The Peruvian and Italian flavors that come together at Monmouth Kitchen are unforgettable.
Depending on the ingredients and the chef, fusion cuisine can either be a culinary triumph or a catastrophic failure. At least there’s good news: Monmouth Kitchen is where you want to go because they excel at it. Mercer Street, one of six streets that branch out from the Seven Dials monument in Covent Garden, is where you’ll find this fashionable restaurant. Open to the public, albeit physically located inside the Radisson Blu hotel, it has its own separate entrance.
The food is an inventive combination of Peruvian and Italian flavors, served on small plates designed for communal dining.
Ambience
Discover the gastronomic paradise of The Monmouth Kitchen nestled in the heart of Covent Garden
When entering the Monmouth Kitchen, you’ll go by a bar where you can enjoy bar snacks and drinks in a comfortable setting. It opens out to a large room that is light and airy in some spots, dark and sultry in others, but consistently sophisticated.
There are both low and high tables. We settled on a booth in the darkest corner of the restaurant, where the air was warm and inviting. We were able to look out over the whole place while we sipped our drinks, a sophisticated margarita and a martini, respectively.
Everyone in the restaurant seems genuinely pleased and astonished by each new communal platter that arrives.
The service is excellent, and the staff is quite knowledgeable about the menu items and can provide helpful recommendations.
Food & Drink
Do you think it’s possible to combine Peruvian and Italian cuisines? We ordered a whopping six dishes to share, and the Peruvian influences brought enough tantalizing sharpness to the table while the Italians brought gentle flavor and melting cheese. So, in conclusion, here is what we learned from our collaborative effort:
A great example of traditional Peruvian cuisine, the seabass ceviche, was a tangy and flavorful bite. Avocado, white corn, red onion, and fresh corn are all included. Soya is also added, which gives it a more distinct flavor and helps to sharpen the overall taste.
There were two half-corn cobs and a half-lime. The idea is to dip the lime into the chili powder and then rub the corn with it. What a great idea!
An orange and avocado salad topped with a zesty lemon dressing is a refreshing diversion from the heat of the chili.
Four tuna tacos, slathered in spicy and tangy lemon sauce, were served on light and airy corn tortillas.
These nine stunning Padrón peppers were slow-roasted and seasoned with Maldon sea salt. Even while most of the time they are rather moderate, every once in a while, you’ll get one that’s certain it’s a jalapeño. As a pair, we had fun playing Russian roulette. Fortunately, nobody of us was stung, and the nine nibbles we each tried turned out to be tasty and moderately spicy.
The beef carpaccio was tender, and the dressing of dressed rocket and aged Parmesan complemented the beef and cheese well.
The four arancini balls I had, filled with white ragù and cheese, were the best part of the meal. I like the contrast of textures between the crunchy outside and the soft cheese and rice inside.
My tablemate really loved the spare ribs. The fragrances wafting from the little hot pan they were presented in made even someone who wasn’t hungry feel a twinge of hunger. He devoured every last bit of the tender beef doused in the sweet and sour sauce. His elation was evident, and I couldn’t help but feel bad that I’d freed one of them.
