Ex-Noma chef Santiago Lastra to launch debut UK restaurant

Lastra, who was headhunted by Rene Redzepi for his seven week Noma pop-up in Tulum, will hold a five-course feasting dinner with wine pairing at Massimo Bottura’s community kitchen Refettorio Felix in Earl’s Court.

The dinner, which will take place on 31 October, will celebrate the Mexican Day of the Dead, as well as giving diners a preview of the influences to expect when the chef opens his first UK restaurant, Kol, in central London next year.

The offer is expected to showcase mostly British ingredients cooked in traditional Mexican ways. Dishes will include Santiago’s version of a chilpachole; a seafood stew with corn toast, crab, pistachio and dulse; a quesadilla made with wild mushroom, bone marrow and Oaxaca cheese; and a tropical South-American grown pumpkin served with mushroom parfait, cooked in sea buckthorn.

A wine pairing of natural wines will be served to match each course, and mezcal cocktail will be served on arrival.

Lastra has previously held a London residency at Marylebone’s rotating chef restaurant Carousel in 2016, followed by a pop-up at the Tate Modern in 2017. He takes his pre-Noma culinary experience from stints in kitchens such as Mugaritz in San Sebastian – which is number nine on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list - and Bror in Copenhagen.