October 2018 - Food

Where To Eat This Month - Coya

With disco balls hanging from ceiling, gold accents and bright printed cushions in the window seats, Coya in Mayfair is not a spot for the “less is more” type among us. The high-end Peruvian restaurant’s bottomless brunch (£75) does things differently: rather than unlimited booze with your food, the drinks part comes first, guests enjoy bottomless drinks (champagne, pisco sours and Bloody Marys) by the bar for the first hour before sitting down at the restaurant for food – any further drinks have are charged.


 

Each party is individually taken through to their table for the main meal, meaning you don’t feel like you’re a school group being ushered to the dining room. Upon sitting down, one of the many members of waiting staff swiftly arrives and mashes up avocado with red onion and chilli right in front of our eyes, before leaving it with us to enjoy alongside bread and prawn crackers.
Then it’s on to the starter buffet, where diners can go to town on various different ceviche, quinoa and corn salads – each as flavourful as the next. At the same time, waiting staff appear out of nowhere offering sticky, tender BBQ chicken skewers and slightly spicy (but very tasty) pork buns.

For mains, diners order from a small menu. My guest opted for the “delectable” sea bream while I enjoyed the chicken, which had a lovely smoky flavour. On the side we have some lovely al dente tenderstem broccoli and corn-on-the-cob, helpfully cut into small pieces to allow for a more elegant consumption. Once everyone finishes their mains, the lights go down and the music goes up and staff come round with espresso martinis for everyone. It’s safe to say the party has well and truly started.
But that doesn’t mean the food is over though, oh no: it’s time for the pudding buffet. There are three little puddings in the middle of the room from which we can help ourselves: classic profiteroles, incredibly rich, delicious chocolate ganache squares, and light and tangy passion fruit mousses. It has to be said, though, by this point no one seems too fussed about the food. We’re were all too busy dancing between the tables, on the dance floor and actually on the windowsills (which was all actively encouraged). Coya’s brunch is a classy party brunch done very well, if not for the many of us on a budget.
















Comments

Popular Posts