The Cocochine: A Little Bit of Everywhere, on your Plate

The story of The Cocochine does not begin at the handsome four-storey townhouse it occupies in Mayfair. While the intimate dining rooms, bespoke furniture, curated art, and the kitchen counter with a view of the chefs at work make for a polished setting to relish Chef Larry Jayasekara’s culinary creations, I realised that to truly relive this tale, I needed to go elsewhere, about 60 miles away, to Northamptonshire, where sits Rowler Estate, a regenerative farm that supplies many of the ingredients that eventually find their way to my table. Or to Tanera Island, off the west coast of Scotland, home to the fishing port from where comes the fresh catch that at The Cocochine becomes plated masterpieces.

Oh, but the story travels even further. To Sri Lanka, to Devon by the sea, to the kitchens of some of Britain and France’s most acclaimed chefs, and to the many years Chef Jayasekara spent travelling, cooking and absorbing the flavours of the world. By the time those ingredients, experiences and influences converge at The Cocochine, the restaurant feels less like a place you have arrived at and more like the end point of a rather long journey.

The first course, a canapé, the Ceylon King Crab Salad, is perhaps the neatest introduction to the restaurant’s philosophy of diverse ingredients and flavours. King crab meets Rowler Farm apple, curry leaves and lime, with a chilled consommé bringing depth to the dish. The apple lends a brightness to the sweetness of the crab, while the curry leaves quietly remind you that this is not simply a celebration of British produce.

There is something rather lovely about discovering the farm and the fishing port this way, not through a declaration of provenance on a menu, but through a little burst of acidity, a familiar ingredient behaving slightly differently, a flavour that makes you wonder where it came from. The Rowler connection returns with the dry-aged spring lamb, served with garden peas, smoked bacon and black pepper.

Here, the ingredient is allowed to remain recognisable, but Larry gives it a little more room to travel. The lamb is dry-aged on the bone and somehow turned into a perfect mélange of consistency, tenderness, and sapidity. And then there is the dish that perhaps best speaks to the geographical curiosity of The Cocochine: its banana leaf barbecue native lobster. The lobster is wrapped in Sri Lankan banana leaf and charcoal-cooked before being presented with rice. It is a rather wonderful culinary detour, from a Scottish island to Sri Lanka, none of it forced.

If the savoury courses trace Larry’s travels outward, dessert brings him home. The Watalappam, a Sri Lankan crème caramel no less, arrives with crème fraiche ice cream and golden oscietra caviar. The arrangement sounds unexpectedly elegant because it neatly sums up a culinary journey defined by regional variety, ingredients, and traditions.

That is what makes The Cocochine interesting beyond the obvious Mayfair gloss: it uses provenance as an integral part of the menu, with the farm, the island and Larry’s Sri Lankan roots resurfacing throughout. The pricing, meanwhile, is more than fair for the diversity of ingredients and exclusive sourcing. The three-course menu is £140, while the signature menu is £189. In the end, the verdict is simple: this is a restaurant where you can trace dinner backwards from the plate to Mayfair, and the journey is as satisfying as the meal.

Address: 27 Bruton Pl, London W1J 6NQ, United Kingdom

Contact: +44 20 3835 3957