THE LOCATION

You will find Sekkoya at The Riverside development in Canterbury, which opened last year and overlooks the River Stour that runs through the City centre. It is in in good company as there is also a spanking new Curzon plus a scattering of other restaurants and bars, including other Muddy favourites, like The Korean Cowgirl, that wrap around the new public square.

It’s early days for the development but thanks to the abundant parking below, it’s becoming a new destination point in the city and you are now spoilt for choice for good food before catching a film or linger on for a session at Boom Battle Bar for some augmented reality axe throwing – yes really, it is a thing.

THE LOWDOWN

Sekkoya has been brought to life by the team behind Citi Terrace, located in the historic part of the city centre, and is well-known for its rooftop terrace lounge and all-day dining, cocktails and shisha.

At Sekkoya, the menu has been created by celebrity Chef Jay Morjaria who is known for Sutra Kitchen, central London’s first meat free cooking school off Carnaby Street, and author of cookbook, ‘Share’. Many of their dishes are prepared using a bespoke traditional Japanese robata grill where their speciality dishes are cooked over hot charcoal delivering authentic BBQ flavours.

Whilst not always in residence, Jay regularly returns to Sekkoya for team training, and they are still fine-tuning the menu showing they are listening to their customers so some dishes, such as pasta and posh chips (to placate the fussy eaters) have been rightfully removed as it needs to be an authentic Asian dining experience.

THE VIBE

Named after the tallest tree in the world, the Sequoia, Sekkoya is inspired by the tree’s monumental height and to quote the restaurant, it “brings you closer to heaven, giving you an elevated and inspiring dining experience” which could be dismissed as marketing jargon but it kinda works as you are enveloped by the picture of the tree above you and feel a million miles away from the hum drum of life beyond the restaurant.

No expense has been spared when it comes to decking out the restaurant with wooden tables that look like they could have been carved from said Sequoia trees mingled with green velvet chairs, muted lighting and show-stopping wooden light shades.

The vibe leans towards more chic bar experience, so it comes as no surprise that Sekkoya is open to 1.30am on Friday’s and Saturdays with the idea to encourage diners to linger on beyond their meal.

SCOFF AND QUAFF

We were a tough crowd to please as I took a pal who is a chef and has worked with the great and good in the industry, had her own TV show, and now runs her own very successful catering business so when it comes to knowing your miso from her masala, she’s your girl.

Thankfully there was a lot to like kick-starting with very good cocktails all served in different types of glasses so no one size fits all model here. It’s an impressive bar and cocktail list so do indulge if you can plus the waiters are very comfortable with you free-styling so you are in very safe hands on a quaff front. The wine list is not that extensive with more creativity in the cocktail choices.

It’s best to go in a large group so you can really indulge in choosing a medley of dishes. We started with the Iceberg Lettuce Salad, crisp iceberg lettuce with a caramelised onion and soy dressing, which according to my foodie friend is a spin on a stalwart Zuma dish and was a crunchy and tasty start to proceedings plus the some of the best prawn tempura I have had on my tempura travels served with a curry salt and wasabi mayo.

Other dishes that come highly recommended are the Truffle Vegetable Gyoza, spinach and vegetable dumplings with a truffle soy dressing, and Prawn & Chive dumplings filled with prawn and chive – a repeat order was immediately placed of these delicious plump little parcels of goodness.

Grilled lamb cutlets in a spicy chipotle miso marinade are a very popular feature on the menu and it’s not hard to see why – a heady combination of crispy skin with succulent pink meat inside. Vegetable Udon Noodles with wok fried vegetables in a tamari and mirin sauce were also a colourful hit and additional brownie points are given for innovative ways of serving each dish.

The orders come thick and fast as they are cooked in the kitchen, and we could have done with a slower approach to ensure that we could linger longer over the food plus the longer experience gives you another chance to order more drinks to soak up the food. We would also have liked more crunch for our Chargrilled Pak Choi and Wok fried Tenderstem Broccoli and the Masala Cod did not taste as good as it looked but it’s still early days as they continue to refine the menu.

Make sure you leave room for pudding which is a bold move considering there is a restaurant next door dedicated just to serving desserts. The Yuzu Cheesecake however is a work of art so regardless of whether you are hungry or not, order it as you will not be disappointed. Expect tangy yuzu and lemon curd cheesecake served with raspberry mini meringues and a bit of food theatre with the cascading cream sauce.

ANYTHING ELSE?

Kids can eat for £1 with options for all palates – from the fussy to the more adventurous. You can also choose to go for the private dining option (table of 12) with no extra charge but still the VIP treatment.

THE MUDDY VERDICT

GOOD FOR? Anyone in need of an Asian food fix and a good excuse to start your kids early by experimenting new flavours. It’s the ideal pre/post cinema option and I’d like return with a big group, work my way through their cocktail list and find out what happens post dining until 1.30am…

NOT FOR? I would say fussy eaters but it’s good entry point for Asian food and nothing is too spicy either but if beige food is your thing, this is probably not the one for you.

THE DAMAGE

We didn’t hold back when it came to sampling a lot of dishes, so the bill did mount up BUT most dishes were around the £8.50 – £13 mark with obvious exceptions such as the Miso Lamb Chops at £28 and Masala Cod at £16.00 and puddings coming in at around £8.

Review: Sekkoya, Canterbury

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