If only I’d stayed longer at Smokey Kudu, the new bar above Kudu in Marylebone and in a developing restaurant mecca alongside Lita, Opso and the neon-lit curry house Rajdoot. I would have devoured innumerable prawn crullers, easily London’s best bar snack right now — or at least tied with the mini hotdog at The Dover — an indefatigably canny blend of smoked prawns, mayonnaise made with the shells, pickled cucumber and miso yaki; these sitting on the lightest, crispest pastry, churro-like and ribbed for your pleasure. At two for £8, it’s as value-laden as it is umami-hewn. Two morsels of certifiable genius. Sadly, I followed these with Alley Cats’ attempt at New Haven pizza: £16 for a supermarket-like dough, underbaked and underwhelming. Stick to the NYC-inspired pies.
Still, Smokey Kudu made for a splendid pit stop. Above the dining room is a space as warm as I imagine a safari to be, softly resplendent in browns and fuzzy reds, the conjuring of lionish feelings where orange light falls milkily on courageous drinking. Those concerned with too high a degree of lavishness needn’t worry: an SE15 martini, with vodka, gin and Cocchi vermouth, recalls Kudu’s Peckham roots at £10. As does the Peckham mule, an almost fiery blend of Mount Gay rum, vodka, lime and ginger beer; a little sweet, but £11 and a ready aperitif.
