I love it when time flies, you catch up with a friend and it feels like only yesterday when you were laughing and letting the meandering conversation make its own way into the evening. The other week that’s just what happened with one of my nearest and dearest friends and on the night we were perched comfortably on stools along the bar of Chicama; a Peruvian restaurant along the King’s Road.
Over the years we’ve experienced a few firsts together: going to the Orange store in Notting Hill to pick up our first mobile phones on our lunch break; visiting Puglia for a girly holiday when we were both single before we met the men we now have children with; and countless London discoveries as we made our way through our twenties. So it felt like old times when we met at Chicama and discovered this Chelsea gem together.
She recommended the Pera Verano cocktail which she had started the night off with … and I loved it. Beforehand, I’d also tried the Barberola cocktail with Barsol Pisco, rhubarb and cherry – their signature cocktail.
Small plates were spread out throughout our evening and we both enjoyed every dish we tried.
Padron peppers
Tapioca marshmallow with ocopa sauce
Sea bass ceviche, grilled corn, heritage tomato, pickled onion
Fried aubergine, plantain miso, pecans
King prawns, tosted almonds with yuzu kosho dressing
Black rice
And the evening ended with the sign of another fabulous night; an espresso martini with orange coffee liqueur.
Overall, the atmosphere at Chicama was lively; the staff were friendly and the restaurant itself was a real beauty. I’ll definitely be going back again.
Chicama, 383 King’s Road, SW10 0LP, London