A TASTE OF SOMEWHERE ELSE: THREE RESTAURANTS BRINGING THE WORLD TO LONDON

WORDS MAISIE JANE DANIELS

London is one of those cities where you can find yourself eating your way through Sri Lanka, sitting down to a Georgian feast in Mayfair or tucking into Peruvian ceviche in the heart of Soho, all before the curtain even goes up.

With so many cuisines from around the world at our fingertips, there’s something rather lovely about making dinner part of the adventure. Whether you’re looking for somewhere to eat before a theatre show, fuelling up before a day of shopping or simply fancy trying something a little different, we’ve rounded up three restaurants serving up flavours from much further afield.

From enormous Sri Lankan prawns to Georgian feasting and enough ceviche to make you question whether you really need anything else, here are three places worth putting on your London dining list.

DAKADAKA: MAYFAIR

Sunday roast. There are few words more comforting to a Brit, particularly one from the North of England where gravy is practically its own food group. But what happens when you swap the potatoes and gravy for a Georgian feast?

Enter DakaDaka.

Set on Heddon Street in Mayfair, DakaDaka’s Sunday Supra offers a very different take on the traditional Sunday lunch. A Supra is a traditional Georgian feast built around communal eating, generous plates, wine, conversation and plenty of toasting, and, importantly, you should arrive hungry.

Our meal began with a huge wooden bowl of seasonal Pkhali, bringing together wild mushroom, spinach and sorrel, beetroot and tkemali, minted Nadugi cheese and jonjoli, alongside crispy Chvishtari cornbread for dipping. There was a lot going on here, but in the best possible way. Each element brought something different, from earthy mushrooms and fresh herbs to the tangy tkemali and creamy cheese. The whole thing felt abundant without being heavy, and the little bits of cornbread were particularly good for scooping up anything left behind.

For the main, we went for the Shkmeruli: half a roast chicken served with garlic and thyme cream. As someone who grew up believing that a roast dinner without gravy is bordering on sacrilege, I was surprised by how little I missed it. The garlic and thyme cream was rich, fragrant and completely delicious.

And then there was the drink. The Cacha Bloody Mary comes with a secret recipe, although we do know that chimichurri makes an appearance, and what a revelation that was. Spicy, herby and wonderfully savoury, it was enough to make me wonder why every Bloody Mary doesn’t come with a little chimichurri inside.

DakaDaka’s Supra is a reminder that Sunday lunch doesn’t have to mean doing the same thing every week. It’s social, generous and designed to be shared, making it a particularly good option if you’re looking for something a little different.

F WORD VERDICT: If you fancy giving the traditional Sunday roast a little holiday, DakaDaka is well worth the trip. Just remember: go hungry. You will be fed.

ISSO PRAWN CRAZY: CANARY WHARF

If the name doesn’t give it away, Isso Prawn Crazy is very much about the prawns. The Sri Lankan seafood brand, which first launched in Colombo in 2016, has made its London debut in Canary Wharf, bringing its famously generous seafood offering to East London. The concept is pleasingly simple: choose your prawn, choose your sauce and choose your side. Essentially, you build your own plate of prawn perfection.

And when they say colossal fresh water prawns, they really mean colossal. Our Colossal Fresh Water Prawn was so enormous that, at first glance, it could easily have been mistaken for a lobster. I’ll admit I did a double take. Prawn or lobster? Either way, I wasn’t complaining.

The restaurant works directly with fishing communities in northern Sri Lanka, with Black Tiger, Flower, Giant Freshwater and Colossal Freshwater Prawns making up the protein options. From there, you can pair your choice with sauces including Jaffna Curry, Negombo Curry, Turmeric Coconut Curry or the Kithul, Garlic & Chilli and Hot Butter option.

For starters, the portions are refreshingly generous. We shared the Cuttlefish Fritto and Mutton Rolls between two, and there was plenty to go around. This is definitely a menu designed with sharing in mind, although I wouldn’t blame you for wanting to keep that colossal prawn all to yourself.

If you’re a seafood lover, this is the place to dive in... quite literally. I’d recommend going hungry and making the most of the starters and mains, particularly if you’re planning on sharing. The dessert didn’t quite hit the same heights for us, but thankfully the prawns had already stolen the show. And if you fancy making your visit even more of a Sri Lankan affair, there’s something special happening at Isso this August. Zephyr Ceylon, recognised by Condé Nast Traveller as one of the best bars in Sri Lanka, is bringing its signature South Coast spirit to Isso Prawn Crazy for two special nights on 20th and 22nd August.

The Zephyr team will be taking over the cocktail menu with five exclusive creations, including the Zephyr Sour, Tropical Negroni and Jackfruit Brandy, alongside Isso’s seafood offering. It feels like a fitting collaboration between two Sri Lankan brands, bringing together cocktails, food and plenty of island flavour for what promises to be a fun couple of evenings.

F WORD VERDICT: Come for the giant prawns, stay for the Sri Lankan flavours. And yes, the prawns really are that big.

SEÑOR CEVICHE: SOHO

Located on the first floor of Kingly Court, Señor Ceviche feels perfectly at home in the colourful chaos of Soho. Kingly Court is already something of a food-lover’s playground, with restaurants and bars packed into its lively courtyard, so there’s plenty to explore if you’re making a day of it.

Señor Ceviche specialises in Nikkei Peruvian food and Pisco cocktails, and while there’s plenty on the menu to tempt you, it was the ceviche that had us hooked.

We started with the Chifa Chicharrones: slow-cooked, crispy pork belly with smoked sweet potato purée and chancaca soy. Pork belly can be one of those dishes that sounds better than it tastes, but this was the opposite. Crispy, rich and packed with flavour, it disappeared rather quickly.

Then came the ceviche. We tried the Ceviche de Atún Rojo, with red tuna, coconut and ají amarillo tiger’s milk, green apple and cucumber; El Clásico, made with sea bass, ají limo tiger’s milk, sweet potato, choclo corn, red onion, coriander and plantain; and the Señor Ceviche, combining yellowfin tuna, sea bass, ponzu tiger’s milk, yuzu tobiko and langoustine cracker. If you’re wondering what on earth tiger’s milk is, you’re not alone. Thankfully, it’s considerably less alarming than it sounds. It’s essentially the citrus-based, often spicy marinade used to flavour ceviche, and at Señor Ceviche, it was absolutely delicious.

The fish was incredibly fresh, with the acidity and spice of the marinade bringing everything to life. On a hot day, this is exactly the sort of food you want in front of you: bright, fresh, zingy and light enough that you can continue your Soho wander afterwards without needing to be rolled home.

The cocktail menu is just as playful, with the Spiced Pineapple Pisco Sour being a particular favourite. Sweet, spicy and boozy enough to remind you that you’re still technically on your way to doing something else. Although, after a few of these, perhaps those plans can wait.

F WORD VERDICT: Fresh, vibrant and full of flavour, Señor Ceviche is the perfect Soho pit stop when you want something a little more exciting than the usual pre-show dinner.

THREE RESTAURANTS, THREE VERY DIFFERENT JOURNEYS

What makes these three restaurants so much fun is that none of them feel like simply somewhere to grab a meal. Each offers a little glimpse into another culture, while still feeling completely at home in London.

Whether you’re heading to Canary Wharf for a day of shopping, meeting friends before a show in the West End or looking for a Sunday lunch in Mayfair that doesn’t involve the same old roast, there’s plenty of reason to make the journey.

And if London has taught us anything, it’s that sometimes the best part of going out is deciding where to eat first.