There are so many restaurants within London from Italian cuisine to Indian but have you ever had Filipino food? No, then I highly recommend visiting Kasa and Kin which is a new Filipino restaurant which has recently opened up and can be found within Soho.

Filipino food is South East Asia’s best kept secret but what is Filipino cuisine? Filipino cuisine is composed from hundred distinct ethno-linguistic groups found throughout the Philippine archipelago. A majority of their most popular dishes come from Ilocano, Pangasinan, Kapampangan, Tagalog, Bicolano, Visayan, Chavacano and Maranao ethno-linguistic groups. Dishes range from fried salted fish, pork, fish curry and chicken curry.

I was invited down to sample their menu courtesy of the owners and just like their other restaurant Romulo which I visited many years back the food was delicious.

Kasa and Kin

From the owners Rowena and Chris the same owners behind award winning Kensington’s Romulo Cafe & Restaurant, now comes Kasa and Kin bringing yet another restaurant to London where you can enjoy Filipino food.

Kasa means home, a place of family history, heritage and memories and Kin means one’s family and relations. They want their place to be a place for all to gather and feel a sense of community and belonging.

Filipino food is South East Asia’s best kept secret. Kasa and Kin throughout the day is a Filipino-style café and bakery and in the evening it changes to a full-on dinner menu with wines and cocktails. Executive chef Jeremy Villanueva together with Michelin-starred chef and consultant Pat McDonald provide the culinary magic.

Simply Kasa and Kin in a nutshell is Fun, Fiesta, Filipino, Flavours, Feast, Family & Friends.

Filipino food love

Kasa and Kin, can be found within Soho where you can enjoy all day dining from baked goods like calamansi citrus tarts, purple yam & coconut doughnuts as well as salads, sandwiches and noodle broths. In the evening the robata grill gets lit so you can enjoy Filipino BBQ sticks like pork belly, red chilli prawns, five spice duck, ginko nuts, homemade chorizo and smoked aubergine, alongside hot broths, rice paper rolls, kilaw-style bowls.

Upon entering Kasa and Kin immediately I felt a sense of community as I was warmly welcomed in. It is a great well spaced out restaurant venue with an open kitchen where you can watch chefs at work but what captures everyone’s eye is the beautiful bright colourful interactive wall mural which tells a story.

The vision is about family and friends getting together, connecting, healing, and ending with a celebration of a fiesta. The fun part about the artwork is though that there are a number of key areas which you can get a little fun and creative perhaps make complete the heart with your hand with the Filipino, pretend to wear a hat or feel like you are getting paparazzied by photographers.

Brendan Rodrigues hire Photo credit @philippoundphotography

The interactive wall mural is created by talesmith Kulay Labitigan which he got inspiration from a 16th-century poem of Ibong Adarna the famous Filipino about a mythical bird.

After making a heart shape with my hand against the mural it was time for me to look over the colourful menu at what Kasa and Kin have to offer.

Brendan Rodrigues hire — Click on menu to see menu clearer

Gazing over the menu I could see a great range of vegetables, seafood and meat to choose from.

I opted to start with Salmon Fillet. I expected thin slices of salmon but it was not. Instead it was cubed pieces of salmon mixed with a sauce. However I was pleasantly surprised as it tasted amazing. Creamy and zesty.

As for mains I opted for the BBQ pork belly with rice. It was cooked to perfection. The pork belly was succulent and the fat slightly crisp. The flavour was intense, porky, barbecuey, tangy and salty just how I like my pork and the rice nice and fluffy.

My friend had a Imbento Box (not shown on this menu). The Imbento Box can be enjoyed at lunchtime and you can choose a spring roll, hot broth, salad/rice/noodle and a main. This only costs just under £20 so it is great value for money but be warned you get a lot of food within this box deal so go along hungry. My friend can usually eat a lot but he even could not manage it all.

For dessert I opted to try Iskrambol which is a traditional Filipino street food which is a slushy treat which is made from powdered milk, marshmallows, chocolate syrup and more. So I ordered the Banana Bad Boy. This was a mix of banana, chocolate callets, mini marshmallows, and puffed rice. It looked incredible, striking in pink but unfortunately it was not to my liking. For me personally it was as little too icy and I was not keen on the flavour. However my friend really enjoyed it.

Plus they sell some amazing cocktails, plus wine and beers.

We enjoyed a lovely bottle of rose wine Messwein Rose, Niederosterreich which comes from Australia. Plus we both had a delicious cocktail each called Bong Adarna which was designed for them specifically by Don Papa Rum owner. The cocktail consisted of Don Papa Rum, Campari, pineapple juice, lime juice, simple syrup, and angostura bitters. It was delicious.

Verdict

All in all though I loved it at Kasa and Kin as I felt very welcomed and not rushed at all. I ended up being there for over 2 hours and that is unlike me to stay within a restaurant that length of time. Also the restaurant has a great ambience and buzz about it.

I will certainly be returning as the food was great and the pork belly I had has to be one of the best I have had in a long time.

So if you are looking to try Filipino food then I highly recommend Kasa and Kin. Plus don’t forget to immerse yourself within the wall art.