Michelin-starred KOL announce plans for ‘elevated dining experience’
Michelin-starred Mexican restaurant KOL in London have announced plans to offer an “elevated dining experience”.
They are set to boost their desserts and drinks offerings, as well as introducing a new, shortened, lunch menu.
Chef Santiago Lastra opened KOL in Marylebone in 2020, earning a Michelin star in 2022, which it has retained ever since.
From July 2, in collaboration with head of pastry, Laura Petersén, Santiago and his team will introduce a dedicated dessert and drinks space within KOL Mezcaleria, where guests will be invited for the final part of their meals.
This experience has been brought in as it mirrors the dining experience in Mexico.
Santiago said: “It is important for me to create a menu that tastes of home, to share a taste of my Mexico in London.
“After dinner, particularly in Oaxaca, everyone typically ends their evening in beautiful mezcal bars. With that in mind, we will now welcome our guests to join us for the finale of their meal and beyond in a little post-dinner Mexico.”
The bar team will also introduce a custom trolley featuring fine mezcals, cocktails, dessert wines, digestifs, and infusions made with British botanicals.
The seasonal summer menu at KOL will feature ingredients such as fermented acorn flour, birch water and bark.
Dishes on the menu include ‘Strawberry Taco’, inspired by the creamy pumpkin seed dip from Yucatán, with local seaweed, strawberry,
elderflower and nasturtium leaf.
The traditional turkey stew of Yucatán, ‘Chilmole’, is reimagined with semi-dehydrated pineapple tomatoes, fermented chillis, fresh currants, ash oil and tortilla.
These new seasonal dishes will feature in a shortened lunch offering, giving guests a taste of the full KOL experience.
The five-course lunch menu will be available from Wednesday to Friday. The full KOL tasting menu and dining experience will continue to be served at dinner from Tuesday to Saturday, and on Saturday lunch.
The lunch menu will be at £95 from Wednesday to Friday, 12pm-4pm, with an 11-course tasting menu available for £185 on Saturday (12pm-4pm) and Tuesday-Saturday (5.45pm-midnight).
Santiago's travels
Santiago was born in Cuernavaca, a small town outside Mexico City. His first job was at an Italian restaurant called Formaggio.
When he was 18, Santiago moved to Spain with plans to go and stage at Noma, and landed a job at a one Michelin-starred restaurant in Pamplona. He has since travelled the world, from Copenhagen to Moscow and the Spanish Basque country, totalling 25+ countries.
He worked at two Michelin-starred Mugaritz in 2013, when it was ranked third best restaurant in the world in the World's 50 Best, and was an integral part of the team behind Noma's seven-week pop-up in the Mexican jungle of Tulum, before opening KOL.
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Michelin-starred KOL announce plans for ‘elevated dining experience’
