When I travel for food, I search for restaurants that embody their cuisine and offer a distinctive sense of place. I often stick to a straightforward rule: French food in France, Italian in Italy, and so on. But some chefs defy convention, choosing to explore their roots abroad. When they do, it often allows for a unique creative freedom, reinterpreting traditions with new perspectives, techniques, and locally available ingredients.
This is what brought me to Kol during my visit to London. Chef Santiago’s approach—blending traditional Mexican flavors with British ingredients—was an intriguing reinterpretation that I was keen to experience firsthand.
Kol is located at the intersection of two high-end London neighborhoods, where I saw more Ferraris in one afternoon than I usually do outside of Monaco. Despite its luxurious location, Kol’s interior feels more grounded, warm and welcoming, with soft colors, thoughtful Mexican décor, and a casual vibe in general. This set the stage for an evening that felt both refined and authentic.
We began with small bites that showcased Santiago’s creativity: chapulines (grasshoppers) in a light, refreshing broth, a lobster tostone, and a squid taco. Each bite was a surprise—the broth was warm and umami-rich, the lobster refined, and the squid had a satisfying depth of flavor. This start felt both unexpected and rooted in Mexican tradition, setting a high bar for what was to come.
The regular course was a tamal colado, a dish I hadn’t encountered before. Here, a corn custard topped with a pig trotter glaze and pumpkin for texture, with caviar adding a surprising twist. While I often think caviar is out of place here it had a clear purpose which was to balance the custard’s sweetness with a savory edge that worked remarkably well.
The next dish was one of my favorites of the evening. A statement that my Peruvian wife might disagree with as every time we get a Mexican ceviche she always says that the Peruvian is better. The ceviche that followed became one of my favorites. Built around hand-dived scallops with horseradish powder, lovage, and a hint of apple juice, the dish was fresh, bright, and memorable. I appreciated the way the horseradish and lovage balanced the delicacy of the scallops, adding a refreshing note without overpowering them.
The next dish is the only dish to have been on the menu since Kol opened. A taco featuring langoustine tail, elevated by an unexpected sea buckthorn sauce. While sea buckthorn isn’t traditionally Mexican, its tart acidity added a refreshing Nordic touch that complemented the taco’s bold flavors.
From refreshing and luxurious to simple and umami rich. This was also the first mole of the evening. This one a yellow mole based on something as exotic and surprising as fermented gooseberries. The combination with the rich portobello and pickled quail egg was pure bliss.
One course, however, didn’t fully resonate for me: snow crab with corn, lemon verbena, and cascabel sauce. The sauce was rich and flavorful, yet the crab’s delicate taste felt slightly overshadowed, leaving the dish feeling caught between wanting to be light and vibrant or deeply flavorful.
The halibut with browned butter, celeriac, and winter truffle returned us to form. The browned butter added a warm, umami depth to the dish that complemented the truffle and celeriac—a perfect balance of subtle flavors that didn’t overpower the halibut. Here it should also be said that I am a huge fan of brown butter and I usually say that using brown butter is almost like cheating.
The last mole of the evening was to be served. Mole to me is one of those mystical dishes where the recipes are passed down from generation to generation and usually have between 50 and 100 ingredients. All to create an extremely complex and delicious sauce that often times is a dish in its own right. The mole at Kol has not been passed down from generation to generation, and it doesn’t have 50 ingredients. It has 3, but it is however still both delicious and has a complex flavor profile. It is simply created using rye koji, lamb stock and dried chilies. It was served with a delicious fatty piece of lamb. Umami all the way.
As a fan of barbacoa, I was pleased to see it on the menu, done in Kol’s distinctively refined style with pear pico de gallo and a mild chili dressing. Although it wasn’t spicy like I love it when served in a casual place, the dish captured the flavors of barbacoa elegantly.
The first dessert was a raspberry sorbet with meringue, birch, and pineapple weed, topped with small frozen raspberry spheres for texture. It was a refreshing palate cleanser, both light and balanced.
Our final dish of the evening would be the last example of the fusion of Mexican and Nordic/British ingredients. A strawberry custard topped with mead, wood ants and a pasilla. The wood ants gives just a bit of acidity to the delicious sweet strawberries. I think it’s a very nice dish to sum up our evening but also the experience and life of head chef Santiago. Traditional Mexican dishes, British ingredients from the strawberries and not least his experience in very technical kitchens such as Mugaritz and Noma. Lastly famous for among other things using ants in their dishes.
The description of the last dish sums up my experience at Kol quiete nicely. Kol is a great Modern British interpretation of traditional Mexican dishes using luxurious techniques and lots of luxurious ingredients. This day we were lucky enough to try a mix of their 3 different pairings, cocktail, non alcoholic and wine. It was spot on. The wines were some of my all time favorite natural wines including a wine made by Christian Tschida especially for Kol. That brought a lot of joy to me as I often feel that the wines of a world class restaurant seldom lives up to the World class food as World class wines unfortunately comes with a price tag. Therefore I loved that they were able to serve wine and cocktails at that were just as good as the food. The perfect dot above the i.
Practical information
Location: London, England
Head Chef Santiago Lastra
Menu: 14 course tasting menu $200
Website: https://kolrestaurant.com
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