Sophsterldn approved, nestled in the heart of mayfair, contemporary superlative culinary offerings! This Asian restaurant is not to be missed- one of my absolute favourites!!

Novikov, Mayfair

Morning my angels, so I thought it was time to review one of my absolute favourite London restaurants. There are a few reasons why I love Novikov- the ambience, the staff and of course the food, executed meticulously every single time! Every morsel you eat is as good as the last time, if not better! Love this place!

The venue itself is stunning and actually for the first time (and I’ve been here several), we visited the lounge bar- it was beautiful! Extensive cocktails on offer, live music and super comfy sofas!! Why have we not been down here before?????!

So, lets start from the beginning, there are two parts to the restaurant i) Italian- which I have never been to and definitely want to try- they have the giant cheese wheel- you must have seen all the posts of people having fresh tagliatelle thrown straight in and the oozy cheese melting into it- to die for! I really need to try it and; ii) Asian- this has had my heart since the first time I visited. The food is just too good! Fresh, flavoursome, simple and satisfying and beautifully presented. There is also the bar area downstairs- and having been here so many times I am surprised I hadn’t been before! All rectified now though, great bartenders and extensive cocktail lists included… you will not miss the wall of wines as you walk down or the beauty of the wood panelled Italian side of the restaurant.

On to the cocktails- we opted for some non-alcoholic, and I have it on good authority the dragon is delicious… and of course some standard tattinger champagne- its Friday after all right?! What better way to unwind. All cocktails are served with sides of giant green olives and nuts, not bad to keep you going until the main event!!

We are swiftly taken up to our table a little before 7pm on a Friday evening- ladies and gents, it is busy!!! Tables full of the usual post work Investment Bankers (this includes me- guilty!!!), some artsy types and those looking for a quick bite before their Friday night west end nights continue! It’s a great crowd though, a real eclectic mix. Seated quickly, we peruse the menu (one we know very well as I always come with the same friend every time- we are both hooked!!).

There are couple of must have dishes you cannot miss out on the next time you visit. My trio of favourites- tacos, sushi and dumplings!! Asian food here is undeniably delicious. Let’s talk about the tacos first- OMG, there are two kinds you can order, Wagyu Beef and Tuna. Its like a flavour explosion every time you bite through, and unlike the coya mini tacos- these are a good one hander! Decent sizes and filled to the brim. The tuna, avocado, chilli ones (served cold) are insane- oh my word, I cannot explain how flavoursome they are- with a squeeze of lemon over the top yawza!!! (mmm I am thinking about them now and wishing I could have more), the wagyu tacos on the other hand are served warm, beautifully cooked wagyu beef, shredded and served again on a bed of avocado. Oh so delicious- we ordered double of both (bad I know- but they were so good, and this happens every time!!!).

Dumplings next– I have to tell you, these are some of the best I have tasted!! The two I go back for time and time again, the black cod dumplings and the prawn money bags! Its just all about the prawn money bags- I genuinely do not know how they fill them with some much flavour. The dumplings are just out of this world- I love them and again- we doubled our order on these- just too good, my pictures definitely do not do them justice but I urge you to try them and let me know what you think!

Next we moved on to our sushi, and we opted for the spicy yellow tail sashimi and the spicy tuna california rolls. The yellow tail was good, I’ve definitely had better at Chotto matte- but it was still nice. The spicy tuna however, was as delicious as always! Yummmm!!

Now at this stage we were definitely full, but for some reason we always order mains too- so we opted for my standard, black cod (and whilst I do love novikov- I am sorry this just does not rival roka- they get it perfect every single time, translucent and melt in the mouth. The Novikov one is good- but it just doesn’t beat it). We also got the lamb chops, which were just ok. The Aubergine side with miso dressing though- omg, so tasty, I need to try and replicate at home!!

No room for dessert today- but if you were to take one thing away from my post- please, please go and try the dumplings, the tacos and the sushi!! I love them all- they are some of my favourite dishes and I am certain you will love them to!

If I was judging on tacos, dumplings and sushi it would be a solid 10 all around from sophsterldn. However, the black cod just didn’t do it for me this time so whilst Novikov is one of my favourite restaurants it has to be a 9/10 to Novikov.

I am certain I will be back again soon- after all this is one of my favourite places. If you liked this post and haven’t subscribed please do so at www.sophsterldn.com or follow me on Instagram/twitter using the handle @sophsterldn and leave a comment below if you made it to the end of the post 😊

 

Have a great day all xoxo