An Evening at Jude Kereama’s Kota Restaurant in Porthleven
Leave a CommentOver the Easter weekend we were lucky enough to visit chef Jude Kereama’s flagship restaurant Kota in the heart of coastal Porthleven, Cornwall. It was a truly phenomenal culinary experience that went beyond its Michelin Bib Gourmand and 3 AA Rosettes.
If you want to extend your stay, Kota even has some gorgeous accommodation that can be found here and we thoroughly recommend exploring Porthleven and surrounding areas including Marazion (home to St Michael’s Mount!)
We did the 6-course Tasting Menu with paired wines and thoroughly reccomend. Here’s what we had…
Cocktails and Oysters
We kicked things off with some refreshing cocktails, one Yuzu Sake and Cucumber Martini (House infused wakame vodka, yuzu macerated sake, lime, sugar and cucumber), and one Kota Fizz (House infused cucumber vodka, elderflower liqueur, Prosecco, cucumber twist).
Now, when you’re eating in a harbour on the Cornish coast, you absolutely must have oysters (or we think so anyway!) We ordered two of each, one a Tempura with baby gem, wasabi tartare, and pickled cucumber and the other a Natural oyster with rice wine cucumber granita, ponzu lime dressing. We were advised by the staff to ‘chew’ the natural oyster rather than the traditional ‘down in one’ approach to oysters and boy was it a treat! The granita was such an intense burst of flavour it really brought the oyster and its flavours of the sea to life. And this was just the beginning…
Amuse Bouche
The Miso Butter with the Amuse Bouche was another show-stealer and we could have had a whole starter portion of the soup which was zingy and had a great depth of flavour.
Scallop
The first course was a Scallop with crispy onions, leeks and XO Sauce. I’m not sure I’ve had XO Sauce before and it was a real delight. Sweet and spicy, it lifted the scallop and was one of my favourite dishes of the night – such an inspired combination of flavours!
Venison Tartare & Katsu Panko Fish Goujon
We parted ways on this course and had one meat option and one pescatarian. The first was a venison tartare, hazelnuts, apple, celeriac, gochujang dressing and the pescatarian alternative was a Panko coated white fish goujon, katsu curry sauce, carrot & daikon pickle. The apple and celeriac cut through the naturally rich venison deliciously whilst the goujon was hands down the best fish goujon we’ve had!
Monkfish
The favourite dish of the menu was the Monkfish dish: Crispy Kataifi wrapped monkfish, hake, lemongrass, kafir lime leaf & coconut bisque, yuzu saffron mayo. The bisque was velvety, and to-die-for whilst the Kataifi wrapped monkfish was unlike anything we’ve seen before. Just as with the cocktail back at the beginning, yuzu was used in such an inventive way, elevating all the flavours.
Beef
Next was a Moorland dry aged sirloin, short rib, beets, and horseradish. Just look at the colours on that plate! We think it speaks for itself! Such incredible flavours…
Honey & almond cake
Ok, coming up is one of the most interesting (and delicious) things we’ve ever tasted. We’d not had it before but the goat’s cheese sorbet was fantastic. It wasn’t too sharp, the sorbet was soft, and it was the perfect accompaniment to a honey-based cake. The whole dish consisted of lemon, thyme & honey syrup, goats cheese sorbet, and a walnut crumb. As if this wasn’t the perfect ending to an amazing tasting menu, there was more…
Baked Alaska
This chocolate, hazelnut & cherry baked alaska was delightful. The mousse inside was so light and
technically really impressive. Served with a 10 year-old Tawny Port, it was a magical ending to the menu. The cherries and crumb gave such a satisfying crunch – a real, indulgent treat!
Despite being very full, we still managed some delicious petit fours afterwards (see left).
All in all…
This is a meal we won’t be forgetting anytime soon. Jude’s team took such great care of us and we couldn’t recommend visiting Kota more. Check out the menu here and book now. There are lots of great options but if you can, go for the six course tasting menu. You won’t regret it!
