Kiln
Thai
58 Brewer St, London, Soho W1F 9TL
£
Having been impressed with Kiln's older and bigger sister, The Smoking Goat back in November I was intrigued to see what else self-taught chef Ben Chapman had to offer.
True to it's name, Kiln's grub is all cooked on charcoal burning pools in a open kitchen where you can observe your food through all stages from ingredient to creation. Upstairs there are not dining tables but instead a shiny stainless steel bar/counter where you sit and watch. If, however, you are wanting a dining table, or are coming with a group, you will be seated in the lowly lit and intimate basement, a pleasant area, sure - but nowhere near as exciting as the upstairs counter. Food is either cooked in a wok or a clay pot, adding an authenticity and beautiful simplicity, however despite the restaurant being exclusively Thai, not one of the chef's are Thai themselves.
Now this is not a criticism per se, as the food was absolutely delicious and I'm pretty sure with a name like Ben Chapman the owner himself is unlikely to be anything other than British. I do know some people are funny about this kind of thing - for example I will always go to the Chinese restaurant with the most Chinese people sitting in it, maybe this is a naive choice but I feel it then has a stronger chance of being closer to the real thing. There were two Thai ladies sitting next to us but apart from that the restaurant was filled with Brits. These two ladies complained of the food being far too spicy before we even ordered ours, which scared me a little.
I couldn't have been more pleasantly surprised! We ordered two aged lamb and cumin skewers, followed by the Mackerel Dry Red Curry, Wild Ginger & Short Rib Curry from Burma, The Clay Pot Baked Glass Noodles Tamworth Belly & Brown Crab meat and two portions of Brown Jasmine Rice. The skewers were tender and flavour filled, the Mackerel curry fresh and spicy (but not too spicy), the Rib Curry from Burma rich and delicious, with Beef so tender it melted in your mouth. Only criticism would be the noodles - recommended by the waiter, and whilst also very tasty I felt could have been a lot more generous on both the Crab and Pork Belly - not sure there even was any of these in the clay pot!
They recommend that you get 3/4 dishes each, Tom and I ordered the above 6 and it was the perfect amount. The dishes are small but the flavour is so powerful you needn't any more. Eating upstairs is definitely a must, however, a warning that it does get extremely hot (although if the incredibly composed chefs can keep their cool, so can you!) Our total bill came to £32.57 including service - a very reasonable price for some delicious food and an original dining experience.
If you haven't visited Kiln already you must. That is all.
OVERALL RATING: ****
http://www.kilnsoho.com/
