World_Traveller_-_May_2019

28 worldtravellermagazine.com

THE TOP TABLES

Tom Kerridge, Albert Adrià, and Endo Kazutoshi are some of the

big-name chefs to have served up somewhere new. These culinary

hotspots have 'em clamouring for a table

DIN TAI FUNG

Go for: The hottest dumplings in town.

On Saturdays, Din Tai Fung’s flagship

restaurant in Taipei 101 serves upwards

of 10,000 hand-folded dumplings –

and, judging by the clamour for tables

at its new Covent Garden outpost,

its London chefs need to be pretty

fast-fingered too. The plump xiao long

bao, with their intricate origami twists,

taste just like Shanghai’s real deal.

KUTIR

Go for: Inventive Indian dishes.

Not content with having three

Michelin-accredited restaurants

under his belt already, chef Rohit

Ghai is aiming for yet more stars

with his latest project – Kutir, in

Chelsea. Expect authentic flavours

with an international twist, such as

Gressingham duck korma and jackfruit

kofta dumplings. The six-course

‘expedition’ tasting menus are superb.

CAKES AND BUBBLES

Go for: Edible art.

Feast your eyes on Albert Adrià’s

sweet masterpieces: flowers hand-

crafted from chocolate and coconut,

crispy ‘air pancakes’ filled with maple

syrup butter, and the signature

cheesecakes that put his Barcelona

restaurant – Tickets – on the map.

Adrià refined his craft at Michelin-

starred El Bulli (Ferran is his brother),

so expect great things from this

restaurant in Soho’s Hotel Café Royal.

IMPERIAL TREASURE FINE

CHINESE CUISINE

Go for: Truly decadent duck.

While we could wax lyrical about

Imperial Treasure’s succulent seafood

and exquisite dim sum, one dish at this

Waterloo restaurant always steals the

limelight: the £100 Signature Peking

Duck. After a first course of tender

meat and crispy trimmings, a second

serving – stir fried, with a variety of

sauces – makes this a feast you’ll

rightly return for.

ENDO AT THE ROTUNDA

Go for: London’s best bite?

Endo Kazutoshi’s hotly-anticipated

sushi restaurant at White City House

has whipped London’s top food

writers into a frenzy – and already

welcomed the King of Jordan. With

just 15 seats, you’ll need to book

months ahead, but in the words of

Times restaurant critic Giles Coren:

‘It was probably the most perfect

meal I have eaten in a restaurant’.

High praise indeed.

BANCONE

Go for: A quick bite between

sightseeing.

It comes as little surprise to learn that

Bancone’s founder and head chef,

Louis Korovilas, is Locanda Locatelli

Cakes and Bubbles Berenjak

Jean-Georges at The

Connaught

worldtravellermagazine.com 29

alumni. Those dishes of silky oxtail

ragu pappardelle and tender cuttlefish

tagliatelle wouldn’t look out of place

in a Michelin-starred joint – but

here they’re served in a refreshingly

laid-back setting, in one of Covent

Garden’s best-value restaurants.

BERENJAK

Go for: Perfect Persian.

“With Berenjak, I wanted to evoke the

style of a rustic hole-in-the-wall eatery

from Tehran,” says its founder Kian

Samyani, “and reinterpret signature

dishes using seasonal British produce.”

It’s a recipe for success: the chargrilled

poussin – a juicy, spicy triumph – is

one of Soho’s hottest dishes right now.

KERRIDGE’S BAR AND GRILL

Go for: Great British bites.

It’s hard to believe that this is Tom

Kerridge’s first London restaurant,

but he actually made his name in the

village of Bray, Berkshire – with the

double Michelin-starred Hand and

Flowers. Building on his reputation

for fine British cuisine, Kerridge’s new

project (at the Corinthia Hotel) gives

old favourites such as fish and chips

and cottage pie the five-star makeover

they deserve.

NEPTUNE

Go for: Oyster ‘happy hour’, 6-7pm.

The elegant, airy dining room of

Kimpton Fitzroy London boasts an

oyster bar, wood-fired grill, and one

of the most exquisite seafood menus

in town. Come for lunch, and you’ll

want to linger on the luxurious leather

banquettes – supping shellfish and

swigging vintage bubbly ’til sundown.

JEAN-GEORGES AT THE

CONNAUGHT

Go for: A fancy breakfast.

The latest addition to Jean-Georges

Vongerichten’s international empire,

this Mayfair restaurant is open for

breakfast, lunch, dinner, and afternoon

tea. Our tip? Book breakfast in the

light-flooded conservatory: the menu

is just as globetrotting as J-G himself,

and includes spicy Indian dosas,

homebaked brioche, and truffle-laced

scrambled eggs.

Neptune

Kerridge's Bar and Grill THE LONDON SCENE

OR REVISIT A

CLASSIC...

During the '60s Langan's

Brasserie in Mayfair proved

a magnet for famous

faces, pulling in the likes

of Jagger, Brando and Ali

while remaining resolutely

unpretentious. It no longer

hogs the limelight, but still

deserves star billing.