Al look at Rondo La Cave
So what is Chet's
Chet's is a new pop-up that's arrived at Rondo La Cave for a four-month stint. It comes from chef Kris Yenbamroong, who's also behind popular LA haunt Night + Market. He's come to London with a menu that sees American classics mashed with Thai cuisine.
Where's it popping up?
Rondo La Cave is the basement wine bar at the Hoxton hotel in Holborn (it has a separate entrance in the front of the hotel). Since its launch, Rondo has been used as a pop-up and incubator, occasionally featuring restaurants that then go on to become a permanent fixture with the Hoxton group (and that seems to be the plan for Chet's).
What's on the menu?
As mentioned, it's billed as Americana meets Thai, but that doesn't quite do it justice. It's a menu that brings a distinct Thai approach to a number of American and European dishes, creating something new in the process. It's similar (but still different) to the approach we've seen at AngloThai (who are themselves due to launch a restaurant later this year).
Chet's is a small/sharing plates affair and here's what we had on the night.
Garlic bread - toasted milk bread spread with spicy and garlicky prik tum garlic spread (£6) - hands-down some of the best garlic bread we've had recently. A must-order. Get it immediately to munch on while you plan your attack on the rest of the menu.
Pacific rock oysters served with nam jim & Thai cocktail sauce (3 for £12, 6 for £24)
Wedge salad - crisp iceberg lettuce, candied pork jowl with blue cheese dressing and spicy & garlicky nam jim (£8). This came highly recommended and while not something we'd normally go for, did live up to its billing, the candied pork and the blue cheese making a mighty combo.
Marinated fried chicken thigh with ranch & red-eye chili dip (£9) - we had a preference for the ranch dressing, but the chicken was extremely good, with the most perfect crunch. Another must-have.
Shrimp bikini - crispy, savory pastry covering shrimp, garlic and gai lan, aka Chinese broccoli (£11) - spot-on snackage.
Smashburger - pork & beef burger with American cheese, Chet’s secret sauce, chili, pickle & cilantro (£13) - a good burger for sure, there's a touch of thousand island dressing in the sauce which helps.
Som tum sundae - vanilla ice cream, som tum caramel, condensed milk, sprinkled with savoury thai beer nut (£6) - frankly it's hard not to like anything that combines caramel and condensed milk in a sundae.
One thing though, it's not really the best place for vegetarians. The vegan larb fritters with Thai goddess sauce (£10) fit the bill, but otherwise it's a distinctly non-veg affair.
And what about drink?
While the pop-ups at La Cave are temporary, the wine list stays the same and is all about low-intervention. 125ml wines by the glass start at £6 (a Chiliean Semillon/Moscatel) and bottles start at around £36/37 (including a Judith Beck Austrian rosé at £37). Our advice is to definitely ask the servers here for some guidance. As for ourselves, we thought the Les Cosmics 2020 Aligote from Burgundy proved to be a good match for the whole menu (£46).
What's next for Chet's?
The plan is to spin this out into a new restaurant. They've said that Shepherd's Bush is in the running, so we'd say it's highly likely to be the main restaurant at the new Hoxton hotel opening there later this year.
Overall thoughts
This is the first pop-up that we've been to at Rondo La Cave and we can see the attraction. Slightly dive-bar in approach, but with that natural wine focus, it's quite unlike anything else in the area. Combine that with an excellent menu from Chets and it's well worth coming down to try it while they're popping up here.
More about Chet's
Where is it? Rondo La Cave, 199-206 High Holborn, London WC1V 7BD
How long is it on? Until mid-September 2022
How to book: Book online
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @rondolacave
Hot Dinners ate as guests of The Hoxton. Prices are correct at the time of writing.
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