Chicama London is a seafood restaurant in Chelsea with a Peruvian inspired menu. Fish is delivered daily from Cornwall and the vegetable dishes are made from fresh, seasonal British produce…
Chicama spoiled us with a large selection of gluten-free plates. All food comes out when it is ready and is intended for sharing.
To start, we had the Padron peppers, which were juicy and lightly salted. Next were the tapioca marshmallows, which were made gluten-free by request. These marshmallows were little squares of fluffiness with a creamy inside and a little crispy outside.
The sea bass ceviche was made up of fresh chucks of seabass served in tangy citrus juices, heritage tomatoes and charred corn kernels. I found this dish really refreshing and loved the sharp citrus flavours.
The Chargrilled Broccoli was served with a coffee and smoked chilli dip – an unusual flavour combination which surprisingly worked. The dip was good enough to eat by itself and I wish I had more of it. We also ordered the Tiger prawns, with toasted almonds and a yuzu kosho dressing. The prawns were juicy and cooked to perfection, and were truly a must-have on the menu.
The Tuna tostada was served with an avocado jalapeño sauce. Each bite was a flavour sensation made up of melt-in-your-mouth tuna and creamy avocado sauce, all served on top of a crispy corn shell. If I had to pick a favorite dish, this would be it.
The Crab and green papaya salad, with daikon, and lemon verbena is a light salad which I would order as a side. This was refreshing but wish it had a bit more crab through it.
Our last plate was the quinoa, gem lettuce and pickled grape salad. It was my first time trying pickled grapes and they were delicious, a great addition to quinoa. I now need to find out where I can buy them/or how to make them (Chicama – recipe please!).
We ended the tasting with the only gluten-free dessert, which was a chocolate-lovers dream. It was the Piura porcelana, with baked white chocolate crumbs and chocolate mousse. Luckily we shared this as it was very a rich dessert but one of the best mousses I have ever tasted.
Chicama is definitely a NOBREAD favorite – we will definitely be back.