On the site of a former kid’s café, Perilla was launched in 2016 by former The Square chef Ben Marks and Polpo front-of-house man Matt Emmerson (the former’s mentor Phil Howard is one of a number of high profile backers).
The beautifully-designed restaurant, on the very southern end of Green Lanes near Newington Green, is flooded with natural light and is on the grown up side of hip with pendant lighting, a mix of marble and wooden tables and some distressed elements, like a characterful bare brick wall behind the bar.
Perilla’s menu has been designed to achieve a low price point (its five-course tasting menu is £59) and also to be served from Perilla’s unusually small kitchen. Other dishes on offer (the restaurant also does a short à la carte menu) include dishes such as aged pork rack with petits pois a la Francais; and whole grilled sea bream with tomatoes, herbs and garlic. The team are not afraid to mix things up, either – a recent menu was inspired by new junior sous chef Aron Stigmon based around his Hungarian heritage but done in a Perilla style.
Unusually, Perilla has a wine list that changes with the seasons to better complement the food and the team also creates its own infused vodkas and gins.
