Kitchen W8

Kitchen W8 was opened in Kensington in 2009 by Philip Howard and Rebecca Mascarenhas. Its head chef had been Mark Kempson since the opening, and the restaurant was awarded a Michelin star in 2011. The dining room has fairly well separated tables covered with white linen tablecloths. 

The menu was a la carte but there was a tasting menu at £110, as well as a game menu, also at £110. The wine list had 125 labels and ranged in price from £35 to £425, with a median price of £84 and an average markup to retail price that was hard to determine due to the format of their list, but seemed reasonable on a sample. Sample references were Amoterra Verdicchio di Matelica 2022 at £45 for a bottle that you can find in the high street for £16, Domaine Marcel Deiss Gewurztraminer 2021 at £82 compared to its retail price of £20, and Chimbanta Dettori Sardinia 2013 at £95 for a wine that will set you back £20 in the high street. For those with the means there was Jean-Claude Boisset Corton Charlemagne 2020 at £389 compared to its retail price of £400, and Vieux Chateau Certan 2014 at £425 for a wine whose current market value is £198.

Sourdough bread was from Flourish Bakery in Watford, and was very pleasant. Butterhead lettuce with shallots, Parmesan and Perigord truffle dressing (£13.25) was simple but enjoyable, the lettuce quite crunchy and given a luxurious lift by the truffle in the dressing. Ultimately though, there is only so much that can be done with a lettuce (13/20).

Scorched Cornish mackerel (£21) came with a base of smoked eel, golden beetroot, grilled ceps, William pear and a herb salad. The mackerel was cooked well and went nicely with the earthy flavour of the beetroot, with the sharpness of the pear balancing the natural oiliness of the fish (14/20).

Cornish monkfish (£39.50) was barbecued and served with cep persillade, garlic puree and cime di rapa, a brassica sometimes called turnip greens. Monkfish is a tricky fish to cook well and can easily develop a chewy texture, but here it was carefully prepared and worked well with the greens and the garlic puree (15/20).

Haunch of venison (£42) came with smoked potato mash, Jerusalem artichoke puree, trompette mushrooms and a red wine sauce. This was all very enjoyable, the venison cooked pink, the mushrooms and artichokes bringing some balance to richness of the meat, and the potatoes having good texture (15/20). 

Blush plum, stem ginger and Sicilian lemon fool (£12) also had caramelised Spanish Marcona almonds and little doughnuts on the side. The fool itself involves cooking and pureeing the fruit and folding it into custard. The texture of the fool was silky, the acidity of the lemon and plums balancing the richness of the custard, and the almonds gave an extra texture. The doughnuts were also well made (15/20). The other dessert, just a fruit sorbet, came with the same doughnuts and the sorbet had good texture and flavour (14/20). Coffee was from a company called All Things Bloom, and was reasonable.

Service was very good indeed, our waiter Conor being friendly and helpful. The bill came to £93 each, taking advantage of the free corkage on a Sunday night. If you ordered a la carte and shared a modest bottle of wine from the restaurant list then a typical cost per person might be around £105. Kitchen W8 is a very enjoyable restaurant, serving appealing dishes with a welcoming attitude.

Further reviews: 25th Feb 2017 | 18th Feb 2013 | 21st Mar 2012