Super Ceviche at COYA Angel Court in the City of London

When one of your favourite restaurants opens a second branch in your home city you know it’s going to be good. And a night trying the brand new COYA Angel Court is even better with my good friends Aftab, Zoe and Helena all there for a night of sampling piscos, ceviche and tiraditos at one of London’s best Peruvian restaurants.
Just like the food, the decor has a Latin American flavour and has been created by London-based design team Sagrada in order to provide a fully Peruvian experience. Interior-wise it’s similar to the sister restaurant, COYA Mayfair, but it’s slightly smaller and more open, lighter – perfect for a group of friends celebrating the last days of Pisco…speaking of which there’s also a Pisco bar where barman make bespoke infusions for the restaurant and a pretty terrace, ideal for sunny evenings like this one.

With National Ceviche Day (yes, it’s a thing!) just around the corner we started filling the table with my much loved marinated fish dish. My absolute favourite was the yellowfin tuna which had a Japanese influence with flavours of soy, sesame and a shrimp cracker.

I loved the piquant hit of yuzu and ginger in this cuttlefish and squid ink dish that had a tasty tang of red onion too.
The seasbass ‘classico’ combined the classic ceviche ingredients of red onions, sweet potato, white corn and was a deliciously mild dish – a great one for those who are trying ceviche for the first time. Our other white fish dish was a perfectly fresh kingfish, dashi, truffle oil, chives, a delicious combination of earthy and acid flavours. Anyone else love the marinade that you get with a ceviche? Well actually you should drink it as the marinade – otherwise known as tiger’s milk – is both and hangover cure and an aphrodisiac! Peruvian viagra basically.
From the ‘Para Picar’ section of the menu we tried Chilean sea bass croquetas served with chilli aioli – something I’ve not had before but a totally delicious morsel.
I didn’t try these sticky pork buns myself, but they were a popular choice around the rest of the table.
Perhaps my top dish of the night was the salmon fillet with golden beetroot, curls of cucumber and mint. I’ve had this before at COYA and it’s always prepared so perfectly, slightly rare on the inside and so full of flavour. South America, and Peru in particular is so high on my travel wishlist and it’s ~~mostly~~ partly because of the incredible food. The ceviche / Peruvian restaurant trend started in London a few years ago and I’m so pleased that it’s still going strong so at least I have that to whet my appetite.

The Patatas Bravas may be a side dish but they still took centre stage as our group dived into the crispy potatoes smothered in a spicy tomato and huancaina sauce.
For people who aren’t such fans of seafood, there’s a big meat section here too. Mr S loves the pork ribs and lamb chops at COYA but this was my first time trying the corn fed baby chicken which is tender and spicy with a hint of coriander.

We cleansed our palates with a fruity cherry sorbet.

And finished off on a light note with coconut mousse, jivara, pineapple sorbet for dessert.

I’ve returned to COYA Mayfair time and time again as a restaurant that always delivers in terms of food and atmosphere. The restaurant’s city sister is no different and we all very much enjoyed our dinner at COYA Angel Court.

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