The Guardian
Grace Dent was an early visitor to the “bright, twinkly turbo-Kudu” that has been newly transplanted to the West End from Peckham, and declared it “London’s prettiest restaurant of 2025 so far… the lighting campfire twinkly and the vibe sexy safari chic”.
The South African-inflected flavours and “earthy, live-fire approach” were evident from her first mouthful of Kudu’s bread with curried butter – “bread and butter is undoubtedly one of the loveliest mouthfuls on God’s great earth, and here I’ve found a new way to enjoy it” – which was followed by some excellent plates from the braai, including a “very good” piece of confit trout with crisp skin and a “whopper” of a pork chop with ‘monkey gland’ sauce (no actual monkeys involved).
For dessert, the ‘Kudu Kitkat’ – “a bowl of rich chocolate mousse with sweet kumquats and foamy marshmallows, toasted tableside with a chic set of hot irons, as if we were camping in the wilds of the Kruger national park”.
Grace Dent - 2025-10-05The Sunday Times
Giles Coren liked Kudu in its “magnificent” new West End premises as much as he liked the original in Peckham six years ago – although he bridled at the bill of £313 for lunch for two.
He was particularly enthusiastic about the “Kudu bread,” a brioche-style loaf served in a cast-iron pan with sizzling butter, garlic, almonds and shrimp, calling it “a foaming riot of salty-sweet, fishy-fruity, nutty-pungent flavour” and one of the most exciting things he had eaten in a restaurant in years.
Cod collar with chimichurri was a “triumph” – a dish he would remember for the rest of his life – and if skrei cod was merely “okay, but mimsy and overpresented,” the accompanying roast fish-bone and red wine jus was “sublime”.
Giles Coren - 2025-11-23
