Pasha,
Kensington SW7
Moroccan Cuisine is
all the rage - Louise Elgin reports
Editor's note: Pasha has long been one of Dine Online's favourite restaurants.
Indeed I always make a point of taking my American Culinary Arts students there
for a taste of North Africa. Our latest meal there in July 2006 was a great
success. It has recently been transformed, as Louise will tell you...
Pasha
is a sexy and seductive place. As
soon as you walk in it’s like being
transported far away from the daily
grind of London and into a world
of North African opulence and colour.
The ground floor bar has enticing:
soft low lighting, intricately carved
tables, scarlet coloured cushions,
incense and authentic music all create
a highly atmospheric venue. I tried
a “Pasha Cocktail”, a sublime mix
of vodka, mint, coriander, lemon
juice, ginger beer and champagne.
It was stunning, in fact so good
I had to have a second before making
my way downstairs to the restaurant,
which was also furnished in the same
exotic manner. Our table was set
in its own secluded alcove, surely
one of the most romantic spots in
London. It had an intimate feel,
complete with curved cushioned seating,
flickering tea candles and rose petals,
making it a perfect nook to take
someone you want to woo seriously.
The resident chef, David Jones has
recently returned from a sojourn
in Morocco. There he stayed with
family friends of the owner who not
only taught him generation old family
recipes and also helped him to perfect
his authentic Moroccan culinary style.
We
began with a selection of hot and
cold Kemia, a choice of small dishes
from which there are 40 to choose
between on the menu. The best way
to eat this sort of food is with
your fingers and plenty of traditional
yoghurt crusted Moroccan brioche.
A beautiful platter arrived containing
a choice of eight hot and cold dishes,
including a smoky aubergine dip,
with cumin and coriander, a tasty
roasted carrot salad, scallops with
pimentos encased in savoury pasty
parcels, spicy merguez sausage and
a minced chicken kefta with almonds
and saffron broth.
On
the wine front we decided to take
the “When in Rome” approach and opted
for a Lebanese wine, Chateau Ksara,
trying both the gris gris rosé and
the blanc de blanc, which proved
good choices on both counts and scored
high marks. After such a huge amount
of starters we kept our main courses
minimal, trying some fabulous light
seared tuna with lemon confit, roasted
peppers and rocket and some ultra
tender char grilled meats, including
marinated skewers of chicken and
char grilled marinated lamb that
was served with a roasted pepper
and chilli tomato sauce. Towards
the end of our evening a little drama
was added to our soirée arrived in
the form of several beautiful belly
dancers, the music went up quite
a bit and for a few minutes they
sashayed away seductively. It all
got a bit loud and raucous with general
enthusiasm from the diners and I
wonder if I hadn’t been cocooned
away in my private dining room if
I might have found the whole episode
a little overpowering. Oh dear, I
sound such a square!
Pudding
for me was a feather light almond
bastilla, made with a millefeuille
of filo pastry served with a vanilla
crème anglais sauce which I would
highly recommend. Our other choice,
a pomegranate and mint sorbet was
typically on the sugary side but
was otherwise good. Coffee and or
mint tea comes with a magnificent
selection of Petits Fours including
Turkish Delight and Baklava.
Pasha
is a bit of a unique evening out.
I had certainly never been anywhere
like it before and if you enjoy a
sensual and spirited dining experience
I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
Louise
Elgin. July 2006. (see also Louise's
October 2006 review of sister restaurant
Levant)
A
meal with wine and water is about £100
for two
Pasha
1 Gloucester Road London SW7 Tel:
020 7589 7969
W: www.pasha-restaurant.co.uk
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