Evening Standard
David Ellis headed to the new bakery by day, restaurant by night from Coco di Mama founder Daniel Land that TikTok and his own paper have designated the “hottest table in town”.
“But the heat of busyness is not the same as the heat of brilliance,” he said. “Things are just not quite right” across the board here, from the décor of corduroy-clad banquettes to the “concertina service, of elongated waits and then everything crammed in at once”.
The food conformed to a similar pattern. David’s truffle and Cheddar beignets had an unpleasantly dense texture; his cod cheeks were over-salted; his partridge was chewy, with an over-sweet carrot and date puree. “To go on may be boring and cruel, though this would at least be an accurate reflection of the experience.”
To cap it all, his bill arrived with the prices bizarrely listed in dollars.
David Ellis - 2025-02-02The Sunday Times
A greedy Giles Coren doubled up by reviewing two restaurants – the first of which, Pinna in Shepherd Market, was “jolly nice if you like superexpensive Italian restaurants in Mayfair, which people in Mayfair absolutely do”.
This one was packed with “finance bros in their gilets with young women very much not in gilets, all noisily tucking into £30 starters and £40 pastas and £50 mains, made from the finest ingredients and not too much done to them.”
More to Giles’s taste socially – and rather less expensive – was the new all-day-bakery cum restaurant in Queen’s Park from a “lovely local guy called Daniel Land, who is connected to simply everyone and founded Coco di Mama”. The kitchen hit the spot with a “good squishy crab tart”, hearty scallops, a “monster” skate wing with chickpeas, clams and chilli, served with “good to perfect” pommes Anna” then madeleines warm from the oven.
Giles Coren - 2025-02-09The Observer
Jay Rayner became the latest critic to heap praise on this bakery-come-restaurant catering to the “lotus-eating middle classes” of Queen’s Park, where it nestles in a private street with a “lovely rackety Copenhagen vibe” alongside Carmel, Milk Beach and a branch of Pizza Pilgrims.
Serving what Jay called approvingly, with a nod to the great cookery writer Jane Grigson, “Cosmopolitan English” cuisine, it is the sort of place that used to be found in the West End (or “Central” as the kids call it these days), showing how the capital’s gravitational pull has shifted further out.
Head chef Luke Frankie (ex-Noble Rot and Drapers Arms) was on “impeccable” form. “Anywhere which braises oxtail down until it is a sticky mess of uber-gravy-slicked meaty threads, tops a heap of it with dripping-fried breadcrumbs, and then puts all of that on a small crumpet and calls it a snack, is fine by me.”
Jay Rayner - 2025-02-16
