Dakadaka, London W1: ‘like A 2am Lock-in On A Tbilisi Back Street’ – Restaurant Review | Grace Dent On Restaurants

DakaDaka, a rowdy paean to Georgian cuisine, has arrived connected Heddon Street successful nan West End of London. Heddon Street has ever been synonymous pinch rowdiness, sloppy of nan truth that nan mature, semi-elegant likes of Sabor, Piccolino and Heddon Street Kitchen are rather nan opposite. But anyone who ever recovered themselves staggering retired of Strawberry Moons successful nan 1990s having mislaid a footwear and pinch a emotion wound aliases from nan basement nine astatine Momo will cognize that this small nook tucked distant down Regent Street is wherever a bully clip is meant to beryllium had.

And now there’s DakaDaka, which surely does not marketplace itself arsenic a nightclub, because, well, virtually obscurity does immoderate more. What DakaDaka does do, though, is play Georgian creation euphony very loudly and pinch endless enthusiasm correct done your badrijani (grilled aubergines), imeruli (cheese-filled flatbread) and kababi (lamb skewers). Helpfully, nan ceramic walls person been painted pitch-black to springiness these dark, candle-lit, metal-clad premises a existent consciousness that you’ve someway stumbled into a 2am lock-in connected a backmost thoroughfare successful Tbilisi, complete pinch pottery, folklore and blackboards connected nan walls, though this spot besides happens to service grape salads and nakhvatsa (corn crisps). Some imaginable customers will nary uncertainty publication that and think: “Yippee! I emotion a edifice wherever talking to my friends is nary longer portion of nan arduous invisible labour of leaving nan house.” Well, those group will adore DakaDaka, and should return up 1 of nan tables successful nan bosom of nan melee. Otherwise, there’s besides a sit-up antagonistic down which nan unfastened room is successful afloat swing, and wherever you tin beryllium enarthrosis to enarthrosis pinch a full stranger. If you do, however, please dress successful removable layers, because you will beryllium straight adjacent to nan unfastened occurrence utilized for “live occurrence cooking”, that hospitality building du jour that has caused maine truthful overmuch merriment successful caller years because it proves that if you put capable antheral chefs successful 1 room for agelong enough, they will virtually judge they invented fire.

‘Soft, saccharine and genuinely lovely’: DakaDaka’s badrijiani (grilled babe aubergines).

DakaDaka arsenic a conception is pinned together by its level staff, who are remarkable. God speed, you twinkly-humoured, matriarchal, no-nonsense women who behaviour affairs pinch chaotic aplomb, explaining nan lobio (kidney legume hummus) and khinkali (dumplings) successful proud detail, while astatine nan aforesaid clip extolling nan virtues of Georgian earthy wine, 100 of which they connection present by nan solid – nan 2021 Kakheti is simply a feisty small number, while nan country’s rotation connected nan vesper martini would insulate you during a wintertime aquatics successful nan Black Sea.

The cooking, however, astatine slightest connected nan Saturday nighttime we visited, had its highs and lows. The problem pinch galore unfastened kitchens is that nan chaos is afloat visible to everyone, and this peculiar 1 was successful afloat closing-song-at-Live-Aid mode, pinch astir 87 group connected stage, nary of whom knew nan words and pinch galore of them conscionable swaying and randomly jabbing nan air. A sheet of flat, very salty maize and millet crisps came pinch immoderate great, punchy, walnut- and coriander-heavy dips. Small, plump grilled aubergines laced pinch walnut and pomegranate were soft, saccharine and genuinely lovely, but nan Ogleshield-stuffed food flatbread tasted almost identical to a stuffed-crust Domino’s pizza. Lamb kababi skewers were forgettable and a small overdone, while that grape crockery – generous though it whitethorn person been pinch nan grapes and leaves – didn’t really triumph maine complete to nan thought of a agelong vacation successful nan Caucasus.

‘Forgettable and a small overdone’: DakaDaka’s kababi (native lamb kebab).

We ordered a full oversea bream to beryllium cooked via that unrecorded fire, which turned retired to beryllium an tremendous mistake. The first informing motion was that it took truthful very, very agelong to arrive, during which clip location was a funny play erstwhile a awesome galore cooks peered into nan unrecorded fire, poked nan food and shrugged their shoulders. Eventually, a sheet of mush pinch 1 oculus and floppy tegument attached was placed earlier me. I’m still puzzled really this occurred – 1 cook friend suggested later that nan food mightiness person been frostbitten successful storage, which is why it had turned to gloop.

‘Very vinegary and salty’: DakaDaka’s saperavi nakini (red vino ice-cream).

After we begged for nan bill, our beautiful server convinced america to effort nan red-wine ice-cream, made pinch saperavi grapes and served pinch tiny, alternatively reliable small ponchiki (doughnuts). “It’s very vinegary and salty, and I can’t really sensation nan wine,” I said very tactfully. “Yes, we decorativeness it pinch balsamic and salt,” I was told. “Of course,” I said, nodding sagely.

DakaDaka is unforgettable: if you are Georgian, homesick, emotion large euphony and want location to fto your hairsbreadth down complete dumplings, you’ll adore it; me, though, I’m connected nan fence.

• DakaDaka 10 Heddon Street, London W1, 020-4630 6435. Open Tues-Sat, luncheon noon-2.30pm, meal 5.30-10pm (10.30pm Fri & Sat). From astir £75 a caput à la carte, positive drinks & service