Last Updated on January 24, 2022
Skip the Booze – Berry Company Mocktails and more at Zuaya
It’s January – that month of the year when, repenting for the sins of the festive period, we all look for things to give up. Meat for Veganuary, booze for dry January – during one of the coldest months of the year, we dive into apparent deprivation. Not so of course, today’s vegetarian and vegan menus really do mean you won’t miss the meat, while there are a wealth of no-alcohol cocktails or mocktails to choose from. The Berry Company, an organisation you might know from your supermarket shopping, are now working with some of our favourite London restaurants and bars to offer a selection of Mocktail Medleys throughout January. Pick from Zuaya as we did, Kahani, Copper Chimney or Barge East – all restaurants we know and love. And, let their expert mixologists demonstrate how to make an alcohol-free cocktail that is genuinely good for you.
We went along for a late lunch to Zuaya, tucked away in High Street Kensington just a few minutes from the underground. It’s a warm, cosy restaurant serving tasty sharing dishes from Latin America. We visited on a chilly winter’s afternoon to try out their mocktails, both created from healthy juices from The Berry Company, which use the finest ingredients sourced from around the world, with absolutely no added sugar or sweeteners. A mixologist’s dream – there are 25 varieties of exotic berry juice to pick from.
The mocktails were bright and vibrant in colour, served in striking and unusual glasses. For me a glass fashioned in the shape of a skull containing a bright pink mocktail based on the Berry Company goji berry juice with Ginseng and fresh passionfruit combined with superberries red juice (a mix of hibiscus, mountain cranberries, blueberries and raspberries) with a touch of pomegranate and grape. It was light and very refreshing.
My companion enjoyed a pale purple mocktail made with fresh blackberries, mixed with a combination of The Berry Company superberries purple (blackcurrants, blackberries, blueberries, grapes and guarana with superberries red juices. Both mocktails were suitable for vegans and made from fresh ingredients without additives and both were high in antioxidants – perfect for a January detox
The food menu is made up of sharing tapas plates ideal for lunch when you can choose to eat as much or as little as you want. There is an enticing selection, of starter dishes and well as meat and fish, salads, and sides.
To start a complimentary tiny bowl of warm soup made from corn and lime which was smooth and tasty with a touch of heat which on the recommendation of our waitress, we followed with a classic dish of Peruvian corn cake with caramelised sugar, topped with burrata which was certainly delicious.
This was swiftly followed by a generous portion of salted Padron peppers, a personal favourite of mine, together with fried calamari rings with a piquant lime mayonnaise.
Next to appear were tangy garlic prawns with lime and chilli, we had ordered bread to accompany this dish, perfect for mopping up the flavoursome juices.
We rounded off the savoury part of our meal with an intriguing dish of grilled Iberian pork with butternut squash and little dots of Peruvian green sauce made from coriander. The butternut squash was smooth and tasty under the perfectly cooked meat.
To round off our lunch coffees and desserts. Feeling rather full I opted for a mix of vanilla and dolce de leche ice creams, they were refreshing and light after having sampled spicy dishes. For my friend a passion fruit crème brulée topped with fresh passionfruit. The custard was beautifully smooth, laced with passionfruit for a fruity tang and topped with a fine, crispy caramel.
During the day, Zuaya would be an ideal place to meet friends for lunch whilst shopping. The dishes are reasonably priced, the staff friendly and welcoming and the location is great for shopping or sightseeing. By night, it turns into a livelier venue with music and a cocktail bar offering, perfect for the sophisticated Kensington crowd.
For more details and to book a table:
Zuaya
35B High Street Kensington
Kensington
London
W8 5EB
Tel: 020 7938 3533
The Berry Company Mocktail Medleys will be on offer throughout January 2022 at Kahani London Sloane Square, Copper Chimney W12, Barge East in Hackney Wick and Zuaya in Kensington.
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