KIN Restaurant review

The new KIN restaurant in Fitzrovia opened on 30 November 2024. The plant-based restaurant is an expansion of the popular KIN Café next door which will continue to serve its signature breakfast, brunch and take-away options.

When we arrived for our invitation to try this well-regarded vegan spot in London, I realised it was located at my favourite crossroads in Fitzrovia. This is where I often bring my visitors to Attendant Coffee Roasters, which is intriguingly situated in a converted Victorian subterranean toilet (deeply cleaned, of course). Retaining many of its original features, a visit there is always a source of amusement, with great coffee to match.

Many good restaurants occupy Foley Street, but KIN has always held its own and is the sole vegan option in the area. With it’s stellar reputation, the café was already packed when we passed the olive-green facade at noon. The restaurant holds the light filled corner site next door and is so harmoniously connected to the café you may enter by the wrong door as I did. The restaurant has timber floors, comfortable olive-green banquette seating and a striking bar with brass detailing.

KIN Cafe & Restaurant. Photo by Dash and Splash.

Executive Chef, Shayan Shams, has created a vibrant menu divided into appetisers, small plates and large plates. We had our appetisers and small plates arrive together and what a spread it was. My vegetarian dining partner was making all the right sounds as was I (who is very much not a vegan but a great lover of vegetables and generally eating less meat).

KIN Cafe & Restaurant. Photo by Dash and Splash.

We arranged to have our appetisers and small plates arrive together. Every single dish was sensational and while each was very different from the other, they magically married incredibly well. Everything was so delicious we found ourselves on the cusp of not minding our manners and licking the plates clean.

The portion sizes were at times confusing. Our “appetiser” of Crispy Broad Bean Croquettes on a bed of Butter Bean and Dill Cream was in my mind a large plate of food. It was also the most artfully plated with alternating croquettes and shards of powdered crisp fried rice paper and a sprinkling of toasted pine nuts and strategically placed feathers of dill. Personally, it would be enough for lunch (because there is a dessert you do not want to miss out on, more about that later).

Crispy broad bean croquettes on a bed of butter bean and dill cream, KIN Cafe & Restaurant. Photo by Dash and Splash.

The appetiser of tofu was my dining partner’s favourite dish, served with a sticky-glaze and a cashew-carrot dip. Having never been a huge fan of tofu, despite growing up in Singapore, I am slowly building an appreciation for what I have, in the past, seen as a very bland food. This kind of tofu dish would be what gets me over the line, oozing delectable umami flavour and luscious stickiness.

Next was a “small plate” of Truffle Barley Risotto with a spinach and truffle infused sauce. It should be a crime to serve a small plate of risotto this good. I vote they take it off the “small” section and make the risotto one of their “large plates” asap. I would happily pay double for it. The final small plate was a delicious House-Style Aubergine topped with their signature house sauce. For those who favour aubergines you are in luck as there is another aubergine “large plate” dish with miso and cauliflower pureé.

Sticky- glazed tofu paired with a cashew-carrot dip, KIN Cafe & Restaurant. Photo by Dash and Splash.

At this point in the meal, we were on a high and very excited to see what delights were in store for our “large plates” of Cauliflower Steak & Butter Bean Puree and the Tomato Trio of gluten free gnocchi with tomato relish, basil cream and tomato espuma (that is a “foam” to you and me). This dish was confusion on a plate. Gnocchi, by definition, is a small dumpling, here we had alternating large round discs of chewy potato cakes and fried green tomatoes which looked quite rustic, and the foam looked like a fancy after thought. The Cauliflower steak was undercooked and not very easily sliced with an ordinary knife. A real shame because the flavours of the dish were all there and a softer cauliflower would have made it easier to absorb the delicious sauce. The presentation was elevated with a few dainty spears of asparagus and pointy Romanesco and flowering herbs a refreshing touch.

I am not sure what the plans are for their dessert menu in the future, but we were verbally told their two desserts of the day. A Chocolate Fondant with Raspberry Sorbet or an Avocado, Pistachio Cheesecake neither were discernibly vegan. We had confidence they would recover from our slight disappointment with the large plates. So in the name of thoroughness, we ordered both. The cheesecake was a total revelation. We simply say - Order it.

Avocado, pistachio cheesecake, KIN Cafe & Restaurant. Photo by Dash and Splash.

The fondant was oozing chocolatey goodness. Raspberry and chocolate are a classic dessert combination, and while both the fondant and sorbet were delightful, I myself would prefer the tartness of a coulis. The sorbet, would be better suited to a summer menu.

This roller coaster of a meal, with highs and lows, will still have us returning as the highs had flashes of brilliance and a week into their opening, we are not going to hold any missteps against them.

Location: 22 Foley St, London W1W 6DT. Website: kinlondon.com Instagram: @kinlondon.

Review by Natascha Milsom