New experiences are good for the soul. What better, from a culinary perspective, than enjoying a sarap lechon? Know your Filipino: ‘sarap’ means delicious and ‘lechon’ is pig. At this pop-up venue on the site of the former Fallow, lucky diners can enjoy a whole suckling pig. Yes, you read that correctly. There is, of course, a caveat: you need to order it two days in advance, require a group of at least six like-minded individuals, and need to stump up £295. It’s not too steep a hurdle to climb and it’s undoubtedly worth every penny.
Begin at the beginning. Chef Ferdinand Montoya is on a mission to bring Filipino food to the world. It’s not a country whose cuisine I have tried previously, but based on this experience, I hope more restaurateurs seek to follow in his footsteps. From a stall in Brixton Market to a venue on the edge of Mayfair, the Sarap Filipino Bistro will shut this summer. By then – certainly if its trajectory mirrors that of Fallow – Montoya will have hopefully secured a larger and more permanent venue.
It would be hard to fault Sarap whether considering any of the décor, vibe and service, not to mention the food. On a recent weekday evening when our group of seven – pig-sufficient – visited, the venue was almost completely full. Our server could not have been more enthusiastic in explaining the Sarap concept and from our table we had a prime view of the open kitchen, where our poor porker stood slowly cooking. Prior to moving onto the main event, we sampled a range of the restaurant’s starters. Although portion sizing was definitely on the stingy side, what Sarap lost in this respect, it certainly made up for in terms of taste. Our group particularly rated the aubergine salad and trout tartare. Lest readers think that ordering a whole pig is obligatory, there are alternative single-portioned mains on offer, albeit with a distinct meat bias. Our prerogative was towards the porcine and said beast was wheeled out of the oven and onto a dedicated chopping table (pictured) – perfect for the Instagram crowd – prior to being royally dismembered. Three large plates of pig meat came to our table, accompanied by that with which it had been stuffed – lemongrass and truffled rice being Montoya’s approach. The golden pig skin shimmered, the meat was moreish and the whole experience wonderfully decadent. Accompanying sides (particularly the slow-cooked kale) worked perfectly as foils to the richer meat. Everything was washed down with a youthful Rioja, selected from a well-curated wine list. Gather your group and make a Sarap visit a must while you still can.