Lemongrass

Lemongrass reminded me a bit of Mandalay, in that it is a relatively unusual cuisine (Cambodian and Burmese), but a lot of the ingredients and flavours were familiar to me. Both restaurants are also very small, and the quiet, intimate atmosphere is one I love, and one that is becoming more and more rare in London.

After sharing some very tasty mixed starters, quite a few of us ordered the ‘fish amok’, to great acclaim! With a hint of spice and very tender, boneless fish, it was absolutely delicious.

Empty restaurant for a Thursday night. Kathleen our waitress was adorable. The veg sharing starter divine. It contained an amazing mushroom starter which turned out was drowned in this Maggie sauce. The Mango salad was wonderfully tasty.

As this is the only Cambodian restaurant in London we visited in anticipation of an upcoming holiday.  I am shocked there is only one Cambodian in all of London, as within a 20 minute walk of my digs in Shoreditch we have twelve Vietnamese restuarants and five places that serve Thai.  Our waitress did say that although the cook is Cambodian, the food at Lemongrass is not authentic Khmer as it has been influenced by other kitchens. I did notice a French colonial slant, especially with the vegetable dishes.

The dining room is simple, but charming.  The seats near the window are a bit draughty in winter.  Service is a little slow, but the food is worth the wait.

We started with the garlic and lemon mushroom saute,  This was a generous portion of lightly sauteed button mushrooms doused with quite a lot of lemon, some garlic and very flavorful coarsely ground pepper.  There was a subtle hint of prahok (fish sauce) in the background.  The mushrooms were only lightly cooked, but had that characteristic smoky taste of having been wokked at a very high temperature.  Very delicious.  This dish was accompanied with a little sweet and sour pickled cabbage and carrot.

For mains we had luk lok steak, spring chilli chicken and sauteed asparagus.  The green sauteed asparagus was lightly cooked and served with the very flavorful, coarse pepper.  It wasn't until I tried the sauce on its own that I realized that prahok was a major component of the dish.

The chilli chicken dish was a light sweet and sour stir fry.  However the sweetness came not from an unctuous sugary sauce, but slivers of ripe mango.  The chicken was tender and dredged lightly in cornstarch which gave a crispy crust.  The sliced cabbage and julienned carrot in this stir fry were so lightly cooked as to be almost raw.  A nice contrasting crunch.  It wasn't quite as fiery as it looked as the raw chilli scattered over the dish had been de seeded.  Raw coriander added a nice herbal undertone.  My companion did find it slightly under seasoned so added salt.

The luk lok steak was beautiful.  Very tender chunks of steak stir fried in  a caramelized sauce with onions which were charred but otherwise nearly raw.  Again this added crunchy sweetness.  Like the mushrooms, this dish had the smokiness of having been cooked quickly at an extremely high temperature.  Coarse pepper was on this dish too.  I did wonder if the awesome pepper used in several of the dishes was the famous Kampok pepper.

If you like other South East Asian food, I would urge you to give Lemongrass a try.  Everything was very clean and fragrant.  In summary, less sweet than Vietnamese and less fiery than Thai, but really nicely balanced.

Such a hidden gem in Camden! Amazing quality and such an unpretentious vibe. We tried the steak dishes and they were absolutely delicious. Make sure to chat with the owner, he's lovely.

Unique and delicious tastes that you will never forget. I dined here a couple of weeks ago with my partner, and I still can't get the taste of the beef fillet lokluk out of my mind. It was rich, tender and peppery, and genuinely the tastiest beef dish I have ever eaten. I will be back for more, next time I am in the area (or even out the area!) We also tried the seafood soup, which was outstanding. It was lightly sweet, sour and perfectly spiced, and was big enough for 2, although I would have happily finished it by myself. We also tried the papaya salad, and the lemon mushrooms. Both were delicious, and I highly recommend you try both as well. The drinks are cheaper than the local pubs as well. 10/10, 5 stars, and all the superlatives. Just brilliant.

Oh.my.god! What a hidden gem. Absolutely amazing food, we shared the fish soup, steamed fish curry and king prawns. So so delicious. Can't wait to come back. Great service too.

A non-pretentious restaurant serving the best home cooked Asian food. The chilli chicken was amazing as were the other dishes we tried. A true gem of a place, highly recommended.

Really tasty food. The Lok Lui steak and Amok Trei (fish coconut curry) were delicious. Friendly staff, nice decor and atmosphere, quick service and really reasonable price. Would defo go back and highly recomend.