MOMMI London review

Walking into Mommi in London’s Clapham, I could have easily been in Shoreditch, with its exposed brick walls, fairy lights, and booth seating. We received a warm welcome and a glossary card which explained items on the Nikkei based menu (a Japanese-Peruvian small plate sharing concept) that we may otherwise have been unfamiliar with.

Inside it felt relaxed and friendly. It was a nice change dining somewhere where we could hear each other talk without the need to shout over the music. Classics such as “Ain’t No Sunshine” and Avicii’s “Wake Me Up” played in the background, each of these remixed and given a new lease of life. And this pretty much sums up the food that evening. Plenty of crowd-pleasers like steak, egg fried fried rice and cheesecake – but with a difference.

We started with the small plates, which were bigger than expected. The house ceviche was colourful and really refreshing thanks to the addition of crunchy raw peppers and tomatoes. You couldn’t taste the mango leche de tigre on the fish, so my advice is to grab a spoon and ladle up a big spoonful of everything for the full experience. Despite being a colder dish, there was good heat to it thanks to the chilli. The king prawns were perfectly cooked with a great crunch, and sat in a wonderfully spiced garlic butter, great for dipping the bread into (the bread was also wonderful dunked into the leche de tigre of the ceviche).

To follow, we had buttery soft and perfectly medium-rare steak, topped with chimichurri and served with cassava fries. On the outside the fries were much like a chip shop chip with great crunch and then inside, a sweetness that you wouldn’t get with a usual chip. The miso glazed salmon flaked apart beautifully and was an aesthetically pleasing dish with wonderful colours coming from the beetroot and sweet potato. We also sampled sweet potato fries and Peruvian egg fried rice which was no like egg fried rice I’ve ever had before. It was so much more flavoursome, with hits of soy, sesame and chilli, and had a generous egg-to-rice ratio.

All of this washed down with Wyld Wood (a very drinkable cider) and a Passion Pachamama cocktail (a mouth quenching blend of rum, passion fruit and lime).

Mid way through our mains I was embarrassingly already getting full, but staff were very accommodating and packed up any leftovers to take away with us (and for the record, the rice was even better the next day!). 

I was so glad I saved room for dessert. It was perfectly sized and came out resembling quaint little flower pots. The passion fruit and yuzu cheesecake was like no cheesecake I’ve ever seen before, presented with coconut and almond macaroon “petals” which gave a really nice crunch and contrast compared to the softer nature of the dish. The Peruvian chocolate mousse however was my favourite. Beautiful, dark chocolate without being too heavy, with the added crunch of popcorn.

Come here for vibrant, colourful, flavoursome, well plated dishes. All food is gluten free and accredited by Coeliac UK and vegan options are also available (just ask your server). 

Lucy’s Insta: https://www.instagram.com/lucy_angele

Lucy’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/lucy_angele

Lucy’s Blog: https://www.curiouser-and-curiouser.co.uk/