Andy Mossack reviews Mishky By Jorge Pacheco and revels in Latin American flavours.
Believe it or not, I’m sitting between the legs of a fully grown giraffe nibbling on a wonderful classic ceviche. If you think that’s weird, our giraffe also has a lion and a gorilla for company amid various other forms of wildlife. Oh, and there’s a DJ playing some cool sounds atop a church pulpit.
Such is the offbeat interior of Mishky By Jorge Pacheco, the restaurant of the Hux Hotel in Kensington. This bijou colonial parlour meets the Lion King setting is, I suspect, left over remnants of a former Hux hospitality space, as it’s in keeping with the hotel’s whimsical hipster vibe.
Thankfully, Pacheco’s culinary skills have what it takes to climb above the jungle canopy and take centre stage in a virtuoso production of Latin American flavours. A native of Ecuador, Jorge Pacheco has earned his chops through stints in numerous European high-end kitchens until he founded his own restaurant in Islington – El Inca Plebeyo. A place where he could let his love of flavours, particularly Ecuadorian, come to the fore.
Now ten years on, and with El Inca Plebeyo a fully established part of the Islington foodie scene, Jorge has grabbed the opportunity to establish himself in the heady heights of Kensington, opening Mishky By Jorge Pacheco at Hux in June.
This is an altogether different style to El Inca Plebeyo, aiming to seduce the well-heeled denizens of Kensington with a more refined version of his Latin American fare. Small sharing plates prepared to order and arriving as and when ready, is a popular format in this neck of the woods.
While I take a wander through the menu, feeling the giraffe’s gaze from on high checking out my selections, I kick off with a corker of a cocktail – Smoked by Colonel Coke (£17) – Johnnie Walker Black, cocoa butter, genmaicha tea-infused vermouth and tonka maple syrup. A perfect blend for whisky lovers.
The menu is easy to read, just four sections: From the Sea, From the Land, Sides and Desserts. The sea section is mainly a selection of ceviches ranging from classico, prawn, and tuna, to the more exotic sounding hamachi yellowtail (£15) with added oscietra caviar and jalapeño tiger’s milk. There’s also pan-fried scallops (£19.00), and a prawn encocado (£23.00), with mixed peppers and coconut cream.
We plump for classico (£14.50), crabmeat (£17) and mushroom (£12.50) ceviches as starters after sensing an approving nod from above. And they don’t disappoint. The classico’s cured sea bass chunks are infused with citrusy lime and red onion flavours mixed with ‘aji limo’ tiger’s milk and sweet potato. The hand-picked Cornish white crab meat ceviche is another winner, crispy fried plantain filled and topped with succulent crabmeat, while the king oyster mushroom chunks are mixed with truffle oil and pickled onion.
Our mains from the Land section are up next, and our picks have a distinct Ecuadorian bias. Perhaps we’re clearly seeking to stir up fond culinary memories of our time there. Tamal (£13.50) is a steamed corn dough wrap stuffed with tender pulled pork on a bed of banana leaf. Beautifully cooked and very moreish. It’s accompanied by a spicy coriander sauce that combines so well with the strong corn flavour of the dough. It feels like I’m instantly transported back to Quito’s street food vendors.
Hornado (£19) is another pork dish that seduces me from the first bite. It’s a mountain of slow-cooked and pulled pork shoulder, marinated with Peruvian aji panca a red pepper sauce, and served on a giant corn arepa, a sort of flat maize patty. Utterly divine.
This is all going very well, and I sense my tall friend above me is suitably impressed. The Land sharing dishes are certainly more generous than the fish and make excellent main courses.
Our final main is carried triumphantly to our table, and rightly so. It’s a freshly cooked pearl barley risotto (£17) steeped in pureed spinach and topped with a mound of parmesan. More Italian than Ecuadorian you might ask? Ecuador is big on rice in all its forms, and risotto is often a regular menu item. Without the parmesan though – obviously. Added no doubt for Jorge’s Kensington clique. Regardless, it is a total triumph.
By now the night-time vibe is well and truly kicking in. The pulpit DJ (Wednesday to Saturday) has upped his game, and the wine and cocktails are flowing freely.
Time for dessert now.
The chilli chocolate fondant (£9) uses Ecuadorian dark chocolate, well why not when you have world class cacao on your doorstep. And it’s served with vanilla ice cream. It is a glorious feast of indulgence. We also have to sample the quinoa pudding (£9), Pacheco’s signature dessert, made with a luxurious quinoa, coconut cream and topped with vanilla ice-cream covered in machica an Ecuadorian toasted grain used instead of oats or flour. A fitting end to an excellent dinner Latin American style.
Mishky By Jorge Pacheco is a refreshing and welcome new style of cooking to grace the Kensington food scene. Given time, it has all the hallmarks of becoming one of Kensington’s niche foodie hotspots. Providing you can negotiate the giraffe’s legs that is.
All food images (C) Andy Mossack
Tell me more about Mishky By Jorge Pacheco
Mishky By Jorge Pacheco, 7-9 Kensington High Street, London W8 5NP
T:+44 207 600 2000 E:hello@huxhotel.com
Opening hours Tuesday to Saturdays 12 pm to 3 pm and 5 pm to 11 pm.
