Leicester Square is a bustling pedestrian area in London, flanked by popular tourist areas such as Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square, and Piccadilly Circus. There’s always a huge crowd of people there and it seems to be dotted with mediocre restaurants.
In fact, it’s often hard to find really good food in the middle of these crowded, super-touristy areas. This is why we were pleasantly surprised when we stumbled upon Leicester Square Kitchen London, a modern Mexican and Peruvian restaurant located right in the center of Leicester Square in London.
Leceister Square Kitchen London belongs to a larger family of restaurants collectively known as “The Kitchens.” They have different restaurants in different London neighborhoods and all of them focus on contemporary small plates paired with signature cocktails and fine wines.
Nachos
We were hankering for Mexican food because Hong Kong has quite a shortage of good Mexican restaurants. Sure, we’ve discovered some that we really like, but generally, we just don’t get to eat it that often.
The homemade nachos were good and the signature guacamole was delicious, though a pretty small portion.
Tostados
Tostados were small but each order came with three. We tried one with shredded crab and spicy ginger mayo, which was pretty good!
Tacos
These mini hard tacos filled with beef tartare ají amarillo (£9) were different than what I’m used to, but they were fun.
They were really, really mini! Look how small they look compared to my fingers!
We also tried some soft tacos (£5) topped with Mayan-spiced marinated chicken, cilantro, black lime, garlic salsa and cayenne pepper mayo. They were enjoyable as well.
Ceviche
Sea bass ceviche with avocado, white corn and red onion (£12) was decent but not my favorite.
Small Plates and Esaladas
I was surprised by the creamy, tartar sauce-like topping that came with the grilled aubergine (eggplant) with margarita chilli salsa (£7). It was OK, but I probably wouldn’t order it again since I was looking for some vegetables to balance out the richness of the rest of my meal.
Anticucho and Robata
From the “Anticucho and Robata” (meats + grill) section we ordered sliced beef tenderloin anticucho (£12). It was OK but didn’t stand out.
To make sure we got our greens, we ordered an anticucho of seared robata tenderstem broccoli, charred kale and shimeji mushroom which came in a hot clay pot. The server warned us that this was really spicy, and she was RIGHT! The flavors were strong and it was super spicy. Bryan was sweating. I had to stop and breaks. Definitely beware!
It was pretty good, but I think it was too spicy for me to fully enjoy it.
General Thoughts – Leicester Square Kitchen London
The food at this Mexican/Peruvian restaurant in the middle of Leicester Square in London was surprisingly decent. It wasn’t the best Mexican or Peruvian food we’ve ever had, but it hit the spot and we were thankful to be able to enjoy a satisfying meal in a pleasant dining space right in the middle of the busy square.
Leicester Square Kitchen London
31-36 Leicester Square
London
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