Kopapa, London, United Kingdom
Sep 29, 2015, 5:57 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 1,677
Kopapa, London, United Kingdom
This is the first time I’ve been to this New Zealand restaurant just off Covent Garden [you can see the full review with all the pictures on my site]. According to their website, Kopapa a Maori word for ‘a gathering, to be crowded, and a building to store food in’.
Generally I try to avoid going to this part of London around the weekends because it is way too busy and full of tourists. However, this restaurant was recommended so I wanted to try it out.
The location is a bit tucked away from the main Covent Garden area which frankly was a relief. This was a Friday night and so not only does the normal tourist crowd congregate in the West End to see shows, Friday night in London is also the invite for general drunkeness.
It is quite a small restaurant. It has some tables outside. I can’t tell if they are there to evoke the spirit of street side dining, or to make up for the small space inside. In my mind’s eye I always love the idea of these street side tables. However, I no longer find the idea of sitting outside where people are wandering right next to you, and traffic belching their exhausts, appealing. Each to their own I suppose.
As I mentioned previously, the restaurant is quite small. However, the use of space is great and although the tables are close, it is not tight fitting where you are constantly bumping into the table behind/next to you. The atmosphere on the night I went was really great (but this sort of thing does depend on the crowd). I like a lively place without too much shouting and this fit the bill exactly. It was a bit noisy, but in a friendly chatty sort of way.
Having said that, the atmosphere might have had something to do with the waiting staff who were superb. Very attentive, but not overbearing. This is a skill that I’m sure can be taught, but can’t be easy. The wait staff need to judge if a table is catching up before perusing the menu or whether they want to order quickly. Unfortunately I was in the first group.
The solution to taking so much time deciding what to eat … drink!!! Unfortunately I didn’t take photos of all my drinks, but I started with a Chinese Emperor. The Chinese Emperor [Pear & ginger jam, fresh apple, ginger liqueur & Portobello Road gin shaken with a bit of citrus, served with crystallised ginger] which was really delicious — difficult to describe but a tasty and refreshing drink. A great way to start a meal. I then moved on to the Merlot from Wakefield ‘Promised Land’, Clare Valley. Unfortunately I then made the decision to for a desert wine — error. It was way to sweet. To go with the desert. No way. My bad.
Anyway, onto the rest of the meal. We selected from a range of small eats as well as main courses to try different dishes.
Small eats
Marinated squid, samphire, sweet & sour fennel, pickled lemon, Herb & edmame puree
Pan fried scallops, sweet chilli sauce, creme fraiche
Mains
Herb crusted grey mullet, watermelon & samphire salad, polenta croutons, Aleppo chilli grenobloise sauce
Salad of cold coconut-poached chicken breast, roasted butternut squash, feta, salsa verde, roasted tomatoes, rocket & crispy chickpeas
Deserts
Amaretto & marcona almond custard tart, caramelised black fig, pine & fir tree honey & Greek yoghurt
Dark chocolate & Aleppo chilli fondant, malt ice cream
But which of the dishes do I recommend?
Actually this is a difficult question to answer. In particular I like the squid and the scallops, but the mains were also delicious. If I were to go back again I might skip the main courses all togther and just order a whole bunch of the smaller starters, which apparently they are perfectly happy with customer doing.
Generally I try to avoid going to this part of London around the weekends because it is way too busy and full of tourists. However, this restaurant was recommended so I wanted to try it out.
The location is a bit tucked away from the main Covent Garden area which frankly was a relief. This was a Friday night and so not only does the normal tourist crowd congregate in the West End to see shows, Friday night in London is also the invite for general drunkeness.
It is quite a small restaurant. It has some tables outside. I can’t tell if they are there to evoke the spirit of street side dining, or to make up for the small space inside. In my mind’s eye I always love the idea of these street side tables. However, I no longer find the idea of sitting outside where people are wandering right next to you, and traffic belching their exhausts, appealing. Each to their own I suppose.
As I mentioned previously, the restaurant is quite small. However, the use of space is great and although the tables are close, it is not tight fitting where you are constantly bumping into the table behind/next to you. The atmosphere on the night I went was really great (but this sort of thing does depend on the crowd). I like a lively place without too much shouting and this fit the bill exactly. It was a bit noisy, but in a friendly chatty sort of way.
Having said that, the atmosphere might have had something to do with the waiting staff who were superb. Very attentive, but not overbearing. This is a skill that I’m sure can be taught, but can’t be easy. The wait staff need to judge if a table is catching up before perusing the menu or whether they want to order quickly. Unfortunately I was in the first group.
The solution to taking so much time deciding what to eat … drink!!! Unfortunately I didn’t take photos of all my drinks, but I started with a Chinese Emperor. The Chinese Emperor [Pear & ginger jam, fresh apple, ginger liqueur & Portobello Road gin shaken with a bit of citrus, served with crystallised ginger] which was really delicious — difficult to describe but a tasty and refreshing drink. A great way to start a meal. I then moved on to the Merlot from Wakefield ‘Promised Land’, Clare Valley. Unfortunately I then made the decision to for a desert wine — error. It was way to sweet. To go with the desert. No way. My bad.
Anyway, onto the rest of the meal. We selected from a range of small eats as well as main courses to try different dishes.
Small eats
Marinated squid, samphire, sweet & sour fennel, pickled lemon, Herb & edmame puree
Pan fried scallops, sweet chilli sauce, creme fraiche
Mains
Herb crusted grey mullet, watermelon & samphire salad, polenta croutons, Aleppo chilli grenobloise sauce
Salad of cold coconut-poached chicken breast, roasted butternut squash, feta, salsa verde, roasted tomatoes, rocket & crispy chickpeas
Deserts
Amaretto & marcona almond custard tart, caramelised black fig, pine & fir tree honey & Greek yoghurt
Dark chocolate & Aleppo chilli fondant, malt ice cream
But which of the dishes do I recommend?
Actually this is a difficult question to answer. In particular I like the squid and the scallops, but the mains were also delicious. If I were to go back again I might skip the main courses all togther and just order a whole bunch of the smaller starters, which apparently they are perfectly happy with customer doing.
