KOL | 1* | London | July 2025 | Perfect mix of challenging and comfort food + the best interior design I’ve never seen

I think this is my first time doing one of these on here, so here we go…

I'm going to go ahead and put the courses Below and then some of my thoughts about them afterwards if I think they're worth noting. However, I wanted to post this here as I've been following for a while, and this place really felt like nowhere I'd ever been before. A lot of these restaurants feel, while fantastic and special, a bit samey after a while, and this is the first time I've ever felt like I've been transported to another destination and I'm not in the middle of a city.

Also, I do like a bit of a spicy flair to things, and I also quite enjoy being challenged with some weird stuff as well.

This place was absolutely perfect for me because it checked all of my boxes, which was some weird stuff, some complete crowd pleasers, and also a little bit of spice in certain dishes. It's worth noting that this isn't actually very spicy, only a touch in certain meals. If you want a proper spicy Michelin-star restaurant, then head over Akoko, I think that place is the first time I've ever been given an actual proper dose of Scotch bonnets in a place like this.

I also really get into the interior design of these places, and this is without a shadow of a doubt the best-designed restaurant I've ever been in. It literally felt like I was being transported to Mexico, and not in a Disneyland-style way. I haven't posted many photos of the downstairs where you get taken for dessert at the end, but it is magical and a transformative experience.

I do like this trend of being taken somewhere else for dessert, kitchen table took us into the main restaurant for mains and then back into the nice introduction lounge for dessert. And then also let you get absolutely battered on cocktails for the rest of the evening. Kol did this in the best way I've seen as well, which was they took you downstairs to a brand new environment that was stunning. I don't want to spoil it for anybody who's going.

I think this is hands down my favorite restaurant I've ever been to. I really wanted to post it here and share it with everyone.

Here's the menu, and I've left some comments underneath where I think it's noteworthy:
Cleavers, scotch bonnet, spruce shoots

The theatrics of this were really nice, bringing out what we were drinking in a jar. It was also delicious. It tasted very strong of corn and a little spicy. Excellent intro.

Strawberry, sea arrowgrass, pumpkin seed sikil pak
This weirdly tasted like peanuts and strawberry instead of pumpkin seed and strawberry. Delicious.
Mackerel, pickled rose, summer mole

You tend to get a little piece of mackerel almost everywhere at the moment, so this one was obviously great, and I always appreciate a little bit of mackerel at the start.

NICOATOLE
Water celery, meadowsweet, peas, Shrenckii caviar

This is in the challenging category. It was somewhere between peas, custard, and a little bit like guacamole. You sort of think to yourself, what's going on with the first bite, and then love it by the end.

COCO
Cuttlefish, gorse, cobnut, dulaman seaweed

This is the one and only course that I didn't like as I'm not a fan of cuttlefish. I think it comes down to whether you like the texture or not. I should have asked for this to be the vegetarian version because it also had something a bit like shoots on it, which were interlaced with the cuttlefish. I think this would be better without the cuttlefish. That is literally my one and only criticism of this place, and that's on me because I don't like cuttlefish.

TACO
Langoustine, smoked chilli, sea buckthorn

Perfect. I wish I’d have asked for two more. Also, they brought out a hand towel afterward, which I appreciated because I'd covered my face in delicious sea buckthorn. Also, I really appreciate we got to squeeze the langoustine all over the taco. A lot of places are so sanitized and keep you away from everything. This was really fun and was a bit like going out for lobster.

HUARACHE +£40 supplement
Wagyu, nettle, young leeks, bone marrow

Yeah yeah another Wagyu you think to yourself. This is far more about the deep fried bread it was on and combining it with that took it to another level, honestly, some of the best Wagyu I've had. This is in the absolute crowd-pleaser category, but it's on another level in terms of taste. I think it's because you don't get deep-fried bread-eqs items very often.

AMARILLO
Portobello, pasilla, nipec, quail egg
Firstly, one of the most beautiful dishes on the menu, but also one of the best mushroom dishes I've ever had, I could eat a million of these. It's difficult to get mushrooms right, especially portobello mushrooms. It was so meaty and went with the spice and egg perfectly. This is the second best meal on the menu. This has the appearance of something that might challenge you, but it is actually not, and is a stunning mushroom dish that stands by itself. You could honestly remove the egg, and it would still be stellar.

ESTOFADO
Hand-dived scallop, celtuce, pilpil

Again, another complete crowd pleaser. You can never argue with a scallop; however, this one was HUGE.

BARBACOA
Lamb neck, daikon and savory pico de gallo, arbol salsa

The best way to end it was on just a massive pile of tasty meat.

PALETA
Jalapeño, yoghurt, raspberry, wood ants

This is the silly one that everyone will photograph. It is quite cool, and you can't necessarily taste the ants. They're a little bit tangy. This would stand alone by itself without the ants, but it is also extremely fun to have them on there and works really well. I'm also quite biased here because jalapeno is one of my favorite things in the whole world, so you can't trust my opinion on this. I would eat a jalapeno ice lolly most days if I could.

TAMAL
Birch, koji, granny smith apple, buttermilk

This is the best dish on the menu. Ice cold buttermilk and Granny Smith floating in it with this very mild birch flavor. I suspect it's overshadowed by the other two, but it is one of those desserts you will remember forever and is nothing like you've ever had before. Ice cold buttermilk, birch, and little bits of apple. This is one of those experiences you have to try.

BUÑUELOS +€15 supplement
Tunworth ice cream, sea buckthorn, ancho chilli
And then they end on just something that literally everyone will love. This is basically a big, crunchy, sweet cracker with ice cream you can dip in. There's a tiny little bit of spice on the cracker, and that is cooled down by the ice cream. You could pick this up in a theme park and it wouldn't be out of place.
Puffed amaranth, fudge jamoncillo
Burnt meringue, beetroot jam gansito
Seabuckthorn, guajillo chilli, carrot jelly

Your standard affair of amuse bouche. I would obviously eat a whole bucket of these. You don't have to present them in a box. Just put them in a trough or something. I'm fine with that.
Also, they used to have a non-alcoholic pairing menu, and it wasn't there this time. However, I talked to the sommelier about this and she came up with some great pairings for a lot of the courses. You can see some of them in the pictures. There's a margarita-style drink with a salty rim.

The orange pint glass of drink you can see is strawberry and pineapple weed (which has nothing to do with pineapple but tastes of pineapple). My husband had a some Nigronis and Old Fashioneds and some stupid fancy dessert wine which he said was all excellent. I have been sort of not necessarily looked down on but felt a little ignored when I've said I don't like wine in the past, and this place absolutely embraced it and really got into finding other stuff.

We had the £185 menu for two. So I think that came to about £400. And then it's whatever drinks you have on top. So I think there was an extra £400 on drinks (3 cocktails, 1 glass of dessert wine, lots of non-alcoholic cocktails and a bottle of sparkling non-alcoholic something, She said it was a kombucha, but it was very mild, as I don't usually like kombucha, and this one was very good. Maybe it's because they made it sparkling as well, that helped.)