Ahead of the festive season, Simon Wittenberg dropped into the Peruvian-themed restaurant for lunch in the heart of London’s financial district.
COYA City opened its doors in 2017, becoming the sister restaurant to the COYA Mayfair eatery on London’s bustling Piccadilly thoroughfare. In fact, across the globe, there are a dozen different COYA locations stretching from Barcelona in Spain and Monte Carlo to Doha in Qatar, offering cuisine that hails from Latin America, meaning it is relatively meat and fish-focused, bearing in mind the origins of what is served here.
Tucked away on the relatively hidden Throgmorton Street, we visited COYA City on a weekday for lunch, and it is clear that the 170-cover eatery, with its open kitchen, principally attracts a business audience rather than those dining at leisure, thanks to being surrounded by the likes of the Bank of England, underwriters, and financial institutions. In fact, this establishment is only open on weekdays due to this area becoming largely deserted on weekends because of the working pattern and genre of business conducted in this part of town.
The main entrance of COYA City opens up to the sizeable Pisco Bar, which draws inspiration from one of the oldest drinking establishments in the Peruvian capital of Lima, hence the rather flamboyant and Inca-style décor.
There’s a decent choice of spirits and cocktails, and I settled on COYA’s renowned “Pisco sour” (£17) as a pre-meal aperitif, which is concocted from Pisco spirit, lime juice, and sugar, whilst this beverage is also topped with egg white, branded with the COYA name. It’s a fairly rich combination with a subtle tang, but it is not too overpowering.
My other half headed for the crimson non-alcoholic “Scarlet” (£13), garnished with an orange segment and composed of Lyre’s Italian Spritz, Amaretti, pomegranate, lime, and orgeat (a type of syrup), and COYA-embossed ice cubes. This recipe reveals a refreshing and perfumed taste.
The à la carte menu lists mouthwatering dishes across different categories, and it’s a kind of tapas-style format here at COYA, where you need a few dishes to feel full.
We were treated to a tailor-made chef’s selection to be able to sample an array of different flavours so as to get a comprehensive view of the exquisite gastronomy that COYA City delivers. In fact, once you’ve settled on your menu selection, the sommelier will recommend a corresponding wine to match what you are about to have.
The very knowledgeable and kind-natured gentleman paired our delicacies with a white wine, which started its journey in the Canary Islands before being finished and bottled in Peru.
Designed for sharing, we started with one of the signature openers – the wholesome COYA guacamole (£15), which arrives as a peeled avocado half in the weighty stone dish, laden with a sprinkling of Himalayan salt and red chilli flakes.
As a touch of theatre, this is then all mixed together vigorously in front of your very eyes to create a smooth paste that one can then spread over the awaiting black and golden corn tortillas. Other plates on offer at this stage of the meal include soft-shell crab and baby squid.
From the “Aperitivos”, my other half also tried the wagyu beef bao buns, where a sweet white dough is wrapped over shredded slow-cooked soft beef to create sumptuous bites.
After enjoying a couple of servings of the deliciously creamy guacamole, I enjoyed a taste of “Crudo”, which translates as citrus-cured fish and Peruvian-style sashimi.
I tried the beautifully prepared Ceviche de Atún Chifa (£18), which came as a bowl of yellowfin tuna cubes that were doused in a pleasantly spicy hot red sauce and decorated with light rice crackers and a small sprinkling of sesame seeds. This is where having one of the Piña healthy juices, which are listed on a plaque on each table, proved a useful cooling effect on the palate.
My wife sampled the similarly delicious, marinated chicken skewers (£15), where beef fillet and vegetarian mushroom options are also available on this part of the menu.
Continuing with the sashimi selection, I followed this course with the “Tiradito de Pez Limón” (£19), smooth, finely cut slices of yellowtail amberjack fish served in a thick, almost-fluorescent yellow citrusy sauce composed of green chilli, radish and orange Tobiko (flying fish roe).
It was an acquired taste and texture, but was tasty enough to enjoy from start to finish.
For the most substantial course presented during our visit to COYA City, I kept with the marine theme, and tried the “Arroz Nikkei” (£46) – generous pieces of roasted sea bass on a bed of rice which had a flavoursome paella-like consistency, and the saffron colour synonymous with this recipe.
My other half was equally in awe of the culinary talents that went into creating the “Lomo de Res” (£46) – succulent sliced beef fillet served on an elongated green platter, and prepared with crispy shallots, strands of Ají Limo spicy chilli pepper, and hints of highly-fragrant star-anise oil.
There are four sides to accompany the mains at COYA City, and we tucked into the sweet grilled aubergine half, prepared with miso and crispy rice, known as “Berenjena” (£13). We also had a few strands of al dente sprouting broccoli with a few sesame seeds, priced at a slightly lower £12.
After working our way through the chef’s selection, we felt adequately and comfortably full thanks to the decent portion sizes, but for those who have a pocket of room left, dessert sees many mouth-watering dishes to tempt those with a sweet tooth, such as baked cheesecake, orange and lime churros, and Peruvian chocolate fondant.
We were treated to the “Pastel Tres Leches con Pistachio” (£15), which has an almost crème caramel-type consistency with a peanut-butter-like centre on a nutty base, plus a fragile, thin, crisp biscuit depicting COYA’s renowned Inca face logo, and a physalis fruit for added decoration on top of the sweet vermicelli-covered ball of vanilla ice cream.
My wife finished her meal with a cool and refreshing ball of mango sorbet (£4 a scoop) with fresh passion fruit seeds, a base of flavoured ice, and bright orange Peruvian groundcherries cut into quarters.
In summary…
COYA City brings the flair of Peruvian gastronomy to the capital and moves mountains to ensure that guests are treated to the very best service and cuisine from this part of the world, therefore offering very good value for money.
It is no wonder that city workers and those from further afield flock to this restaurant for good food and conversation over an impressive line-up of food and beverages.
COYA City – Where and How?
COYA City is located at Unit 1C, 31-33 Throgmorton Street, London EC2N 2AT, United Kingdom.
For more information or to make a reservation, visit https://coyarestaurant.com/london/en/food.
See highlights of our visit to COYA City on the Luxurious Magazine Instagram page.
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