Larry Jayasekara is a well-known, London-based chef who has been working towards securing his own restaurant for a long time, and now finally, much to the food scene's approval, he has. Larry Jayasekara grew up in Sri Lanka and moved to the UK to flourish in his career, working at a string of Michelin-starred restaurants including The Waterside Inn, Le Manoir aux Quat’Saison and Gordon Ramsay’s Pétrus, where he took the role of head chef.
Larry Jayasekara has teamed up with esteemed art collector and gallerist Tim Jefferies, who runs the photography gallery Hamiltons, to create The Cocochine - a high-end, Mayfair-based eatery. Located at 27 Bruton Place, the restaurant takes its title from a pet name Tim has for his daughter, and is set over four floors. The ground level hosts a small, intimate dinng space with room for eight tables and 28 people. In the basement, a wine cellar stores a collection of fine wines and Champagnes.
If you were planning on holding an especially swish private event, the restaurant's top floor holds a somewhat secret, exclusive dining room for private hire. Here, you'll find a dining table for 14, high-end artworks and a double-height ceiling with gold latticework.
The restaurant runs shifts for lunch and dinner - with one set of guests for each timing. While the capacity is limited, the kitchen is huge, and boasts all sorts of toys. There's a temperature-controlled bread cabinet, meat and fish dry-ageing units and metal washable ceilings, as well as a neighbouring development kitchen.
The menu hinges on modern European cuisine with dishes such as cauliflower marinaded for a week in soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown miso, teriyaki sauce and then deep fried, alongside lobster barbecued in a banana leaf and decorated with yuzu gel, crème fraîche, micro-basil and cardamom-lobster jus. We particularly like the sound of the Jerusalem artichokes with roasted chicken fat, and rich, truffle bao.