<a target="_blank" href="http://www.thecocochine.com/">The
Cocochine</a>

27 Bruton Pl

London, UK W1J 6NQ

BY NEAL MARTIN |&nbsp;JULY 19, 2024The
Food:

Amuse-bouche:
miniature Coronation chicken, salmon and pea tartlet, Comte filled doughnut
with truffle, malt tart of deer heart with shredded carrot

Tanera
Island hand-dived XXL scallop, Alsace bacon, kombu in a roast chicken jus

Slow-roasted
lamb with onion, peas and lamb jus

Gâteaux
Nantais with Alfonso mango sorbet, jackfruit with exotic garnish, crème
Anglaise

Petit
fours

The Wines:

<table>
 <tbody><tr>
 <td>2016
 Jean-Marc Brocard Chablis Butteaux 1er Cru&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
 <td>91</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>2016 Beaumont</td>
 <td>90</td>
 </tr></tbody></table>

I never
published one of my best meals in 2023. That’s because it took place in a private
test kitchen for chef Larry Jayasekera, who was then trialing dishes for a
brand-new restaurant, The Cocochine. At that point, the erstwhile photographic
studio was hidden by scaffolding, the building gutted, and the entire roof
reconstructed. Even the electricity mains had to be upgraded. Stepping over
tentacles of cables, I enquired when he planned to open.

“November,”
Jayasekera replied, sangfroid.

“No
chance,” I thought. So, it turned out. All building work is preordained to drag
on beyond builders’ hand-on-heart promises, and it was not until March that The
Cocochine opened its doors.

Would
the food match the startling quality that I found in the test kitchen?

Would it
be commensurate to the lavish décor, the multi-million refit?

I gave
it a few weeks and then booked a table at the end of May.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1721316797706-deer+heart.JPG">Malt tart of deer heart with shredded carrot 

Located
in the heart of Mayfair, as you would expect, The Cocochine exudes luxury from
the moment a smart chap in a bowler hat smiles and opens the door. We enter the
ground floor, mainly dark hues, flashes of red and subdued lighting. It is not ostentatious,
but the décor telegraphs the message that a lot of money was spent. Backer Tim Jeffries,
one of the world’s leading photographic and art dealers and not short of a few pounds,
clearly wanted to make a splash on the West London restaurant scene. The Cocochine
is squarely aimed at gourmands expecting fine cuisine in salubrious
surroundings, walls adorned with monochrome photographs from his collection. It
is (thankfully) the opposite of nearby Sexy Fish, which seems to relish
garish exhibitionism, and some people like that. Here, the luxury is visible
but more discrete. Pop to the loo, and you can easily step over the ornate
mosaic floor that could belong in Jeffries’ art gallery. Maybe it did?There
are just 28 covers, mainly situated on the ground floor. The second floor is
dedicated to the kitchen, where no expense was spared in meeting the chef’s
specifications. The crown jewel is the roof-top private room with its own
dedicated kitchen, fireplace (useful on this inclement May evening) and large
skylight windows that flood it with natural light, a rare commodity in Mayfair.
Last autumn, when The Financial Times reported the fortune it would cost to hire,
despite the economic doom and gloom, the restaurant was inundated with
requests. Alas, it would have blown Vinous’ budget, and so we settled for a ground-floor
table. In retrospect, I would have chosen one of the counterchairs overlooking
the kitchen. That is partly because I found it a bit nippy on the ground floor
and noticed a more comfortable temperature when I walked to the rear. Also,
despite the exacting detail of the restaurant, I was surprised to find that my
table wobbled, something I’d expect in a local corner café but not here. <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1721316897370-pea+tartlet_copy2.JPG">Salmon and pea tartlet 

The
Cocochine offers a three-course menu. Many restaurants at this level now opt
for set menus, so it was a refreshing change to pick and choose.First
came four amuses bouche, including a miniature Coronation chicken, a salmon and
pea tartlet, a Comte-filled doughnut with truffle, and a malt tart of shredded carrot,
pickled red onion and deer heart. The chicken needed a little more seasoning,
but the pop-it-in-your-mouth salmon and pear tartlet was spot on. The truffle
was the most seductive, and the deer heart tart had a pleasant edginess, though
perhaps the pickled red onion just dominated too much…maybe less pickling? <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1721317152087-scallop_copy.JPG">Tanera Island hand-dived XXL scallop, Alsace bacon, kombu in a roast chicken jusI chose dishes that come from their own estate. The hand-dived XXL scallop had been fished off Tanera Island just the day before, and our waiter presented a book with images from this part of west Scotland. The scallop had a stunning texture and just the right meatiness, topped with diced chives. Alsace bacon, Japanese kombu and roast chicken jus enhanced it. The dish might not be revolutionary, but the combination was perfect.We were served a delicious homemade brioche seasoned with caramelized onion and thyme, glazed with brown butter. It’s the best I have eaten since <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/vinous-table-the-devonshire-london-uk-may-2024">The Devonshire Arms</a>, and the two knobs of butter were surplus to requirements. The only downside is I scoffed mine before the main course was delivered and rued being unable to mop up the juice later on. <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1721317203773-lamb+cutlet_copy.JPG">Slow-roasted lamb with onion, peas and lamb jus 

The slow-roasted
lamb cutlet comes from the restaurant’s own Rowler Estate. Like the scallop, I
cannot fault it. It was perfectly cooked, packed with flavor and lightly
seasoned with just the right amount of fat around the rim. The cutlet was
accompanied by a small “nest” of caramelized onions and peas, the waiter
pouring on the lamb jus. One side of the plate was dappled with tiny citrus
baubles that lifted the dish. For
desserts, I deliberated between the Cocochine chocolate and Oscietra caviar and
the Gateaux Nantais. I opted for the latter. I guess that’s the only downside
of à la carte…you can choose the wrong thing and then, as I did, look on
enviously at the spectacular chocolate dessert. There was nothing wrong with my
Gateaux Nantais; the crème anglaise poured at the table. However, it was
certainly small for a dessert, and being unfamiliar with Jackfruit, I now realize
that it does not belong in the premier league of fruit. At the end of the day,
that’s a fifty-pound dessert, and it left me wanting more…or that chocolate. 

To
finish, petit fours, the pick of the bunch, two tiny madeleines tucked up in
napkin bed that are delicious.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1721317248896-gateau+nantais_copy.JPG">Gâteaux Nantais with Alfonso mango sorbet, jackfruit with exotic garnish, crème Anglaise 

As for
the wines, I ordered from the list as I heard there was a fine selection. The
list comes in a thick, leather-bound book and is dominated by Bordeaux and
Burgundy, which inevitably limits those trying to avoid a four-figure bill. I’m
not suggesting that such wines cannot be included. Rather, it’s the flip side
of my tirade about the selection at <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/vinous-table-four-horsemen-brooklyn-ny-jun-2024">The
Four Horsemen</a> that focused exclusively on natural/biodynamic wines at the
expense of the classics.

Isn’t there
room for both?

If
you’re a millionaire who wants to splurge – go for it. But if you’re a
wine-lover with a broad interest in regions around the world, then this is
perhaps the true litmus test of a sommelier’s knowledge. Anyone can list DRC,
First Growths etc. If you can spend money on a mosaic floor, maybe ferret away
a few choice bottles of vino from South Africa, Oregon or Greece, to name but
three off my head. The sommelier mentioned that they have negotiated direct
allocations from notable producers. Indeed, a full page is dedicated to Domaine
Leflaive, although the wines are not especially cheap.As it
was, I chose a glass of 2016 Chablis Butteaux 1er Cru from Jean-Marc
Brocard to start. This is beginning to show secondary aromas on the nose,
algae and crustacea, quite a hardcore Chablis bouquet that could not come from
any other wine region. Maybe there is a little rusticity on the palate, but I
appreciate the density and weight with a bitter lemon note on the finish that
gets that saliva flowing. I chose one of the least expensive reds on the list,
even though the 2016 Beaumont came in at £60 per bottle. But what I got
is a fine example of a great vintage, one where you don’t need to travel to the
top of the hierarchy to find delicious wine. Lavished with black fruit, tobacco
and a light tang of seaweed on the nose, this has youthful zest but equal class
and composure. That translates onto the palate: a quintessential Haut-Médoc
that’s just beginning to drink well, pliant tannins with a caressing, quite
pure blackberry and cedar finish. No complaints here. <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1721317298424-beaumont+2016.JPG">There
are many aspects of The Cocochine that I enjoyed, not least the quality of
ingredients and execution. Perhaps the menu plays it safer than I was
anticipating. Maybe that was because of my own choices - an observation rather
than a criticism. There was something comforting about the dishes encountered
at the test kitchen, and this translated onto the menu in terms of failsafe combinations,
but that precluded a knockout dish where I wanted to jump up onto my chair and
praise the epicurean gods above. I won’t find a better scallop or lamb this
year. Service was excellent throughout, though again, a small quibble in that
we were waiting around for someone to fetch our coats. 

At £145
per person, La Cocochine is not inexpensive. That’s half the price you will pay
at similar restaurants like The Ledbury or Core. Nevertheless, even though I
chose the least expensive wine on the menu, the bill soon racked up. Mere bagatelle
for Mayfair habitués but not for most; then again, location alone means that La
Cocochine is aimed at pocketed gourmands. There is nothing wrong with that.
Mayfair is the priciest on the Monopoly board, so what else would you expect? I
just think the menu could be furnished with in-between dishes to showcase Larry
Jayasekera’s flair or even his Sri Lankan heritage. His life story, from
growing up in poverty to heading up a Michelin-starred restaurant, is an
amazing journey. La Cocochine has everything in terms of looks, but there is
room to take it up a couple of notches in terms of ambition on the menu.

In the
aforementioned FT article, the opening sentence was that the restaurant “promises
to rewrite the rules on restaurants in Mayfair.”

Go on,
then. I’d love to see it. © 2024, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or re-distributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright, but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.

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