Restaurants

A relative newcomer to Earl’s Court’s restaurant row, Kappa is a top pick of the neighbourhood. It’s a low-key place, but has a certain stylishness, with gold-toned walls, candles and black tables. The owner is a Korean-born sushi chef and there’s a clear Korean influence on many dishes here, such as grilled scallops with gochujang (a Korean spicy bean paste). Three scallops, cut through the middle into discs and sandwiching finely chopped vegetables, were topped with a frazzle of deep-fried sliced leek and zigzagged with the spicy red paste; they looked gorgeous on their rectangular plate and were just as pleasing on the palate. A temaki (cone-shaped hand roll) containing stir-fried pork belly, rice and the well-loved Korean condiment kimchi, may have been difficult to eat, but was spicy and savoury nonetheless. Dry-fried pieces of baby squid, spiced with powdered chilli, were crisp outside, tender inside. Nigiri sushi is well-turned-out too; our sea bass nigiri was quite delicate and superbly fresh, as was nori-wrapped salmon roe. Black cod with miso, at the ungrasping price of £10.90, couldn’t be faulted. In all, a cut above average.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2009