KOL * - London (No.49 in The World’s 50 Best)

March 2025

In Marylebone, one March evening, the light falls on the discreet façade of KOL like a veil at the end of winter. You step inside, and the world closes in: ochre-colored walls, deep-grained wood, patinated leather, lights as if filtered by a setting sun. A decor that doesn't seek to seduce with a flash of brilliance but to install a slow breath—one that prepares the palate.

Chef Santiago Lastra takes us on a bicultural journey. Each dish is a fragment of Mexico reimagined with British precision and seasonality. We begin with a broth of chapulin, kelp, and huacatay : smoky, vegetal, almost medicinal, it surprises with its saline depth and the discreet hint of grilled insect. Then, a Cornish crab churro with dulce de leche plays on a fine line between milky sweetness and iodized freshness, with a hint of marigold that brightens the whole. The flavors settle in, frank but enveloping, like a story you don't want to see end.

The series continues with a blue mussel and morel tulip , topped with a spring herb mole: a short but dense bite, like a haiku poem. Then the nicoatole —meadowsweet flower cream, grilled wild herbs, and caviar—unfolds a floral sweetness that evokes damp meadows in the morning.

The cuttlefish, celeriac, and sea truffle play a different register: more straightforward, marine, with a delicate bitterness at the end. The langoustine taco arrives steaming hot, flavored with chili, and enhanced with a hint of sea buckthorn: a dish that several guides describe as one of the most masterful at KOL, so clear and immediate is its balance.

Then comes the huarache : melting wagyu, nettles, wild garlic, bone marrow—a meaty, earthy composition that gains even more depth thanks to the extra that's worth every pound invested. After this power, the portobello with mole amarillo surprises with its calm: juicy mushroom, marinated quail egg, sunny sauce that smooths out the rough edges.

The scallops , served with rhubarb and pilpil, embody this cuisine that does not shy away from minimalism - a few elements, but an acidic and iodized relief of surgical precision. We then increase the intensity with the saddle of lamb with rye koji , sorrel and bueno mulato pepper: a deep, almost tactile dish, which the lamb neck in barbacoa extends with its smoky notes, rhubarb, pico de gallo and salsa arbol.

Refreshment arrives in the form of a jalapeño , sorrel, and fennel nieve—a tangy, herbaceous interlude that cleanses the palate without overpowering it. The forced rhubarb and pasilla jericalla brings comfort, before the extra buñuelos bring the end of the procession: Tunworth ice cream, sea buckthorn, ancho chili—a dessert that is at once milky, tangy, and warmly spiced, hailed by several critics as one of the finest sweet balances of the house.

The service, on the other hand, has the rare art of blending into the decor, of withdrawing at just the right moment to let the emotion settle. Nothing stiff, nothing mechanical. A genuine listening, a desire to share—you can feel it, like you perceive harmony in a dish.

If we wanted to quibble, we could say that everything is so controlled that we would sometimes like to feel a slip, a wilder pulse. But that would be blaming a dancer for not stumbling.

Leaving KOL , I think back to this quote by Carlos Fuentes: "Mexico is a moving mosaic." Here, Lastra has recomposed the fragments with the stones and lights of the United Kingdom. The result: an irrepressible desire to return soon.