More homely than home: Jikoni
(Picture: Press handout)For anyone in their thirties, it’s difficult to consider the prospect of a Christmas without turkey, without thinking of Mark in the Peep Show losing his rag over what transpires to be a Christmas joke.
Nevertheless, with avian flu raging through the country’s poultry farms and wiping out over half of this year’s free-range turkeys — and a good few geese besides — it is a prospect many now face. Fortunately, the era in which no celebratory spread is complete without a hunk of meat as the centrepiece is slowly waning.
That’s where these restaurants come in, all serving small plates and sharing dishes inspired by or directly from everywhere from Italy to Latin America to West Africa by way of India and Japan. They are places where dishes are piled high, drinks flow and frivolity reigns everywhere except in the food, which is consciously sourced, carefully cooked and a serious source of joy. And there isn’t a turkey in sight.
Kricket
Kricket is one of those restaurants where good intentions go out the window, so far as food and drink are concerned. This makes it perfect for December, when most good intentions are already halfway out the door anyway. Steering clear of carbs? Impossible, with their festive bread, the blue cheese and sage kulcha. Saving room for the big day? Impossible. Just take a look at the menu: crispy, spindly, sweet-no-savoury samphire pakoras with date and tamarind chutney; a December special of grilled duck leg, black dal and radicchio; uttapam (like a dosa) of hot smoked trout, nose-blowing horseradish raita and beetroot. And that’s without mentioning a side of the signature burnt garlic taka dal. Not drinking? Not any more, not with cocktails like The Descent, which mix coconut rum, mezcal and lime. With decent prices, an irrepressible joie de vivre and enthusiastic staff, the only good intention Kricket caters for is the intention to indulge as much as possible.
12 Denman Street, W1D 7HJ and 41-43 Atlantic Road, SW9 8JL, kricket.co.uk
Paladar
Maybe it’s the music, maybe it’s the tequila, maybe it’s the colourful prints bursting from the calm white walls — but there’s something about Paladar that always feels celebratory. This is particularly true when the weather outside is wildly at odds with the vibrancy within. During December, Paladar encourages groups to tuck into a joyful and generous feasting menu, complete with Brazilian bubbles (of which, the wine list here is a revelation). Long, golden plantain crisps with taquero guacamole form a bright, light start to a menu that roams across Latin America: think braised black beef with palm sugar and tamarind reduction, and Colombian sour cream; tapioca and cheese croquettes; and corn empanadas filled with shredded turkey and cranberries. It’s surprising, smile-inducing food with an even happier price tag — particularly when you factor in hot, puffy churros with chocolate and ancho sauce and coffee dolce de leche.
4-5 London Road, SE1 6JZ, paladarlondon.com
Tatale
Tatale is warm, in every sense of the word. It is visually warm, because the restaurant — snugly tucked inside the Africa Centre in Southwark — is all terracotta and colourful cushions. It is spiritually warm, having been inspired by the Old Chop Bars of West Africa, in which everyone from lovers to businessmen to street traders gather to talk and tuck in. And it is physically warm, thanks to a Pan-African menu of red red black eyed bean stew, groundnut soup — a hug in a bowl — and ackee croquettes with scotch bonnet chill, (this too feels like hug) with a particularly vigorous back slap thrown into the mixture. Put simply, Tatale is a place to warm up, chill out and cheers with a round of Star beers and — because this is one of London’s most reasonable festive menus, as well as enriching — another once you’ve seen the bill.
The Africa Centre, 66 Great Suffolk Street, SE1 0BL, tataleandco.com
The Holland
Before The Holland, head chef Max de Nahlik was at Oxalis, a searingly creative, hyper seasonal pop-up. Before that he was at Islington’s Duke of Cambridge, a pub founded on organic produce and localism. All this plus an eye for enduring design (almost every part of the interior is reclaimed or repurposed) and strong sense of what makes a pub a pub comes to the fore in The Holland: formerly a rundown boozer, now at the crest of the wave of pubs reclaiming and redefining what gastropub means. His festive menu is proof of the pudding: Jerusalem artichoke soup or scallop, black truffle and schmalz — the Yiddish word for rendered chicken fat — preceding a feast of roast beef, roast venison or smoked celeriac with black garlic. Sides are seasonal greens and pommes ana. There’s not a turkey, a sprout or a roastie in sight, and you won’t miss them, either.
25 Earls Court Road, W8 6EB, thehollandkensington.co.uk
Bone Daddies
Bone Daddies was one of the first to blow Wagamama’s ramen out of the soup bowl with their real-deal homemade broth swimming with scallions, soy, chillies and noodles. Their original Soho site had queues around the block, and whilst they’ve got eight now, there’s been no diluting their authenticity, creativity and taste. Their Big Cheese Daddy is a case in point: the rich and savoury result of their collaboration with British cheese restaurant the Cheese Bar. It begins as all ramen should, with a homemade pork broth, fried pork belly, soy egg and Tokyo noodles; but is then crowned with a snow shower of Spenwood, a ewe’s milk cheese similar in style to pecorino, but made in Berkshire. It’s a complex and curiously Christmassy cuddle of a dish, and it’s on throughout December, together with their spectacular selection of sides.
Across town, bonedaddies.com
Jikoni
Though many restaurants set out to feel just like home — or, at least, the platonic ideal of home — few pull it off quite so well as Jikoni. There, embroidered cushions, block-printed table linen and dusty pink walls provide a living definition of the French verb from which restaurant is derived: restaurer, meaning to restore. The menu follows suit. Not that the dishes read like most might actually have at home, but their execution creates a homely feeling. Dhal makhni and Montgomery’s cheddar croquettes, kimchi mac and cheese, scrag end pie and congee with scallops — these are the world’s best comfort foods, fused together and served with a flourish that feels completely in sync with Jikoni’s snug, stylish surroundings.
19-21 Blandford Street, W1U 3DJ, jikonilondon.com
Ombra
It’s hard to miss Ombra, and not just because their curiously arty blue and yellow tote bags are everywhere. This place does all the good things — source fresh local produce as well as Italian delicacies, combine the two in simple dishes which belie the chef’s talent and flawless technique — but they do them better than most, and in a picturesque place by the canal, too. The acclaimed gnocco fritto draped in velvety wild boar mortadella appears on the Christmas menu, alongside ravioli stuffed with fragrant pumpkin, amaretti and bitter leaves or tonnarelli with crab ragu. Their festive focaccia of scallop, porcini and bergamot is a must order — out of curiosity if nothing else — as is the tiramisu, the prince of all festive desserts.
1 Vyner Street, E2 9DG, ombrabar.restaurant
Four Hundred Rabbits
Vacherin Mont d’Or is the cheese every camembert wants to be when it grows up. It’s bigger, beefier, creamier... but, sadly, typically confined to the coldest months of the year. It is also a favourite of Four Hundred Rabbits, who this year have gone and plonked it on one of their deservedly-renowned sourdough pizzas bases to create their Vacherin sharing bread for two. The pizzas proper are no less adventurous. 400 Rabbits have never been bound by Italian tradition, and their Christmas menu continues that tradition: pies boast duck with shredded sprouts and pomegranate seeds, or nut roast with sprouts, mozzarella and the Camembert that’s still growing. Don’t miss the famous ice cream, either, which this year is Christmas pudding inspired, complete with a nip of brandy. Drinks, courtesy of local microbreweries, natural wine producers, and East London Liquor Company, are worth mentioning. There’s a winter Negroni, a mulled wine and a very merry variety of beers on tap.
