Restaurants are Back

London restaurants have adapted brilliantly post-lockdown. Here are three leading the pack

HAM

AN INVENTIVE AUSSIE-INSPIRED MENU

Words PENDLE HARTE

West Hampstead’s Ham reopened with a dedicated Ham at Home menu, designed for home delivery. This British/ Australian eaterie has a focus on high class ingredients with carefully sourced meat and fish – but if you’re expecting lots of varieties of ham, you’ll be disappointed. The name might be misleading for lovers of pork.

Our delivery had travelled for more than a mile but was – impressively – still hot. To start there was soda bread with whipped vegemite butter, an instant Aussie classic – and then burrata with Datterino tomatoes and oregano, a delicious starter beautifully arranged in takeaway packaging that

would doubtless have been transferred more elegantly to the plate by the chef who made it – but nonetheless, it was creamy and excellent. Also very good was buttermilk fried chicken with satay sauce. A main course of roasted cod with gnocchi was high class, but our favourite dish was a Cumbrian beef rump with grilled baby gem. Soft, slow-cooked beef was silky and grilled lettuce was a revelation. Puddings of chocolate mousse with honeycomb and cardamom rice pudding were creative and impressive. In all, this is a stylish, inventive kitchen that’s adapted brilliantly to the delivery model. We’ll visit in person soon.

Delivery or collection available, 238 West End Lane, NW6 1LG; hamwesthampstead.com

MAMBOW

ASIAN TAKEAWAY WITH A TWIST

Words ABBIE SCHOFIELD

Malaysian restaurant Mambow has launched a new delivery concept, a build-your-own meal that’s cooked in the restaurant then finished off and served at home. The first menu is called Nyonya Summer, merging the bright flavours of Malaysian, Chinese, Indonesian and Thai cuisines.

All the components to make one main, two side dishes and a dessert arrive at my door. There's char sui pork, a juicy cut of shoulder with a sticky sweet glaze — all I have to do is pop it in the oven for eight minutes.

The sides are just as easy. The Nasi Ulam is a refreshing and light dish that mixes black rice with chopped herbs like Thai basil, coriander, mint and lemongrass tossed in a sambal (Indonesian chilli paste) dressing. The Rojak Salad is an unusual, fruity salad which complements the rich and sweet spice of the char sui: courgette, pineapple, apple, beansprouts, tempeh, crispy onions and radishes in a peanut, tamarind and sambal dressing. To finish, there’s a hefty slice of a coconut palm sugar caramel and dark chocolate tart, an extremely indulgent end to a memorable meal.

£30; To order, DM choices to @Mambow_ldn or Whatsapp 07833 778850; wearemambow.com

WAHACA

A FABULOUS FOOD FIESTA

Words LUCIE PEARCE

With more branches set to open soon, Southbank, Shoreditch and Wimbledon are leading the way for Wahaca postlockdown. A welcome return to the oddly quiet high street we’ve all become used to during the past four months, when I go to collect my food social distancing measures are in full swing.

Frijoles crema (creamy black beans with crumbled cheese and crema) is good but rather rich, so I order the light salsa as a second dip to accompany the tortilla chips.

After all the meat and fishheavy options of my last visit, I try mushroom and cheese tacos, which are, surprisingly, quite meaty, with a generous filling.

Our most loyal readers may recall my love for this dish, but it’s worth repeating: the sweet potato and feta taquito is delicious, with the crisp salad perfectly offsetting the creaminess. Another reliable favourite is the chorizo quesadilla with crushed sweet potato and cheese, decadent without being too oily.

Chicken quesadilla is lovely and fresh and comes with a generous helping of avocado. If you’re on more of a budget, get either the guacamole or the chicken quesadillas, as there’s ample avocado in each serving.

I’m not sure whether this is merely a reflection of the weight I’ve acquired during the last four months, but the portions did seem slightly smaller than pre-lockdown. However, saying this, I was completely sated by the time I’d eaten my way through my selection. While bookings are obviously encouraged for the time being, walkins are welcome where spaces are available, and there’s always Deliveroo for those of us more hesitant to start dining out again quite yet.

Eat in or order via Deliveroo, 35 The Broadway, London SW19 1QD: wahaca.co.uk