Kiln, London

There are very few times in life when I'm sorry to live in the North of England, despite having grown up on the London / Essex border. But there is no doubt that those people who live in London, or its environs, have access to a wondrous selection of eateries, far more varied than we have even in a decent sized city like Leeds. To Soho then, yesterday, and to Kiln, which is a D discovery. He has been a proper fanboy over it since eating there twice in two days earlier this year. 

Did I like Kiln? Yes, absolutely, and I’m only sorry that my friend J and I were relatively restrained with our menu choices (we needed to save room for an afternoon of cocktail consumption).

Speaking of cocktails, it would have been rude not to try Kiln’s offering. J went for dark rum with strawberry and cacao while I had gin with lime and something else which currently escapes me (probably because of all the brain cells I killed off in the proceeding hours). Gorgeous though, really bright and sherberty.

Food - we went for two of the smaller plates, the Northern Laap sausage and the slow cooked chicken and soy. I was expecting to love the sausage - and indeed it was rich and meaty and funky with dried shrimp. But I think the chicken was my favourite. Incredibly tender, the marriage of the sweet, melting meat with the umami hit of soy and the lick of flame from the grill, was utterly irresistible.

Stir fried greens in soy (we felt veg were required) were fresh and crunchy and a welcome foil to the meat. Dirty napkin included in the shot for, er, effect.

We weren’t going to try the glass noodles with belly pork and brown crab meat, but the server insisted that it was a Kiln classic. Enjoyable - there was a lovely kick of heat from the noodle dressing - but the crab meat was not readily discernible which was a little bit of a shame. Next time I’d definitely opt for rice and a curry instead.

This is Thai food the likes of which I haven’t seen before and really illustrates that it is a cuisine that is far more than fish cakes and green curry. Spicy and rich and exciting, it’s only a shame it’s not closer at hand.