Kickin’ it With the Trendies – Kumo, Knighstbridge, 19th of September, 2009

I don’t eat enough Japanese. In fact, I don’t eat much of what the Far East has to offer which, if you consider the Michelin Guide’s recent surge towards Tokyo, is pretty bad. On a late Saturday night, Mike, my other half and I decided to have some half-price Japanese eats at what we thought would be a trendy restaurant in Knightsbridge.

It turned out to be a trendy bar that also served food. As such, our late attendance meant that most of the meal was spent trying to shout over the frankly terrible music that was being blasted across the floor. The evening certainly had a casual feel, since we were more or less sat at a low drinks table as we ate.

Having come to terms with the fact that Kumo was indeed a bar and not a restaurant, we were a little edgy about what to expect. Our waitress had a beaming (and near constant) smile, but didn’t appear to know much about the food – we asked what a particular ingredient was, and how much we should expect from a bowl of rice, and both times she needed to consult the kitchen.

So, to the food. Bloody marvellous at times, pretty good at others. It was a pleasant surprise to be presented with some light squid with spicy dipping sauce to start with, followed by some incredibly delicate chicken with spring onion, grilled on skewers. Really fine snack fare to kick us off. Seconds were a very lively if not-at-all-traditional-Japanese chicken breast with a cream, wasabi and mushroom sauce, and some quite wonderful scallops. The former was ever-so-slightly tangy with the wasabi in the sauce and very properly cooked. The latter were just brilliant. As light, juicy and fabulous as you expect good scallops, served on a bed of greens which included lettuce and seaweed.

All in all, the night of eating in a bar told me two things: firstly, I need to be eating more Japanese; secondly, you need to get to Kumo early if you’re eating!

Kumo