Since the Russian invasion of 2022, we have all felt a little Ukrainian. You would be forgiven for feeling compelled to visit SiNO in Notting Hill as a show of solidarity, if nothing else. There's nothing wrong with solidarity but there's another reason to go – the food is really quite fantastic.
Warmly welcomed by our server, Alina, my companion and I took our places at this stylish but cosy restaurant on All Saints Road. The clean lines of burgundy Zellige tiles and dark mid-century modern furniture are softened by ears of hay dangling from the ceiling and farmyard animals fashioned out of straw. The result is a feeling of homeliness and refinement, one that carries through into the elevated but grounded menu.
The hay decoration is not incidental – SiNO is in fact Ukrainian for ‘hay’, a nod to Ukraine's status as a global grain provider, one under continued strain as the full-scale Russian invasion enters its fifth year. Eugene Korolev's menu, supported by Ana Reznik's cocktails, plays with this agrarian theme, with moments of sweetness and herbal bitterness pleasingly punctuating the experience in equal measure.
Though we visited at the start of autumn, the weather was warm and close, so I opted for a refreshing cucumber cocktail – the sweetness of dry vermouth and elderflower undercut by a dash of dill oil. It paired beautifully with the hors d'oeuvres that opened the Discovery tasting menu, notably a light, delicate tartelette of smoked pike roe and an earthy black pudding croquette.
The bread that followed was a delight: a black garlic brioche-like crown served with wildflower butter and a malt reduction, sweet and airy. I was glad the supply was limited, or I'd have struggled to leave room for the main event.
Black pudding
The BBQ scallops were perfectly cooked, their sweetness well balanced bar the melon, whose sweetness pushed things a touch too far. The smoked catfish that followed brought a deep, smoky savouriness – the catfish's crispy skin sitting in contrast to the chewy pearl barley beneath it. Next came an improbably light and flavourful chicken Kyiv, the bison grass mash alongside it lending a grown-up, herbal edge to a nostalgic classic.
A seabuckthorn sorbet with marigold reduction offered a sweet, sharp interlude between the creaminess of the kyiv and the honey cake that followed – light caramelly layers topped with buckwheat chocolate and surrounded by airy buckwheat cream. It reminded me of a billionaire's shortbread, no bad thing, and made for an unpretentious but deftly executed end to the meal.
Chicken Kyiv
Throughout, we drank Kolonist, a semi-dry Ukrainian riesling that paired beautifully across the courses, offering sweetness and sharpness exactly where needed – and one that's set me on a mission to drink more Ukrainian wine.
Refined yet homely, imaginative without being conceited, and at £95 for the tasting menu, SiNO's Ukrainian offering to London's dining scene is not to be missed – and I'll be smuggling more of that bread home with me next time I visit.
7 All Saints Rd, London W11 1HA; Sino
