Michelin-star magic at Kitchen W8
Sophie Farrah discovers the delights of neighbourhood gem Kitchen W8, as it celebrates a decade of Michelin stardom...
If you’re lucky enough to have a reliably good neighbourhood restaurant near you, squeeze it tight and tell it you love it because today they are a rare and wonderful thing.
Thanks to restauranteur Rebecca Mascarenhas and chef Phil Howard, there are three such treasures in the west London area; Chelsea’s Elsytan Street, Church Road in Barnes and Kitchen W8 in Kensington.
Tucked away just off High St Ken, the latter is celebrating a decade of Michelin stardom this year, but don’t let that put you off. The interiors may be chic and elegant and yes, there are white linen tablecloths, but thanks to its ambience, friendly team and good value, it is genuinely, delightfully relaxed. And then, of course, there is the food…
We visited on a wet Wednesday evening and hurried into a near-empty restaurant… my heart sank but was quickly resuscitated by Charlie, who greeted us like old friends. Anyway I needn’t have worried, because by 7.30 pm every table was taken and the buzz was a thing of beauty.
We sank into a comfortable sage green banquette surrounded by softly up-lit wallpaper adorned with fluttering birds and leafy branches. A delightful pear and thyme fizz promptly appeared along with a genuinely delicious mocktail for my date who was kindly driving, and from then on, the evening just got better and better.
In the kitchen Mark Kempson is in charge, whose exceptional cooking won the restaurant its first Michelin star in 2011, an accolade which it has retained each year since. The food is described as ‘modern English with a French soul’ - carefully sourced ingredients take centre-stage, whilst menus change with the seasons to celebrate the arrival of new produce. We went a la carte but there’s also a very reasonable tasting menu on offer (six courses at £80pp).
My starter was gorgeous both in looks and taste – a silky saffron risotto with plump St Austell Bay mussels, pickled fennel, chilli and sea herbs. It had sweetness, saltiness, creaminess, sharpness – basically, it had it all, working together in sweet harmony.
The buttery soft grilled Cornish mackerel was also beautifully balanced, with delicate slices of smoked eel, earthy golden beetroots, sweet mustard and leek, topped with fresh little pops of oyster leaf.
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A chunky fillet of Cornish cod arrived next, crisped beautifully and flanked by soft orange jewels of pumpkin gnocchi, roasted cauliflower florets and salty chicken crackling, all floating in a rich, creamy black truffle sauce. It was sublime. Fish of the day was wild sea bass, again perfectly cooked and completely delicious, with more chubby mussels and thick slices of sweet, charred onion.
On the side, we couldn’t resist the seasonal special – Périgord truffle creamed potato (who could?). This thick, creamy, comforting bowl of gloriously fragrant, earthy truffle mash was enough to make me well up; quite simply, it was sent from the Gods. Well, Mark Kempson in fact but, after this meal, I suspect that he may well be a God...
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Moving on from my love for truffles (and Mark Kempson), we ended our feast with a Valrhona chocolate panna cotta – not as smooth and creamy as it perhaps could have been, but the toasted almond and orange ice cream was divine; combined, it tasted like a Terry’s Chocolate Orange on speed.
Throughout, a delicious glass of wine arrived with each course, expertly chosen and explained each time. Which reminds me - there’s an unbelievably challenging staffing crisis going on within the hospitality industry at the moment, but at Kitchen W8 you wouldn’t know it – GM Charlotte Prescot and her team work together so intuitively that it feels effortless; every table was so thoughtfully tended to and that, combined with the beautiful food, made for a room full of very happy people, and you could feel it in the air.
I am a strong believer that eating out isn’t just about the food alone; it’s the staff, the setting, the ambience, the food, and perhaps a few other nuances too ambiguous to mention. What I mean to say is, sometimes you can still enjoy yourself if the food isn’t great but the staff are, and vice versa. Or perhaps the setting is glorious, but the cooking, well, isn’t.
But when everything works, when the stars align and it all comes together, it is something very special indeed, and that was exactly what we experienced on that wet Wednesday evening at Kitchen W8.
- 11-13 Abingdon Rd, London W8 6AH kitchenw8.com
