Thai
58 Brewer Street, London, W1F 9TL
London, England
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Overall Rating (out of 10): 9.0
Stand Out Dish: Slow Grilled Soy Chicken
Meal Time: 1.30hrs
Ave Cost Per Head (excl. drinks): £39
Summary: unpretentious Thai tapas, using quality ingredients and authentic cooking methods; avoid if you don’t like spicy food
Would I Go Back? Yes
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Kiln is located right in the heart of Soho on Brewer St, wedged between an electrical hardware store and a Japanese BBQ restaurant.
On entering the restaurant you are met with a dominant stainless steel, metal wraparound bar table, with fixed stools that extend the length of the restaurant and encompasses the kitchen and bar in a u-shape configuration.
Our first impressions started off poorly with a surly, bordering on rude, interaction with the waiting staff; we explained we had a booking, giving our name, only to end up being dismissively told to sit wherever we wanted. Thankfully it was plain sailing from there on out.
We chose to sit at the far end of the table, near the heart of the kitchen, which proved to be a good choice and I would recommend its location if you are interested in seeing the various cooking stations, including an impressive multi-layered charcoal grill, flaming coals, rapid wok action, and intricate prep / garnish work.
The menu is presented in a tapas style and our waitress recommended that we order 5-6 dishes for two people.
Northern Style Laap Sausage
Slow Grilled Soy Chicken
We started with two of the three available snacks. The sausage had great flavour and an intense dry heat finish. The chicken was a standout star due to its incredible tenderness and flavour. This was achieved through cooking the chicken for over an hour, skin-down, on the very top grill layer leading to a confit style meat texture with a crispy skin.
Clay Pot Baked Glass Noodles
Whilst tasty with an accompanying sauce that worked well with the noodles, this was the least impressive dish we tried due to a lack of strong flavour and/or ingredients that stood out from the noodles.
Sour Turmeric Mussels with Aged Cucumber
The mussels were beautifully presented and served a sour turmeric sauce that was a fantastic accompaniment.
Fried Curry of Monkfish & its Liver
The monkfish was lightly breaded in a very flavourful medium-spicy sauce. The breading meant that the fish was not overpowered or lost in the sauce and the overall dish was well balanced. The liver was not visibly obvious within the dish, leaving us to conclude that it may have been integrated within the sauce.
Grilled Cucumber, Wild Ginger & Beef Shin Curry
The texture of the cucumber once grilled was not to my taste, but it combined well with the tender falling-off-the-bone beef shin which was served in a medium+-spicy sauce. The monkfish was the better of the two curries that we ordered but this dish was no slouch.
Verdict
Strong, unpretentious cooking where the ingredients, sauces, and cooking methods speak for themselves. This, combined with a restaurant environment that brought you as close to the cooking and methods used without having to don an apron, made for an excellent experience.
As a testament to the quality of the dishes at Kiln, we ordered another round of the Northern Style Lap Sausage, Slow Grilled Soy Chicken, and a further bowl of rice to soak up the sauce from the monkfish and beef curries.