Latest opening: Kinoya
What: A ramen-focused restaurant within Harrods’ recently overhauled the Dining Hall. Kinoya has an extremely tight menu that lists five types of ramen, four or so small plates and a single alternating dessert option.
Who: The chef behind Kinoya is Neha Mishra AKA ‘Dubai’s ramen queen’. Born in New Delhi, she spent her childhood between India and Dubai but found herself ‘captivated by the culture and elegant simplicity surrounding Japanese cuisine’. Following numerous research trips to the country, Mishra launched a supper club within her Dubai home that ran for over three years. She launched Kinoya - which means ‘little house’ in Japanese - in 2021 in Dubai’s Onyx Tower. Less than a year later it ranked seventh on the North Africa and Middle East’s World’s 50 Best Restaurants list (it also holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand).
The vibe: In common with the six other dining options in the Dining Hall Kinoya majors on counter dining. There are 23 seats in total with the majority of them running around a tiny kitchen that on our visit was staffed by Mishra and one other chef (there would barely be space for a third). The Dining Hall is a handsome Grade-II listed space with ornate wall tiles and high-end fixtures and fittings. Kinoya is one of three new operators to set up shop in the space following a major shake-up that put the emphasis firmly on high-profile international chefs (the others being Assembly Mezze & Skewers and Sushi by Masa).
The food: Small plates include karaage chicken, miso butter aubergine, scallops cooked with butter and mushrooms, and tsukune (meatballs) made with waygu served with a egg yolk dipping sauce. Ramen options include a take on tonkotsu (cloudy pork bone stock) with bacon salt and anchovy oil; and Mishra’s signature shio (clear chicken stock) with seared chicken and burnt garlic oil. The dessert on our visit was a slice of Crown Melon - a furiously expensive variety that arrives in a fancy box - flown in from Japan.
To drink: The drinks offering is more expansive than the food. Alongside a handful of beers and wines, there are 10 or so sakes, a similar number of spirits including some high-end Japanese whiskies and four teas that are served in beautiful rustic teapots.
And another thing: Each bowl of ramen is a little under £30 a pop. That might sound a little high for a dish that most in the UK are used to paying no more than £15 for but the prices are comparable to the other operators in the space. It is Harrods, after all.
Dining Hall, ground floor, Harrods, 87-135 Brompton Rd, London SW1X 7XL
www.harrods.com
