London’s restaurant scene is has one of the the most diverse and palatable culinary experiences in the world. So, naturally, we loved the opportunity to sample the plant based, guilt free foodie haven on offer at KOJO, one of capital’s best new openings. We went along to sample the fare and LOVED it – so we’ve compiled our top three reasons why you should go too.
Great food
This is THE place to enjoy the plant goodness at every hour of the day! You can dine alone, or with friends and family, at the restaurant or as a home takeaway. The breakfast menu with its signature build-your-own Acai Bowls and warming Warrior Porridge is on offer until 5pm, the all-day and evening menus offer authentic, nutritious and naturally delicious plant based meals that appeal to everyone at any time of the day and new products are added on a seasonal basis. The drinks menu is well balanced with delectable alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. The hot drinks offer comfort on a cold and rainly day and beautifully complement the food and on a hot day you can find plenty of plant based refreshments. We arived at lunch time on a blustery and cold day and welcomed the warm and velvety coconut hot chocolate and the turmeric latte. Then there was a great debate over having something from the ongoing breakfast menu or go for a main dish from the all-day offer. We went for the KOJO Burger and the soul warming Tamashi Ramen and then the conversation stopped as we just had to mindfully savour every bite.
Great location
KOJO is situated very close to Hampstead Heath, one of London’s best places to enjoy the great outdoors (take the dog and the kids for a walk, fly a kite, climb a tree, have a picnic or just take in the fresh air and check out the breathtaking views over London’s skyline). Before our visit we went on a walk and thoroughly enjoyed observing a family of parakites as they went about feeding their noisy and hungry chicks. But no adventure is really great unless food is involved so you can start the great explore with a meal, relax afterward with a drink and a snack or take away few tasty treats to enjoy as a picnic.
Great way to introduce kids to plant-based food
Plant based cuisine is on the rise throughout the world as we are looking for ways to treat our tastebuds minus the harm to the planet. KOJO is all about tasty food free from aditives and prepared in healthy ways. It is a great way to introduce kids to to a plant-based diet from early on, especially as there are plenty of familiar comfort foods on the menu too. We arrived on a cold day and were looking for comfort food so went with some familiar options like turmeric latte and hot ramen soup then went ahead and tried some new dishes from the recently updated menu and they were nourishing, packed with goodness, colourful and tasted good.
We were delighted to meet Alina Jones who is one of the co-founders and a nutritional therapist. She is passionate about bringing the plant-based lifestyle to everyday consumer using best quality familiar products and consistently utilising sustainable materials and environmental friendly cooking methods. We talked with her about recipes, ingredients, spices and cooking methods and took her advice to sample the divine mixed deserts sample platter … and THAT was goooood!
We very much endorse the belief that living a plant based lifestyle is one of the most powerful ways to reconnect with nature and to care for our planet so we try to adapt as much as possible to a sustainable living where vegan, vegetarian and plant based foods play a major role. To us, KOJO is one of the places that we’ll add to our favourite London culinary roadmap and they get our firm thumbs up for their efforts to bring their @kojokolture to everyday customers.
KOJO is located at 32-34 Rosslyn Hill, Hampstead, NW3 1NH more info and bookings via their site. If you’re looking for fun things to do whilst in the area we recommend a visit to Kentish Town City Farm, a play in the Hamstead Pergola or a visit to Camden Art Centre (they often hold kid’s sessions on a weekend that are very good!)