Forgive us for being so superficial, but Cafe Kowloon is an extremely good-looking restaurant. You’ll find such a vision of beauty by walking through the empty Wonton Charlie’s (a lunchtime noodle bar next door to London Fields station) and into the two roomy railway arches behind it. The first boasts a leggy stainless steel counter facing an open kitchen which is regularly lit up by flaming woks, and the second comes with curvy tan booths and towering neon-lit bar that resembles a Bladerunner cityscape. It’s a choose-your-own-adventure situation, and we opt for the more intimate-feeling room two, though those cosy padded alcoves work for both romantic dates and groups of rowdy mates.
Cafe Kowloon feels more like a club than a restaurant
Without a single window (apart from in the Wong Kar-wai worthy scarlet red bathroom), Cafe Kowloon feels more like a club than a restaurant. Here, the spirit of recently closed Elephant & Castle sweatbox Corsica Studios lives on, not just in those curved railway ceilings, but in the fact that a DJ has casually propped up a mixer at a corner table and seems to be deep into his own one man Boiler Room session.
Such interior comeliness would mean nothing if the food wasn’t equally beguiling, and happily, it is. In the kitchen is acclaimed chef Budgie Montoya, who kicks out Cantonese classics with aplomb, starting with a soupy bowl of beef tendons and a platter of soft and squishy yun cheong sausage, which is fragrant with five spice and boasts more than a little peppery Cumberland energy.
Lo bak go is a dim sum standard and Cafe Kowloon’s crispy-edged turnip cake offers a fresh-feeling, wellness-adjacent kind of stodge. Even more impressive is the juicy and outrageously thicc prawn toast, which is as prawny as it is toasty, and served with slightly battered heads on the side. Suck the brains, crunch the rest. Bliss. It also comes with a lurid Kermit-green, creamy spring onion dip, which pretty much makes it an entire meal in itself. But do try and contain yourself, as you’ll also need to order the char siu collar, the sticky-sweet cuts of meat given a tart, citrus shakedown thanks to chunks of ruby-red grapefruit.
We have heard wonderful things about the Hong Kong French toast, but are too full of meat and cocktails infused with the cult Japanese electrolyte drink Pocari Sweat to attempt it. A lighter, Ovaltine mousse with a moreish milk ice-cream makes for a more manageable end to a meal at a restaurant we know we’ll be returning to when we can’t quite decide between getting dinner and hitting the club.
The vibe A clubby vibeshack in London Fields.
The food Cantonese classics with a Hackney attitude.
The drink Chinese-inspired takes on traditional cocktails; shiso daiquiri, white negroni, and an alfonso mango marg.
Time Out tip Start your meal with a £6 mini cocktail; the lime leaf white lady is a potent, gimlet-esque enlivener.