Foley’s is one of those rare restaurants where you walk out wondering where have you been all your life. It is such an exciting and thrilling restaurant that makes dining out a desirable and even addictive experience.
Who is the talent behind Foley’s? It is none other than Mira Vora, a former sous chef at Palomar, the Jerusalem cuisine sensation that has been consistently one of the top choices for Londoners. They’ve imported some of the best ideas from Palomar including a very engaging open kitchen with a dining counter where you are in touching distance to the chefs.
They have done their market research well before opening Foley’s. They had run a hugely successful pop-up for 6 weeks in Shepherd’s Bush to hone their dishes to find out which ones worked and which didn’t. Their diverse selection of dishes isn’t restricted to one particularly type of cuisine but inspired by the spice trail with flavours of Asia and the Middle East being the predominant influences.
The menu isn’t extensive but evenly divided into sections like bits & bobs, veg, meat and from the sea. The ceviche tacos is a healthy take on the classic dish using endives to hold onto the fresh mixture of tuna and octopus. It has been made particularly appetising by the use of coconut miso leche and varied texture with the addition of peanuts.
Grilled octopus is an atypical offering to what you might expect. The meat is slowly cooked, tender-tasting with slight charring, whilst the flavour is extremely intense with the use of black sesame mayo and housemade sriracha. There is also crispy pork mince, which gives the dish more of a meaty feel.
Mira is big on textural differences in his dishes. Sticky beef is embedded with crunchy crispy shallots and once again more peanuts. The flavours are unlike anything you will find in your standard London restaurant, sticky beef is matched with avo and kaffir lime purée. The meat falls apart readily without the need for a knife.
Dishes are beautifully plated and well garnished. A tasty dish of nori wrapped tuna is on a picturesque bed of seaweed, compressed nashi pear, shitake and edamame. The yuzu mayo adds a gentle citrusy touch to the fish.
The tastes of Foley’s are unique and exotic, not all the dishes might work for everyone, but there is little doubt Foley’s will lead where others will follow.
baldwin@townfish.com