Six 13 (W1U)
Ambience
Cuisine
Cuisine
Service
Value for Money
Value for Money
Despite having one of the largest Jewish communities outside New York or Israel, London has very few kosher restaurants. And that's pretty surprising given almost every other cuisine is available here, and the capital is now rated as the food centre of the world.
Possibly it's because very few non Jewish people eat in kosher restaurants, or perhaps, more likely, because most are not very good.
Blooms in Whitechapel is no more and its remaining outlet in Golders Green does more take-away than restaurant trade. As for the others, only Harry Morgans in St Johns Wood makes a passable stab at serving kosher food in reasonably comfortable surroundings - and that's if you don't mind very unflattering lighting and high levels of noise when busy.
What New York's restaurateurs and caterers did over 40 years ago was to introduce non-Jews to kosher food by promoting to a wider audience (one of the most famous promotions being a poster of a gorgeous black child with an wide smile and sparkling eyes munching a Pastrami sandwich with the tag line "You don't have to be Jewish to love Levi's Rye Bread").
So I was more than interested when a friend said I must eat in Six 13. It was, he said, the first kosher restaurant to which he'd be happy to take a non Jewish client. And so, with customary speed (it first opened in 2002) I booked a table for lunch. It was a week before Easter and I had overlooked the fact it was also just before Passover and most of the probable regular clientele (or so the waiter told me) had decamped to Marbella and beyond.
I don't mind empty restaurants but on this particular Wednesday there were just five tables occupied for lunch so it was a fairly subdued atmosphere. The plus side is that the kitchen (Six 13 is under the direction of Stephen Collins) was not busy and the chefs could take that extra little bit of care when preparing and presenting the food.
The menu is interesting but my guest (who is not Jewish) preferred to stay with the familiar rather than stray into the world of long-forgotten eastern European dishes. So we started off with excellent Thai spiced fish cakes with sautéed red peppers and bok choy which very definitely never appeared on my mother's list of regular dishes, while I had homemade chicken soup which very definitely did. Other starters were also a mix of the old and new - chopped herring versus smoked chicken and mango terrine.
Main courses were the usual mix of beef, lamb and chicken dishes - all traditional with a modern twist, or the more contemporary; tempura of tuna and salmon nori roll, char grilled Mediterranean vegetables on spiced potato rosti or stuffed baked pepper with hummus grilled aubergine and plum coulis.
There was a fine selection of desserts from which we chose coconut and mint parfait, and poached saffron pear with vanilla ice cream and almond tuile.
Six 13's dining room is modern and very stylish with furniture and tableware totally in keeping with the room. Is it the best kosher restaurant in London? Probably, but that's really because the competition is so weak. Prices are on the high side but the set lunch is good value. In summary, it's a good place to go whatever your religion. Don't expect to be dazzled, but it's a good all round safe bet.
And the background to the unusual name? That refers to the 613 commandments observed by Orthodox Jews.
Blooms in Whitechapel is no more and its remaining outlet in Golders Green does more take-away than restaurant trade. As for the others, only Harry Morgans in St Johns Wood makes a passable stab at serving kosher food in reasonably comfortable surroundings - and that's if you don't mind very unflattering lighting and high levels of noise when busy.
What New York's restaurateurs and caterers did over 40 years ago was to introduce non-Jews to kosher food by promoting to a wider audience (one of the most famous promotions being a poster of a gorgeous black child with an wide smile and sparkling eyes munching a Pastrami sandwich with the tag line "You don't have to be Jewish to love Levi's Rye Bread").
So I was more than interested when a friend said I must eat in Six 13. It was, he said, the first kosher restaurant to which he'd be happy to take a non Jewish client. And so, with customary speed (it first opened in 2002) I booked a table for lunch. It was a week before Easter and I had overlooked the fact it was also just before Passover and most of the probable regular clientele (or so the waiter told me) had decamped to Marbella and beyond.
I don't mind empty restaurants but on this particular Wednesday there were just five tables occupied for lunch so it was a fairly subdued atmosphere. The plus side is that the kitchen (Six 13 is under the direction of Stephen Collins) was not busy and the chefs could take that extra little bit of care when preparing and presenting the food.
The menu is interesting but my guest (who is not Jewish) preferred to stay with the familiar rather than stray into the world of long-forgotten eastern European dishes. So we started off with excellent Thai spiced fish cakes with sautéed red peppers and bok choy which very definitely never appeared on my mother's list of regular dishes, while I had homemade chicken soup which very definitely did. Other starters were also a mix of the old and new - chopped herring versus smoked chicken and mango terrine.
Main courses were the usual mix of beef, lamb and chicken dishes - all traditional with a modern twist, or the more contemporary; tempura of tuna and salmon nori roll, char grilled Mediterranean vegetables on spiced potato rosti or stuffed baked pepper with hummus grilled aubergine and plum coulis.
There was a fine selection of desserts from which we chose coconut and mint parfait, and poached saffron pear with vanilla ice cream and almond tuile.
Six 13's dining room is modern and very stylish with furniture and tableware totally in keeping with the room. Is it the best kosher restaurant in London? Probably, but that's really because the competition is so weak. Prices are on the high side but the set lunch is good value. In summary, it's a good place to go whatever your religion. Don't expect to be dazzled, but it's a good all round safe bet.
And the background to the unusual name? That refers to the 613 commandments observed by Orthodox Jews.
Here Is The Writer : Richard Tobias
Richard Tobias brings a much needed dose of good behavior to HITC Life. His extensive career in tourism brought him an OBE in 1998. Richard is an experienced writer, lecturer and broadcaster, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors, the Tourism Society and the Institute of Travel & Tourism as well as non-executive chairman of World Media Publishing. His Who's Who entry lists golf, good food and Chelsea Football Club amongst his passions. His favourite dining companion is The Finn, and sometimes her daughter, The Finnette.
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