Last Updated on May 28, 2024
Accidentally Wes Anderson with a Secret Garden at Sonya.
I moved from the Chelsea/Fulham borders, home to Sonya Bistro, to South of the River a few years ago. There are many things about my current home I love – and just a few about my old home that I miss. Top of the nostalgia list for me is that kind of really good quality neighbourhood restaurant that makes me want to stay local in the evenings. I had no problems in Fulham at all – on the doorstep of the Michelin-starred Harewood Pub and with several other excellent dining spots nearby, I seldom felt the need to venture into town. The new kid on the block, Sonya, an all-day Aegean Bistro, would certainly have been on my radar sooner had I still been living there – it’s been open for just six months. Instead, I was thrilled to be invited to go along last weekend and indulge in a little rest and relaxation in their pretty and secluded garden. And, for some excellent food indeed.
From a distance, the exterior of Sonya looks like something from a Wes Anderson film. But the interior is closer to a traditional Aegean restaurant while the pretty courtyard is an Instagrammer’s dream with pink wire chairs and a fabulous octopus mural on the wall. It’s well-heated and we understand that there’s an electric roof, so if the weather is inclement you can still dine al-fresco.
We started the evening with a cocktail for my companion and a mocktail for me. My rose gin zero sour was truly delicious and the alcohol was not missed. It came with a lovely frothy head, fragrant with the gin botanicals and with rose but not in the least sweet. My companion’s breakfast lemon Martini was equally fabulous and made for an excellent start to the evening.
As is often the case, we managed to over-order and the recommendations from the team at Sonya, which we happily added in, didn’t help a jot. Gentle reader, if there are two of you, then you probably DON’T need five dishes from the top of the menu, a whole free-range chicken to act as your main course, potatoes, green beans and salad. Even if you are very hungry! To a certain extent, I was deceived by the prices. The small plates are all around £7-£8 while a whole free-range chicken will set you back £36. I can assure you, the chicken is enough for four – we took our leftovers home and managed a total of four more meals between us (six portions). This part of London, on the edge of Chelsea, is not somewhere you can expect to find a bargain – especially with food as delicious as this and in such a charming setting.
We started with a classic calamari with lime pickle mayo – a fabulously crispy shell and tender morsels of squid contrasting nicely with the lightly aromatic mayo. The menu has two hummus options and following the advice of our server, we opted for the hummus chilli with green harissa, pilpelchuma and flatbread.
We’d been warned that the pilpelchuma was quite hot – it’s a Libyan chilli-garlic paste and it was indeed a fiery touch which contrasted beautifully with silky fragrant hummus. Warm flatbread with a nice char was perfect for scooping this up and for devouring the eminently moreish baked cheese with pilpelchuma.
As an extra, we tried the Wagyu beyti sarma, a type of Turkish kebab with the wagyu mince carefully rolled up in flatbreads with garlic yoghurt, scotch bonnet sauce and burnt butter sauce. With British Wagyu is from Earl Stoneham farms, this is not the kind of dish you’ll find on offer in your local kebab shop but rather mouthfuls of deliciously tender seasoned beef complemented by the yoghurt and chilli dressings.
A bottle of Kavaklidere Misket/Muscat 2021 from Turkey seemed like an appropriate wine to share and both of us were pleasantly surprised at this rich dry and aromatic white wine which paired beautifully with our spicy dishes.
The main event, of course, was the sharing chicken which was beautifully tender and full of flavour. The meat at Sonya comes from HG Walter and the chicken is free range from Middleton East Yorkshire or from Amesbury in Wiltshire. With this kind of fuss-free menu, the quality of the ingredients really shines through. This is the kind of dish that could easily have been dry and overcooked, but it wasn’t in the least bit.
I loved our grilled potatoes with zhug and the blistered green beans with lemon and garlic, but as mentioned earlier, we did over-order and we were very happy to take home the leftover chicken and veg for another day. I can confirm it was just as good cold with a salad!
In the interest of research, we shared the chocolate mousse with cherry and a portion of vanilla ice cream. They made a good combination, the mousse was intense and rich. Washed down with strong coffee we somehow managed to finish it all!
We both loved Sonya. There’s a passion and enthusiasm in the air there and we wish the team behind the restaurant, Sercan and Iskren the best of luck with their project – although I’m sure they won’t need it! With a stellar background in hospitality and with a notable focus on quality ingredients, they have created the kind of place I really want to visit again!
Sonya Restaurant
571 King’s Road
London
SW6 2EB
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