Coya, 118 Piccadilly, London W1J 7NW

Coya, 118 Piccadilly, London W1J 7NW

02/03/2013

www.coyarestaurant.com

She said: He was treating me to a pre-birthday surprise and exceptionally uncovered a chic, romantic, eclectically-decorated, trendy South American restaurant that I knew nothing about. In the basement of a period building on Piccadilly, Coya serves up mostly tapas-style dishes that are perfectly flavoured with each leaving you wanting more. We shared five such dishes including a seabass cerviche, mushroom and monkfish anticuchos and the fish cazuela – all magnificent.  The service at Coya was friendly and attentive and this is clearly a professional Mayfair outfit in a stylish setting whilst managing to retain a casual atmosphere. At almost £100 for food plus two cocktails its an occasion restaurant for us but one that is worth finding an occasion for.

He said: Hyde Park Corner is, I imagine, like that No Man’s Land between North and South Korea, or Indian and Pakistani Kashmir – nice on either side but not somewhere you go to specifically. You normally just run through this giant traffic junction, unless you’re taking (way) out-of-towners to Hard Rock Café. But persevere, and walk down into Coya and savour some of that old school Mayfair glamour. Even armed with the receipt I won’t pretend that I can remember what everything was called. But it was exciting. And not just because of the novelty – there was a genuine freshness and buzz to every one of the many small plates brought out of this bang-on kitchen. And the drinks and the décor were both bred to win. With enough cash to splash this would be a hell of a place for a bash.