Oaka

2 Reviews on “Oaka”

• Kim Charmaine Miller

  Food suprised me, very tasty and the atmosphere was nice..would return. The only negative I will point out is the fact you have to order rice or noodles separately, they should come along with the dish you pick especially if it’s a curry!

  September 20, 2015, 4:12 pm

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• Maria Kuehn

  There are great things happening in Kennington. I dont go there for years and then I find myself there twice in the same week. I used to be a regular down that way a few years ago for Wednesday night football training down the Oval. In those days there was one half decent pub selling the standard gassy beers but now there is something of a renaissance happening, several new pubs selling food and decent beer and the new addition Oaka at the Mansion House, conveniently right opposite the tube. Its hard for small brewers selling into pub chains who demand ever higher discounts, so the fabulous Oakham Ales have branched out from just brewing, to opening a few pubs of their own in Peterborough, Birmingham and now this one in Kennington. Its a very simple concept; great beers with pan-Asian Thai based food. You can choose to have bar snacks, known as Gap Glam, or you can have a full meal in the restaurant side of the pub. Decoration is simple, minimal, and uncluttered with the nice touch of a plasma TV showing a live feed from the Kitchen.Gap Glam is the perfect choice to have with beer – Tempura King Prawns 6.90, Chicken Satay 6.90, Seven Spiced Squid 6.90, Soft Shell Crab 6.90, Dragon Scallops 6.90, Baby Back Pork Ribs 9.80 among others or have a mixed Oaka Platter for 16.90, perfect for sharing. A new one for me was Mieng kum 7.90, a platter of small parcels made from sarmentosum leaves, filled with roasted coconut, shallots, lime, chilli, shrimp, ginger, peanuts and topped with a palm sugared sauce. My favourite was the more simple deep fried Crunchy Spiced Aubergines 5.90, but then again Im biased, its my favourite vegetable on the planet.Main courses include succulent Tamarind Duck 12.80, Japanese Chicken Hot Pot 12.80, aromatic Pad Thai Prawn Noodles 8.90 and my favourite the Weeping Tiger Rib-eyed Beef 16.80, served rare.The food was great, cooked to perfection and filling, but the real star of Oaka was the row of ten Oakaham ales along the bar, carefully arranged in order of strength. My beloved editor didnt quite get this, telling me its all about the food. Well you wouldnt eat in a wine bar and not mention the wine, nor should you eat in Oaka without mentioning the fine beers. In my humble opinion beer is something at which the English really do excel. Its a shame its rarely taken seriously by other food critics because it really should have equal status to wine and richly deserves more coverage. Sadly, I didnt get to try all ten, Ill be back for that, but what I did sample was spectacular. The standout for me was the Black Hole Porter 5.5%, 4.15. A superb big, dark, full flavoured beer, with a slight hint of sweetness. However, its a little too dark to compliment the food with the flavours battling for supremacy on my tongue. More suitable to accompany the Gap Clam are JHB 3.8% and Citra 4.2%, a light refreshing beer with a hint of lemon just perfect for the Thai and Pan Asian food on offer. I also sampled Green Devil 6%, and Dreamcatcher 6.9% an original deep paprika red beer bursting with rich berry flavours without being sweet. Wonderful.A group of suited and jovial city boys I spoke to at the bar were on a mission; slowly, and enthusiastically, working their way through all ten ales from 3.8%-7.5%. These guys were in for the night. The last beer being Attila 7.5%, after a few pints of that Id probably think I could defeat the Roman Empire too. mindingbellieswell.blogspot.com

  June 24, 2015, 7:52 pm

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