Date of Visit: June 11 2022
Last year it’s easy to say that coco in tower Bridge was the biggest and most hyped halal restaurant opening. It stood out as one of the most instagramable places to eat, with its stunning high-end interiors and floral-themed decor.
They recently opened a new restaurant in Lakeside, West Thurrock overlooking the water, but this time offers an Asian-focused menu with influences from Japanese, Indian, Thai and Korean cuisine.
I was invited down and here’s what I thought. I visited on a sunny Saturday afternoon at around 3 pm with my 4-month baby and wife, we were originally sat inside and the restaurant was not too busy, inside the music was a bit too loud for us, so we decided to take the scenic view and dine outside with a view of the lake.
If you have been following me for a while you know that my focus at restaurants is on the quality and taste of the food, I’m not distracted by decor, vibe, fire shows or dry ice…but who doesn’t like a bit of theatre. On a side note, since coco launched, I’ve noticed most similar new restaurants basically look the same, hard to tell them apart sometimes!
Let’s focus on the food. Here’s what I ordered.
Mini poppadoms £6.50
Fiery cauliflower £10
Chicken satay £13
Korean spicy wings £13 (Smoke show)
Pulled duck rolls £13
Wagyu Bao £16
Lamb Biryani £19
Tandoori Mix grill £32
Coco fried sushi £18
COCO spicy double rainbow £18
Fire chilli chicken £19
I sampled a wide range of menu items, I’m gonna generalise everything but say it was all good, not average but not excellent either, everything would score 6 or 7 out of 10. While there were no significant issues, nothing really kept my tastebuds alive. All the dishes were played safe.
The dishes that worked were the Lamb Biryani which was better than I’d expected, the wagyu bao bun was actually delicious and the fire chilli chicken certainly lived up to its name, it has a lot of heat and was very spicy!
The sushi was probably the most underwhelming dish, I was really expecting better, especially for the price tag. The cauliflower was undercooked and too raw for my taste, but the sauce that accompanied the dish was good. The mixed grill featured some nice cuts of meat, I found one of my chops overcooked and one cooked just right.
This place is more about the decor and vibe with food that’s gonna be just okay. An ideal for a special occasion with a loved one or even a meal with friends.
The drinks menu features a range of non-alcoholic drinks and mocktails, I tried a few and wasn’t that impressed with the premium drinks like the Royal Spirt Dakari at £12.50 didn’t seem worth it to me in terms of taste, however, the classic Pina Colada at £10 was very good.
People will say that the prices are high, however, this happens when a restaurant has this level of decor and doesn’t serve alcohol which generates high margins for all Restaurants.
There’s a free car park next door (car park D)
All food is halal. No alcohol. I was invited. The meal was complimentary.
