There is a big mood on Heddon Street, and I don’t just mean from all the David Bowie tat (it’s the Mayfair alley where the cover of 1972’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars was shot). I swear to Bowie himself that I went down here about 10 years ago and it was pretty quiet, but now it positively heaves with drinking and dining destinations, from Fonda to Ambassors Clubhouse. The latest is DakaDaka, which is Georgian slang that does indeed translate as ‘big mood’.
Traditional food, served smartly, with an emphasis on flame-cooked stuff
A popular mood too: it was absolutely heaving on the soggy Tuesday I visited, a virtually full house soaking up the 100-ish cover restaurant’s blaring music, ginormous smoke-belching open kitchen and communal tables. I don’t want to make it sound too raucous – we could hear ourselves talk – but if you prize a hushed atmosphere and despise conviviality, DakaDaka is probably not for you.
The large, boxy room is not especially stunning in and of itself, but general good vibes carry it. And the food! If you’re not familiar, Georgia is kind of at the crossroads of the Middle East and Eastern Europe – between Turkey and Russia – and the cuisine very much reflects that in a ‘you get dumplings, but you also get pomegranate’ type of way.
Chef Mitz Vora is not trying to offer a slavishly nostalgic ex-pats only experience, but neither is this about culinary reinvention. It’s traditional food, served smartly, with an emphasis on flame-cooked stuff. And it’s pretty much a Georgian bootcamp, starting with the water. Only a coward wouldn’t opt for sparkling Borjomi, bottled in Georgia since 1890, and with a markedly saltier taste than the demure mineral waters of the west.
In a pretty damn consistent meal, the starters – or ‘snacks’ – set the bar high. The nakhvasta (corn and millet crisps) are not profound but they are pretty great – served with very big, very cheesy, very delicious walnut and coriander dips. The nigvziani badrijani was similarly great – smoky swaps of aubergine concealing various pleasant crunchy things, notably walnut and pomegranate.
If you know one thing about Georgian food, you may be aware of khinkali, those elaborate hand twisted, stew-filled dumplings. It’s one of those dishes so classic that passing judgement feels hubristic, but yes, they’re great – I had the shitake mushroom variant (there’s also a pork version) and it was superb, rich, hot soupy goodness spilling out of firm dough.
‘Rich’ is the order of the day. The mtsvadi pork skewer was wonderful, sweet heavy meat clashing blissfully with sour pickled walnut. Shilaplavi is a soft, thick rice-based dish – it’s, er, pretty nice in a stodgy comfort food way, though I slightly struggled to know what to do with the explanation that it’s traditionally associated with mourning. This version has octopus added, which was so soft as to not really change the texture much, but I guess adds a little ‘fun’ to funeral food.
If you know one thing about Georgian drink, you’ll know that they’re big wine guys: the country’s rich, sour reds don’t have much visibility in western Europe, and are definitely a bit of an acquired taste, but it would be rude not to dive in, and DakaDaka has a dizzyingly well-stocked cellar. I even had red wine ice cream for dessert – it had a pleasingly sophisticated, sour cherries flavour.
DakaDaka is not fine dining, or even quiet dining, but it’s not blingy or crass either, just… enthusiastic. And when you’re representing your national cuisine as well as this, why wouldn’t you be?
The vibe Boisterous, convivial eating hall with a massive flame-filled kitchen as its focal point.
The food Classic Georgian with an emphasis on fire-cooking.
The drink You’d be committing a hate crime not to opt for Georgian wine, of which there are over 100 to choose from.
Time Out tip Try to avoid sitting near the door – on a cold night we had to keep shutting it ourselves to avoid catching a chill (the staff were attentive but they couldn’t drop everything immediately to close the door anytime somebody came in).