The Bite Magazine Issue 17

Jada Brookes gets transformed to North Africa through Momo’s native homely cuisine at their restaurant in central London. guests to “kick back, relax and capture the mood of the moment.” Here you can sit on the terrace while indulging in their brunch menu on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays or grab lunch or dinner from Monday to Friday. How about satisfying your curiosity and venturing through the pink door located downstairs beneath the restau- rant to Black Dice Bar where they serve modern-era twists on all-time classic cocktails? This is the place where you can listen to your favourite music from the late ‘60s to present day. You’ll notice that the design of the bar is a nod to rock’s most noted icons such as Rod Stewart, The Clash, The Rolling Stones and Steven Tyler while the walls are adorned with rock ‘n’ roll memorabilia, lavish peacock feathers and leopard print fabrics, with the space dominated by a mirrored bar and glittered ceiling. Upon arriving at Momo, we were seated at the back of the restaurant where we could see virtually everything. At first, there were only a handful of people but less than an hour later the place was filled to capacity. We were introduced to bar manager Romain and head chef Kostos who both explained the ideas behind the cocktails and cuisine they create. Romain revealed that they use lemon juice instead of lime and vodka instead of rum in the Momo Special cocktail which was first created 15 years ago and has some similarities to a Mojito while Inked Daiquiri is a twist on the regular Daiquiri but made with homemade nut and charcoal syrup which gives it the dark colour. Initially, Momo Special, Inked Daiquiri and Rock the Casbah were created purely for the club downstairs but they became so popular that they were then made available in the restaurant. Head chef Kostos told us that Cheese Briouat, Wood Pigeon Pastilla and Fish Bourek are three of their bestselling starters, all of which are made from pastry and are either fried or baked. He went on further to explain that Bourek is the shape of a cylinder, Pastilla is round and baked, while Briouet is triangle-shaped. Their main menu is made up of two key dishes: couscous, steamed balls of sem- olina served with meat, and tagine, a bite cuisine Thousand Nights MOMO RESTAURANT Baby Aubergines