Baity Kitchen, South Kensington

Baity Kitchen, South Kensington

15 June, 2011
by: Tom Jeffreys

No booze for Tom Jeffreys, and still he rejoices in the brilliant Baity Kitchen.

Two things make this visit to Baity Kitchen an unusual experience for me. The first is that we're in South Kensington, which is not an area of London that holds much appeal for me (apart from the V&A) and the second is that, as far as I can tell, Baity Kitchen doesn't serve booze. Or at least I wasn't offered any. Now normally that would really get my goat, especially after an afternoon spent trekking round the gaudy drivel of Harrods and Harvey Nichols. But for two rather important reasons, it doesn't really matter, and if anything, even feels rather appropriate.

The first is what I shall rather un-technically refer to as 'the vibe'. Baity Kitchen – opened around 6 months ago – is clean, crisp, fresh and relaxed. White walls are offset by lively paintings of sundry foodiness, whilst the bare concrete floor is echoed by some quirky zinc-topped reclaimed wood tables. But any sparseness is balanced by bright turquoise chairs and cute details like the funny little salt and pepper shakers. Plus, there's a delightful outdoor area (soon to be open for dining if the council say yes): all decking, kitchen herbs and wild strawberries. There's even a pair of dirtied gardening gloves lying artfully cast aside. Populated by chic ladies and happy young families, it's a wholesome, modern atmosphere, not dissimilar to what you might expect in an upmarket garden centre. And I mean that in a good way.

The second reason why booze isn't really an issue is that the food here (by head chef Joudie Kalla Anagnou) is uniformly good and, in places, almost ludicrously delicious. The concept here is relaxed: you go up to a counter, survey the spread of dishes and select a bit of what you fancy. You can order a main and a couple of salad dishes for around £15, but being thorough (greedy) critic-types we opted for a whole plethora of different dishes, almost all of which were memorable for their combination of simplicity, freshness and force of flavour. Honey and soy-glazed chicken was delicately delicious; seared tuna was sea-fresh and cooked to absolute perfection; roasted aubergine oozed oily goodness; and a chunky Greek salad sang with quality ingredients.

Slightly less successful was a rice, lentil, onion and pomegranate seed salad which I found a little dull, and a large stuffed green pepper. Overflowing with rice and oily tomato mush, and served with lovely Greek yoghurt, it was ever so slightly under-seasoned, but hearty comfort food nonetheless.

We also enjoy some delicate jasmine tea, a splendidly moist date and banana cake and meltingly lovely chocolate cookie. But the highlight, for me, was a belting salad of celeriac and cherry tomatoes, liberally strewn with parmesan and doused in truffle oil. With the slight peppery edge of the celeriac cutting through the richness of the truffle, this is a triumphantly simple dish, and one that seems to sum up the ethos here: delicious but unstuffy, with an expert sense of when to stop – both in terms of dish and décor. South Kensington may not be one of my usual haunts, but I'll definitely be back to Baity.

www.baitykitchen.com

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Tom Jeffreys