KOL

High quality cooking

Kol is the word for ‘cabbage’ in Mexican Spanish, and the idea of taking an under-appreciated vegetable and spinning it into haute cuisine might serve as a metaphor for how Santiago Lastra has brought 9,000 years of Mexican culinary heritage bang up-to-date for British diners more used to tacos and tortillas. The expat chef had already done a tour of duty of the world’s most lauded kitchens before overseeing the Noma Mexico pop-up in 2017, and (as at Noma) Kol's menu only features local or native ingredients. Lastra's signature dish – and the standout of the 10-course menu – is a fat Scottish langoustine tail daubed with smoked chilli, its sweetness cut with a coriander-like garland of sea arrowgrass. Further garnishing comes at the table, courtesy of squeezing out the juices in the creature’s head, before the whole delectable parcel is wrapped up in a tortilla. It’s the sort of bite-size morsel one wishes came in a serving of 10. Despite the theatrical saucing, it is also a fairly simple (if labour-intensive) assembly, as is another hugely enjoyable course involving confit pork cheek with black beans, woodruff and apple, plus crispy pig’s skin to sprinkle on top of more tortillas (kept warm in a bespoke pouch). Although there’s no denying the creativity it takes to pair a corn and yellow pepper custard with caviar and bisect the dish with tagete flowers (one of the most visually arresting plates we’ve eaten in a long time), there are perhaps not enough flavour fireworks to sustain 10 courses. The room looks just as good as the cooking, with an open kitchen in the middle staffed by young chefs clad in the same earthy-toned colours as their surroundings, while word-perfect waiting staff are as committed to the Kol project as Lastra himself. Overall, however, we felt this was a tasting menu shaped to fit the sort of international ‘best restaurant’ lists that Noma once topped, with Mexican flavours grafted on to an essentially European structure – from the first thimbleful of kombucha and mezcal broth to a pre-dessert sorbet of butternut squash and chilli. Still, Lastra is to be commended for proving that high-end Mexican cuisine works as well in London as it does in Mexico City. Just be warned that reservations go live two months ahead and disappear almost immediately; the basement Mezcaleria bar may be an easier (and cheaper) way in, with Mexican spirits to wash down small plates every bit as intricate as the dishes served upstairs.

3 Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence

Former Noma Mexico chef Santiago Lastra worked the London restaurant circuit before finally opening his debut solo venture KOL after a number of false starts due to the Coronavirus pandemic, most notably cooking at residency restaurant Carousel. Yet while he gave diners a taste of what was to come, he also cleverly held back, because a meal at KOL is still able to throw up many surprises. KOL has a Mexican soul using British ingredients and this isn’t a stance to which Lastra merely pays lip service; with the exception of the corn used in his tortillas, chillies and chocolate – which can be shipped over with minimal environmental impact – every other ingredient comes from the UK, with the chef-patron deftly swapping out ingredients such as lime juice for homegrown sea buckthorn. Crucial to this is that there is no compromise on flavour – if anything Lastra’s cooking is all the more interesting and exciting with the subtle changes to dishes his sourcing policy brings. KOL offers two. The food is memorable, and dishes often have a lick of fruity, spicy habanero or the tang of a fermented fruit or vegetable to them. The wine programme is no less striking, with KOL choosing to list the often overlooked but increasingly fashionable wines from countries including Slovakia, Croatia, Georgia and the Czech Republic. The restaurant has even worked closely with the Slobodne winery in western Slovakia to create four exclusive and relatively affordable wines (white, skin contact, rosé and red).

The chef:Born in Mexico, Santiago Lastra launched Kol in late 2020 with a vision to produce authentic Mexican food using predominantly UK ingredients. It was no little task, considering that fundamental Latin American produce such as citrus and avocado does not grow within Britain’s shores. As such, after many research trips scouring all corners of the UK, Lastra devised innovative replacements – like sea buckthorn in place of lime – giving a distinctly British nuance to his cuisine. The only products the restaurant imports are true Mexican essentials: corn for the tortillas, chocolate and native chillies. Mexico to Marylebone:Lastra spent many of his formative years as a chef in Europe, working at the likes of 50 Best heavyweight Mugaritz. However, arguably his career-defining moment came when René Redzepi asked him to set up and run Noma’s Mexico pop-up in Tulum in 2016. Such was its success, it helped Lastra find backers for his solo project, which fast became one of London’s hottest tickets in the city’s post-pandemic restaurant renaissance. What’s on the plate?On the ever-evolving tasting menu, Lastra’s signature langoustine taco has been the only mainstay since launch. The taco arrives pre-assembled and ready to roll, with the crustacea head served separately, designed to be squeezed onto the dish for added umami depth. Other seasonal highlights might include the lamb saddle with rye koji, wood sorrel on a bed of rich mulato mole. Other ventures:The restaurant features a subterranean bar, the Mezcaleria, which houses one of the UK’s finest collections of agave spirits. The cocktails here are taken as seriously as the food upstairs, with classic drinks embracing Kol’s Mexican heritage. In 2024, Lastra launched Fonda, a more casual destination for tacos, tequila and more on nearby Heddon Street.