The upstairs dining room at Lahpet West End
What can you tell us about Lahpet?
You may have already been to Dan Anton and Zaw Mahesh's restaurant in Shoreditch which, since its opening in 2018, has been shining a light on Burmese food for Londoners. But if, like us, you foolishly hadn't made it east either to their year long pop up in Hackney or their Shoreditch restaurant then this new opening in Covent Garden gives you a chance to redeem yourself.
Where is it?
You'll need to head to The Yards in Covent Garden - a series of interconnected streets and spaces in between Upper St Martin's Lane and Long Acre. It's where you'll also find Dishoom, Arome and Temper among other restaurants.
Where should we sit?
This new restaurant is a pretty decent sized space across two floors. Downstairs is probably best suited to larger groups while upstairs is better for couples and smaller groups. There's also a large first-floor terrace which is both covered and heated which is bound to be very popular when it opens up (which should be in late spring).
If you want a section all to yourself there's a nice corner table for eight beside the bar upstairs which is perfect.
Drinks first?
You'll definitely want to hit up the cocktail list here which is packed with drinks we thought sounded genuinely interesting (and very well made too).
Left to right: Mar-Tea-Ni (£11.50) made with pickled tea oil washed vodka, orange bitters and chilli oil and a Turmeric and Yuzu Sour (£11.50) a twist on a Pisco sour using Pisco alongside turmeric cordial, lime and yuzu juice and maraschino.
So what's on the menu?
Burmese-born chef Zaw has put together a menu that features some of the favourites from Lahpet Shoreditch along with a raft of new dishes. The food here uses a combination of seasonal British produce along with ingredients that have been imported from Myanmar. As we hadn't been before we gave the menu a good going-over, to try some of the old and new dishes, which are loosely divided into small and large plates and bowls. Here's what we had:
Shan tofu fritters served with a tamarind dip (£3.50 - or you can have a platter of all three fritter options for £10).
Andaman Ceviche (£10) - one of the new dishes on the menu here and a real hit for us, this featured sea bass with coconut, shrimp floss and watercress.
Tea Leaf Salad (Lahpet thohk), £9, the dish the restaurant's named for and made with pickled tea “lahpet” to which is added cabbage, tomato, dried shrimps, raw garlic, chilli and a mixture of double-fried beans and seeds. This came with a warning about caffeine levels, so you might not want to eat it too late if you need your beauty sleep.
Skewer selection - Lahpet's new kitchen in Covent Garden has a robata grill, so what better way to use it than these grilled skewers? Options include chicken thigh, black tiger prawn and king oyster mushroom with broccoli. Alternatively, you could simply go for a platter of them all for £20.
A new addition to the menu - roasted pork belly & sour bamboo curry (Wet thar myit chin) £17.50 made with shallot, fermented soya bean paste (Paé pote), pea shoots and chilli. This dish would traditionally be made with stewed pork, but who could say no to that amazing crackling?
One of the Lahpet signature dishes - coconut noodles with chicken (Ohn-no kauk swé), £15. It's a gorgeous coconut broth brimming with egg noodles, shallots, spring onion, paprika oil, egg and a towering crispy wonton.
Rakhine Mohinga (£16.50) Myanmar's national dish, this is a funky noodle "chowder" with grilled squid and green beans and perhaps one of the best dishes to try to really get a feel for what Lahpet is about.
Room for dessert?
The dessert menu is nicely pared down. There are homemade sorbets and ice-creams on offer, but we opted to try both of the other desserts.
Cassava cake topped with jackfruit sorbet and crystallised pineapple (£7.50).
Banana parfait with crumble and a ginger tuile (£8).
And to drink?
Other than the cocktails above, there's a wine list by Liberty wines, and there's plenty to enjoy here (and small glasses of wine start at just under a fiver). Our Chenin Blancs Old Vines from South Africa was at the higher end of the menu at £46 a bottle but we felt it held its own with the food. Prefer beer? Then the Lemongrass Saison from Bermondsey's Partizan Brewing could be just the ticket.
Overall thoughts:
If your idea of a perfect meal out in London is to be introduced to something new and wonderful tasting you haven't tried before, then Lahpet is perfect. We'll admit to being complete novices at Burmese food but everyone here went out of their way to educate us on what it's about along with the best dishes to order.
We left wanting to take a gander at Mimi Aye's book Mandalay to learn more about it, along with plans to return to try more (and grab a spot on the balcony). So we'd say that was an unqualified success.
Hot Dinners ate as guests of Lahpet. Prices are correct at the time of writing.
More about Lahpet
Where is it? 21 Slingsby Pl, London WC2E 9AB
How to book: Book online
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @lahpet.
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