S K B

Soho Kitchen and Bar
19-21 Old Compton Street
London
W1D 5JJ

Now that Jamelia's in NYC, my foodie dates have become awfully lonely but a good meal in and of itself is always great company (no shade Jam). This week however, I headed to a spot in one of London’s most thriving and diverse situations, Soho. Soho Kitchen and Bar, located along the iconic Old Compton Street, this Soho House owned buzzing restaurant is an ideal spot for after work. Tonight’s date alongside dinner, is mi Madre.

Daiquiri and house rosé

No need to book in advance, the indoor and outdoor seating can accommodate diners with booths and conventional tables. Having already pree’ed the menu beforehand, we pretty much got started straight away; Honey Fried Chicken and Prawns Chilli for starters, Flat iron chicken and Grilled salmon with a side of regular fries and sweet potatoes (slightly carb happy) for main course. With it being such a warm, wonderous day outside, we eased in with a daiquiri and house rosé.

Honey Fried Chicken

Like most Soho House & Co properties, there’s a consistent decorative theme of a distressed dark wood foundation with warm colours to make you feel at home. As we sunk into the chaise lounge sofa seats, the waiter presented our starters.

Prawns Chilli

Served in petite china, my wings were heavily lacquered in a honey BBQ glaze and sprinkled with sesame seeds – a close comparison being the infamous Jack Daniels wings from TGI’s. The chicken slid effortlessly off the bone and met my hunger needs imminently. The chilli prawns were lightly seasoned, battered and served with a cream chilli sauce and although the portion size appeared minute, it was surprisingly more filling than anticipated.

Grilled Salmon

Not long afterwards, mains arrived. At my recommendation, Steph went for the flat iron chicken and having recently ordered it for dinner at Shoreditch House, I already knew I was going to asking for a cut from that! My salmon was a hearty fillet – Amen! I always find that salmon fillets are always very timid and after 4 cuts through, it’s finished. SKB’s bold portion sized fillet rested on a salad assortment, which included peppers, tomatoes, butternut squash cubes and almond nut shavings; alongside this, I ordered fries with aioli dip. I’m totally hungry ALL over again writing this. 

The salmon glided along my knife as I gently sliced into it and with a lemon wedge to cut through the flavours, I couldn’t be happier. Incredibly fresh, perfectly dressed and partnered with the salad foundation, this dish really met my expectations. The aioli dip gave the fries some character (more restaurants should offer this as a dip).

Flat iron chicken

The flat iron chicken now is super succulent and served alone with a lemon wedge, garlic and a steak knife. This bad boy definitely requires special crockery and is a mammoth breast to get through. It marries well with the sweet potatoes topped with crème fraiche and sesame seeds - the balance is complimentary.

Starters and mains are all well and good but what’s a meal without dessert? 

Chocolate Brownie

Steph decided to go for a peanut butter sundae and I had the chocolate brownie. Now if you are familiar with Chicken Shop, you will know that their brownie is out of this world so as SKB is also owned by Soho House & Co, I expected a similar standard but unfortunately, I was disappointed. Unlike Chicken Shop, this brownie had a dry texture and lacked that warm, moist consistency – the vanilla ice cream was quality though.

Peanut butter Sundae

The peanut butter sundae looked like a children’s fantasy – a huge ice cream sundae smothered in sauces, hidden chocolate treatments, a peanut flavoured cookie and topped with erupting whipped cream, we both looked at the dessert defeated! According to mama WOM, on a summers day and having not already eaten 2 courses, the dessert would be ideal but as of right now, it’s not working out. About 7 mouthfuls later, we succumbed to the itis - time for the bill?

Soho Kitchen and Bar is a cool place for catch ups, quick quality dinner after work or cocktails looking out onto the diversity that is Soho. Reasonably priced and open until 2am on Saturdays, by replacing Tinsel Town with SKB, you’d be doing yourself a favour.

Verdict? CHEWS :-)

Can. x

#WOMLDN