are consistently described as warm, knowledgeable and attentive. They will happily walk you through the day’s catch, recommend wines and explain the best way to enjoy a whole fish, which is useful for diners who haven’t wrestled with a charred head or a slippery fillet recently. Prices sit in the middle-to-upper scale for Marylebone; you could come for an uncomplicated lunch and keep the bill modest, but a full-on evening of tasting plates, a whole fish and a decently paired bottle will push the meal into a special-occasion bracket. If you want clean, citrus-bright, charcoal-driven Greek seafood executed with care, Kima is exactly the sort of place you’ll remember after you leave. As far as a fish-focused restaurant, Kima is the best in London for me.
Food 4/5
Average cost without drinks and services:
£80 (dinner)
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