The Cocochine

I have written previously about the origins of The Cocochine, its head chef Larry Jayasekara and its wine list. The main dining room is on the ground floor, with an open kitchen upstairs and seating around it so you can watch the chefs working. There is also an unusually large private dining room on the top floor, complete with a lounge area and an open fire. There is also the related Rex Deli opposite. Three courses at lunch cost £49, while in the evening the menu is a la carte, though a tasting menu can be arranged at £145. 

As we sat down some snacks appeared, rosemary-flavoured popcorn and warm spicy cashew nuts from Sri Lanka that had been enlivened with a touch of spice; these were very enjoyable. There were three canapes.  Norwegian wild sea trout roe tartlet was seasoned with soy and lime, the eggs being lightly marinated in mirin and yuzu gel and finished with mini chive batons. The tart had a delicate pastry and a well-judged amount of lime to balance the richness of the sea trout. A beignet was filled with 36-month-old Comte and black truffle sauce, topped with finely grated 60-month-old Parmesan from Bologna. This had deep cheese flavour, the beignet made using wheat flour from the Rowler Farm Estate in Northamptonshire, which is owned by Ian Wace, one of the investors of Cocochine. This was a rich and enjoyable canape and contrasted well with the lighter sea trout and lime canape. Finally, there was an elegant take on a cheese and onion cracker with caviar. This is made by spreading mashed potatoes very thin, dehydrating them, and then cutting strips and deep frying them.  Cream cheese was seasoned with home-made onion powder (the onion again from Rowler Farm) topped with golden oscietra caviar from a private supplier in Paris. This had a lovely texture and plenty of flavour (17/20 canapes).

There were two bread offerings. Onion brioche was made using flour (from Rowler Farm) and laminated four times then layered with caramelised onions and thyme from the same farm. This is then baked and then finally steamed at each service and served warm, glazed with brown butter and sea salt. This has been on the menu since the beginning and is a really lovely creation, soft and pillowy. A new bread was sourdough. A porridge was made from oats and barley then added to the mother dough, with 95% hydration to give an airy texture with a thin crust. Once baked, the bread was glazed with kithul (sweet sap from a palm tree flower in Sri Lanka) and sea salt. The bread was served with two butters, one a fresh Normandy with sea salt and second one a whipped brown butter with crème fraiche and black truffle. Again, this was high-class breadmaking, 

There was then an amuse-bouche of Japanese otoro tuna, 60 month-aged soy from Tokyo and golden oscietra caviar. This was topped with a thin brioche crisp and a dollop of golden oscietra caviar, with a white wine vinegar gel and alyssum flowers. This was a lovely dish, the richness of the tuna belly contrasted by the salinity of the caviar, the brioche crisp adding a welcome additional texture (17/20).

The first formal course was an exceptionally large scallop with bacon and chicken jus. The hand-dived XXL scallop was from the waters around the Tanera island off the west coast of Scotland in the Inner Hebrides. The scallops weigh from 1kg to 1.2kg in their shells, the meat of each being around 120g, at least double what is normal.  The scallop was caramelised on one side to medium rare, then topped with chives, lemon zest and dehydrated micro-planed scallop roe. The scallop rested on braised kombu, crisp Alsace bacon and bacon sabayon, finished with roast chicken jus. The level of effort in this dish is illustrated by the chicken jus. This is made from chicken wings, starting with a white stock that is cooked with the chicken wings for three hours. At this point another layer of roast wings is added, along with caramelised shallots, garlic, bay leaf, thyme, white peppercorn, reduced white wine and double cream. This is cooked for another two hours and passed through a sieve, then reduced and seasoned with salt. lemon juice and roast chicken fat. All this is just for one dish element. The scallop had lovely flavour and the stock and bacon really went well with the sweet scallop meat (17/20).

The next course was lobster that had been wrapped in a banana leaf and was cooked at the table on a robata grill. The lobster was then unwrapped and served with a mild curry sauce flavoured with tomato and tamarind. The native lobsters used here come from Tamera island and are 400-500g in size. They are briefly blanched in seaweed and ice water, the shells removed and wrapped in Sri Lankan banana leaf. The lobster is then barbecued over Japanese binchotan charcoal and glazed with ginger and lobster sauce. Micro-planed fresh lime zest and citrus gel is added, and the dish is finished with tomato, lobster, fresh tamarind sauce and fresh crème fraiche and herbs from the farm. The lobster is accompanied by a Ceylon crab curry with apple, cucumber and consommé. This is a traditional Sri Lankan curry, made here with fresh Norwegian crab, Scottish white crab meat mixed with lemon crème fraiche, julienne of curry leaves, compressed cucumbers and Granny Smith apple. This is topped with an apple jelly disk and kalamansi gel along with micro coriander from Rowler farm. The crab curry is then clarified to be a consommé and served with home-made curry oil. The flavour of the tender lobster was stunning, having a gently smoky hint from the charcoal. The curry had gorgeous flavour and was a lovely pairing with the lobster (easily 18/20).

The fish course was turbot with morel and white asparagus, rhubarb, cloudberries and pandan leaves sauce. The huge 9.6kg wild turbot was also from around Tanera island, aged for 3-5 days then seasoned with curry spice and seaweed powder and roasted. French morel mushrooms were filled with truffle and chicken mousse. White asparagus from Loire valley was cooked in almond milk. There was also cloudberry from northern Norway, Yorkshire rhubarb poached in light ginger and rhubarb juice. Finally, there was a pandan leaf sauce; pandan leaves have a grassy, floral scent. The sauce was made using shallot, bay leaves, thyme, garlic and fennel lightly cooked in butter then combined with reduced dry white wine with fish stock and cooked.  The aged turbot bones are roasted and add to the sauce to infuse. Finally coconut milk and thinly slice pandan leaves are added and cooked, then the result is passed through a sieve and reduced, finished with butter  and lemon  juice. The big turbot had lovely flavour and the stuffed morel was exceptional, the earthiness of the white asparagus just what was needed to bring balance, the dish elements brought together well by the pandan leaf sauce (17/20).

For the final savoury course there was dry-aged sika deer from Rowler Farm, with beetroot, pickled walnuts, cherries and a butter chocolate jus. On the side were very thick, very good, chips. The loin of deer was roasted and glazed with brandy, walnut pickle and puréed, poached walnut and peel. This came with ruby beetroot and shallot puree as well as salt baked golden beetroot. There was also a layer of smoked deer fat on top of the deer. The bitter chocolate jus was made by starting with a roast deer stock and reducing it. To this is added caramelised onions, carrots, leeks, celery, garlic and thyme, bay leaves and white peppercorns and another layer of roasted bones. These are cooked together and the enriched with full bodied red wine and ruby port. This combination is cooked further and passed through a sieve. It is then reduced, and to this is added grated 100% bitter chocolate and butter, finished with drop of brandy. The deer itself was cooked pink and the sauce had intense flavour, the beetroot cutting through the richness (16/20).

A pescatarian alternative was dry aged John Dory, pickled grapes, cauliflower puree, herb salad and vadouvan sauce. A large (over 2.5kg) wild John Dory from Scotland was aged for three days. It was then seasoned with vadouvan powder and roasted. Green grapes were peeled and pickled, served with cauliflower puree and herbs. The vadouvan sauce was made from lightly roasted John Dory bones that were removed from the pan and added to banana shallots, garlic and fennel, cooked with bay leaves and thyme. To this reduced white wine and fish stock was added, along with roasted bones for cooking. The result was passed through a sieve and combined with double cream, butter and lightly dry roasted Vadouvan powder. This is cooked a little longer and seasoned with salt and lemon juice.

A selection of desserts then appeared. Jaggery creme caramel had coconut milk, green cardamom and jagghery cream, a light caramel sauce and feuilletine topped with golden oscietra caviar. Adding caviar to chocolate is all the rage at the moment (you can blame Bruno Verjus), and although I was sceptical about this when I first had it, the combination actually has some logic, just as salted caramel works well. A pretty tropical fruit savarin had green cardamom and Alphonso mango sorbet, exotic fruit brunoise with Victoria pineapple, alphonso mango, jack fruit, Sri Lankan bananas and lime. This dish also had pineapple diplomats, miniature rum baba, rum syrup infused with citrus zests and vanilla pods flavoured with seven-year-old Eminente rum, and garnished with a sugar tuile. The acidity of the fruit nicely contrasted with the sweetness here

There was also Braeburn apple tarte tatin with Tahitian vanilla ice cream, and what is there not to like about that? Finally, there was a half-moon dessert of rhubarb and blood orange. This had Yorkshire rhubarb compote, yogurt sorbet, blood orange sorbet, orange Chantilly, gateau de Savoie, a white chocolate ring with rhubarb gel, lemon balm, sable, poached rhubarb and candied ginger. I tasted each of these though by then I was quite full, but each showed good technique (16/20).

The coffee supplier here is Difference Coffee, and the coffee comes with a selection of petit fours. There was a delicate tuile Florentine made with 46% milk chocolate, almond nougatine and orange zest. This was accompanied by a hazelnut financier made with chocolate ganache and hazelnut praline. A freshly baked cardamom Madeleine was well made, though I think a classic lemon would work better here.  Finally, there was a very good kalamansi tart made with kalamansi cremeux, kalamansi jelly, hazelnut sable and Piedmont hazelnut paste.

I was unable to get a bill this evening, but a typical cost per person might be around £210. Service was very good throughout. The food at Cocochine continues to develop, and the new lobster dish in particular is a triumph. The quality of ingredients here is as high as any restaurant in London. I have no idea why Michelin overlooked it in the recent awards.

Further reviews: 05th Apr 2024