Search the Good Food Guide - Site Settings site

Location

Establishment Type

Cuisine

Price

Clear
  View all 6 photos
  /6
X

Kota

Cornwall, Porthleven - Global - Restaurant with rooms - ££

Overall Rating: Very Good

Uniqueness:Does the establishment stand out in the context of the local area? Very Good

Deliciousness:How delicious is the food? Very Good

Warmth:How warm is the service and the hospitality in general? Very Good

Strength of recommendation:How enthusiastically and widely would you recommend the establishment? Very Good

On the harbour head in peaceable Porthleven, Kota feels every inch the rustic Cornish bolthole, with its red tiled floor, mutually reflecting mirrors and engaging, friendly staff. What lifts it out of the ordinary are the flavour combinations Jude Kereama brings to all of his dishes. With both Maori and Malaysian-Chinese heritage, he has an ingenious approach to seasoning and spicing, as well as an understanding of textural variation – and the results never seem to fall short. Double-acts are favoured within each dish, especially at main course: a fillet of pollock and a kataifi-wrapped chunk of monkfish are dressed in saffron yuzu mayo with a rich bisque of lime leaf and coconut, while a flat iron steak is teamed with short rib braised in soy and ginger. Before that, the tasting menu (four or six courses) could offer mackerel tartare partnered with white crab in oyster emulsion with a snapped squid-ink cracker, followed by toasted scallops with fried onion in an XO-laced cream s...

On the harbour head in peaceable Porthleven, Kota feels every inch the rustic Cornish bolthole, with its red tiled floor, mutually reflecting mirrors and engaging, friendly staff. What lifts it out of the ordinary are the flavour combinations Jude Kereama brings to all of his dishes. With both Maori and Malaysian-Chinese heritage, he has an ingenious approach to seasoning and spicing, as well as an understanding of textural variation – and the results never seem to fall short. Double-acts are favoured within each dish, especially at main course: a fillet of pollock and a kataifi-wrapped chunk of monkfish are dressed in saffron yuzu mayo with a rich bisque of lime leaf and coconut, while a flat iron steak is teamed with short rib braised in soy and ginger. Before that, the tasting menu (four or six courses) could offer mackerel tartare partnered with white crab in oyster emulsion with a snapped squid-ink cracker, followed by toasted scallops with fried onion in an XO-laced cream sauce, served on the scallop shell. Finish perhaps with a hunk of moist honey and almond cake in lemon thyme syrup with crumbled walnuts and a startlingly intense, savoury sorbet of goat's cheese. Wine pairings favour Kereama's Kiwi birthplace, with Riesling allowed to demonstrate its food-friendly paces, either varietally or blended, acerbically dry or with the citric sweetness of late harvesting.

Read full reviewSee less

VENUE DETAILS

Harbour Head
Porthleven
Cornwall
TR13 9JAGB

01326 562407

View opening times

Make a reservation

OTHER INFORMATION

Accommodation, Wheelchair access

More like this

    •  

       

       

    •  

       

       

    •  

       

       

    Latest articles