A buzz-worthy restaurant showcasing traditional woodfire cooking.
Woodfire cooking is the trend de jour in London. Dining experiences revolving around open-flame cooking have taken the city by storm, with the likes of Acme Fire Cult in Dalston, Caia in Notting Hill and BRAT in Shoreditch leading the charge with their smoke-imbued dishes inspired by hunter-gather fundamentals.
With one MICHELIN star already under its belt, HUMO is a small and unassuming restaurant that has taken up residence on St George Street in Mayfair. The fire-focused concept comes to us from Colombian Executive Chef Miller Prada, previously Head Chef at Endo at the Rotunda.
As its name suggests – HUMO means "smoke" in Spanish – the restaurant pairs vibrant flavours with traditional woodfire cooking techniques, resulting in a dining destination rooted in earthy soulfulness. HUMO's open kitchen is centred on the flame, offering a striking visual when you cross the threshold into the intimate, galley-style restaurant space complemented by an alluring and strangely calming aroma. We take a seat at the counter where we can feel the warmth of the open flame and see the culinary maestros working their magic across the four-metre-long wood grill with its pits and pulleys – stoking the fire and fanning the embers as humankind has done for over 780,000 years.
HUMO's concise menu is divided neatly into four sections: Ignite (raw dishes inspired by Japanese sashimi), Smoke (vegetables from the grill), Flame (small plates grilled in direct contact with the wood), and Embers (daily changing cuts of aged fish and meat). Each represents a different stage of a fire's lifecycle. As a result, the cuisine showcases various grill cooking techniques with an array of wood types, including Applewood, Silver Birch and Whisky Barrels, each used to impart a unique taste and depth to the flavours of the seasonal produce.
We opt for the tasting menu (£155 per person). This fire dining experience showcases HUMO's signature dishes, which combine the art of grilling over wood with the very best micro-seasonal British produce and influences from Japan. We begin with raw courses of Sea Bass, a raw dish representative of the first step in lighting a fire, the spark that causes combustion. The 11-day aged fish has been cured using the traditional Japanese Kombujime technique before being grape wood-smoked alongside lapsang souchong (smoked tea) to enhance the taste of the sashimi. Elsewhere, a dish of superb slithers of delicate eight-day aged Yellowtail is doused in a disarming citrus sauce with Castillo coffee from Miller's family farm in Columbia before being topped with a generous dollop of matured caviar.
A focus on vegetables forms HUMO's smoke courses, where a Garden Salad is anything but simple. Deceptive on the eye, this salad combines wild rocket with ash-grown herbs, fire-charred edamame, sugar snaps, and rokko miso. The miso comes from the south of Japan and is so limited that it is only available in two London restaurants.
While we won't reveal all the surprises of this triumphant tasting menu, including the "Not Bread" and 32-day aged Cornish Lamb course, the Hand-dived Orkney Scallop is a perfect plate. The plump mollusk has been cooked directly upon a piece of whisky barrel, which imparts a beautiful flavour to the scallop which is then served in the shell alongside white nectarine and a beautifully boozy Wildmoor whisky sabayon. It's a must-order dish that showcases the subtle nuances of woodfire cooking.
When it comes to desserts – which are referred to on the menu as "cinders" – make sure you save room for the glorious Koji. The National mould of Japan, which is usually found in rice, offers a salty, umami taste and has been combined with a custard sponge grilled over white oak with coffee, buckwheat and fig leaf.
HUMO showcases a sensory journey from start to finish, using fire to explore textures, tastes, smells and sounds. Showcasing primal cooking techniques, Chef Miller Prada's impressive eatery celebrates the earth's natural bounty and creates a sense of community centred on a warming fire – a place to gather, connect and share food.
HUMO: a sizzling sensation.
GO: Visit https://humolondon.com for reservations and more information.