Chotto Matte, 11-13 Frith Street, London
W1D 4RB
02/11/2013
She said: Not sure why but he seemed to
be veering away from trying this Japanese-Peruvian in Soho but I would not have
any of it. I was pleased with my resolve. Chotto Matte is an impressive space
occupying a large corner in Soho. There is a trendy downstairs bar and cool,
bright, confident upstairs restaurant with lots of dark wood, a long piece of
graffiti art along one wall and an open kitchen. The menu offers a large choice
of fusion foods for sharing. I found it difficult to choose but we settled on
seven dishes that we both liked the sound of. The first four dishes came
relatively quickly and were just delicious. This included a seabass ceviche
which was shamefully small, yummy mushroom salad, a rather oily but tasty
spring roll and impressive corn fritters. There was a respectable gap in
service allowing us to prepare ourselves for a second round which again was
superb and included a juicy aubergine dish that had a perfect sweet-tangy
combination, succulent salmon picante and the only underwhelming dish, a plain
courgette…Cutting to the chase – I loved my meal at Chotto Matte. The food was
creative and moreish. Presentation and setting impressive. Service good. Prices
were on the slightly higher than necessary side given the portions (making
sharing best between people who know each other more intimately!) and with some
dishes portion size really was just stingy. But I would come back – both for
food and also to sample the great range of cocktails on offer.
He said: Chotto Matte is seriously
stylish. You walk in and you feel like the coolest cat in town, and it’s in Soho:
so easy to find! No need to get stressed running the gauntlet passed Dalston
crack dens. For a Japanese-Peruvian restaurant there is something very New York
about it: must be all that graffiti, black light, and urbane hipness. I loved
all the food, but there was so little of it! The size of these sharing plates
was so small that, if there’s more than two people at your table, then you had
better bring your protractor and scales to figure our the sharing. Having said
that, if I wasn’t thinking about cost then I wouldn’t give a damn, because it
was all very tasty, and very pretty to look at. And, for once, there was a lot
of choice for vegetarians. Drinks were imaginative, distinctive, and not too
expensive. The ground-floor bar is a great place to hang out and knock back a
few. So I would certainly come back, but my favourite Peruvian is still
Ceviche, which I love as much for its food as for its no pretentious bullshit
approach – a rare trait on London’s Peruvian scene.
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