A quirky laid-back restaurant in North West London, Parlour entices the young and old alike with their creative spin on culinary favourites.
Tucked away (quite literally!) in North West London, Parlour has to be one of Kensal’s finest eateries. When I say fine, if it’s fancy dining you’re looking for then I wouldn’t market Parlour as that, but you can expect highly creative mouth-watering dishes aplenty.
Appealing to the whole family, the menu is an all day affair, whether you want to start your morning at Parlour or end it with their Late Night Kitchen. It’s also the perfect watering hole, with drinks from all over the world.
Parlour is downright quirky and has dosed up on the fun-factor as that’s their ethos, which is so very important when eating as a family. Their children’s menu will excite mini-diners with the likes of their ‘Crudites with a Dippy Dip’, ‘Popcorn Chicken Nuggets & Chips’ and their continuously popular ‘Classic Macaroni Cheese (with spinach or bacon)’ – they even offer little ones a free babyccino and hot chocolate. A notably sweet touch is the activities printed on the kids menu; children can navigate round the maze and show off their best colouring skills to keep them occupied before their food arrives.
For adults the fun continues, and at first glance the menu is a bit of a riddle, but soon enough I was fluent in Parlour-talk (and the attentive staff were more than happy to fill in any of the blanks). The staff were also full of fabulous suggestions to which I gladly obliged. One recommendation that I can’t shake out of my head is their delectable Coconut-Water-Cooler with mint and elderflower – I can honestly say it was one of the most refreshing drops I’ve ever tasted (it’s worth swinging by for that alone!). My first mouthful was a slice of their fantastic soda bread (with lashings of butter), with a gorgeous crunch and nutty taste. Only to be complemented with super slices of salmon which they smoke in-house.
Two of their signature dishes are their ‘Cow Pie’ and ‘Chicken Kyiv’; the ‘Kyiv’ served with a homemade circular hash brown and masses of coleslaw swayed me. The dish itself was like a work of art, the ‘Kyiv’ itself was huge (sitting on the equally impressive hash brown and coleslaw). In true Parlour style this was not your standard kiev. Shaped like a massive scotch egg, when cut into the garlic, herbs and butter oozed out – simply delicious.
For dessert I sampled their ‘Plethora of Plated Pretty Puddings’ and felt like a real King. A feast for the eyes (and for the stomach), there was a Toasted Marshmallow Wagon Wheel, Hot Strawberry Souffle, Elderflower Jelly, Eton Tidy, Lemon Cheesecake, Artic Rolls, and Chocolate Salted Caramel Rolos – each unique and above all seriously tasty.
Parlour really is a rare find, from it’s funky interior to its quirky menu it’s a must visit for families.
www.parlourkensal.com
