This article is part of FT Globetrotter’s guide to London
Blackberries are ripe, and damsons have started falling from their trees. Summer is on the wane, but with its swansong comes a final bundle of sun-kissed produce. Chief among these treasures are figs, ancient fruits said to have been loved by Cleopatra and Ulysses. With their thick nutty skin and jammy red flesh, they are delicious whether enjoyed solo, savoury or sweet. Still, I can’t help but feel sad when I see them at the greengrocer: their season ends in October, taking the warm weather with them.
Figs trees are native to the Mediterranean region but are widely cultivated around the world. What is believed to be the first tree grown in England was at Lambeth Palace in 1556: you can still visit it on Garden Open Days between May and September. But a better idea for enjoying figs, especially in the capital, is to eat them. All across London, restaurants are celebrating this late-summer fruit, showcasing its brightness and texture or offering balance to stronger flavours.
“Fig season is a special time of year for me,” says Patrick Williams, co-founder of Kudu Collective, a South African-style restaurant group in south-east London. “They give us a taste of when the seasons are changing.”
Daniel Lazar, head chef at Lilienblum, a Mediterranean restaurant near Old Street, admires figs for their “perfect balance of sweetness”. “I use them both as the star and as the supporting character,” he says.
The fruit’s presence throughout the Mediterranean region and Asia means you’ll find it in cuisines the world over: Franco-Palestinian chef Fadi Kattan once served roasted figs with beef shanks at his Notting Hill restaurant, Akub; Kanishka by Atul Kochhar offers a fig-filled paneer tikka.
And then there are fig leaves: dark-green foliage with a herbaceous, coconut-like taste. The Pig’s Ear, which opened in May, is serving fig-leaf ice cream this summer, while Bingham Riverhouse in Richmond turns the leaves into a savoury oil.
The dishes featured here — some sweet, some savoury — take the fig and turn it into something new. But all stay true to the fruit’s jammy deliciousness. You can find them on menus until at least mid-September — a fair trade-off for the end of the nice weather.
Kudu (Peckham)
119 Queen’s Road, London SE15 2EZ
Kudu is something of a Trojan horse. With its exposed brick walls and sunny garden, it feels like a neighbourhood restaurant but the food has a fine-dining appeal. Signature dishes include homemade ravioli and onglet cooked on the braai (South African barbecue). Come early on a weekend, however, and you’ll find eggs, sourdough waffles and boerewors-stuffed buns (a South African-style hot dog). The house-made biltong is a non-negotiable.
Chef Patrick Williams’ take on the fig leans towards the refined side of things: a pavlova stuffed with the fruit that has been cooked in spiced wine, alongside blackberry sorbet, sago and rooibos jelly — “as South African as it gets,” he says. It’s unlike any pavlova I’ve ever had — and all the better for it. “I just love the sweetness [of figs],” he says. “They’re so jammy inside. You know when you eat a really ripe plum and it’s so juicy that goes down the side of your face? There’s something quite nice about that.” Website; Directions
Mount St Restaurant (Mayfair)
First Floor, 41-43 Mount Street, London W1K 2RX
What separates Mount St Restaurant from most of its Mayfair neighbours is that it has the air of a fancy dining room — but also feels quite cool. This is helped by its stash of impressive paintings (the restaurant is owned by Iwan and Manuela Wirth) and some naughty Paul McCarthy salt and pepper grinders.
This season, executive chef Jamie Shears is updating a much-loved caramelised onion tart by adding figs and Driftwood goat’s cheese. “You’ve got the sweetness from the caramel, the figs and the shallot — the cheese makes it more of a savoury dish,” he says, placing the tart beneath a Suzanne Valadon nude. As promised, it’s as savoury as it is sweet, with much of the flavour owed to Shears’ pick of black Provence figs: “The best in the world.”
Shears also celebrates figs via dessert, making an ice cream out of their leaves for a cloud-like kirsch sponge. “It’s such a short season, so you need to enjoy them when they’re good,” he says. In other words, you better be quick. Website; Directions
The Goring (Belgravia)
15 Beeston Place, London SW1W 0JW
Beneath The Goring hotel, a 20th-century mansion in Belgravia, hides a secret. Since the one-Michelin-starred restaurant had its kitchen remodelled earlier this year, a handful of guests can now enjoy part of their meal in the centre of the action. It’s here that executive chef Graham Squire introduces his new fig dish to me: spiced duck liver served with four types of fig (fresh, pickled, braised and a gel) and a meadowsweet-topped pistachio brioche.
Squire creates his fig tower with tweezers, adding yoghurt and pistachios to balance out the strong flavours. “We use as much of an ingredient as possible, so we’ll take the leaves and make vinegar,” he says. It’s almost too beautiful to eat (although I do so happily). The final touch is a delicate honey tuile. “Fig, pistachio, honey,” says Squire as he holds up his creation. “It’s a lovely thing.” Website; Directions
Firebird (Soho)
29 Poland Street, London W1F 8QR
You’d think that at 6pm on one of the hottest Fridays of the summer that Firebird — a narrow, open-fire restaurant with limited windows — would be empty. Think again: it is fully booked most evenings.
One reason might be the signature halloumi and truffle starter, which the restaurant changes according to the seasons. “It’s been on the menu since the opening,” says co-founder Madina Kazhimova. “A few weeks ago we were serving it with apricot; before that, grapes.” It lives up to the hype: salty molten cheese, unctuous honey truffle sauce and — for the time being — figs, which add a “fresh flavour”, says Kazhimova.
With its menu of fire-cooked chops, scallops and duck breast, fig and halloumi isn’t initially the standout dish on the menu. But Firebird is quick to defy expectations. For dessert, fresh fruit and leaves go into a fig tiramisu — again, not the obvious choice in a heatwave. But after one of sommelier Anna Dolgushina’s smoky vetiver margaritas in Firebird’s moody dining room, you could easily forget about the singeing heat outside. Website; Directions
Lilienblum (Old Street)
80 City Road, London EC1Y 2BJ
I first heard about Lilienblum on social media, when a popular London chef called it “the best restaurant in London”. Still, I was dubious. The area where it is based is hectic and touristy. Surely any restaurant nearby will be so too? These reservations were quickly put to bed — most of all because of the quiet terrace hidden behind the restaurant.
Lilienblum’s sharing-style menu means you could as easily pop in for a drink and a nibble as you could a four-person rib-eye steak. Head chef Daniel Lazar keeps his food on the right side of homely: the mussels bruschetta comes with too many shellfish to count, while the fig carpaccio, one of Lazar’s star “vegetable creatures” for late summer, is speckled with flakes of salt and a sheet of Parmigiano Reggiano shavings.
“Many chefs want to be too creative and overcomplicate things,” says Lazar of his seasonal approach. “What grows together goes together, as long as you chase the best quality available to you.” Lazar’s carpaccio is simply a celebration of perfectly ripe figs. There is nothing complicated: just sliced fruit, good olive oil and a generous handful of cheese. Website; Directions
Coal Office (King’s Cross)
2 Bagley Walk, London N1C 4PQ
On the other end of the spectrum, some dishes are so intricate you wonder how they even came about. Such is the case at Coal Office, where head chef Dan Pelles has honoured fig season by stuffing the fruit with sea bass tartare and serving it in a puddle of fig-leaf ajo blanco (Spanish cold almond soup). “We cure the fish in salt, sugar, aleppo pepper, za’atar spice mix, fennel seeds and fig leaves,” says Pelles. Somehow, it all comes together.
Coal Office takes inspiration from around Europe and the Middle East, manifesting in a lively menu that spans Yemeni brioche, fresh pasta and harissa grilled prawns. The food is the kind that gets stuck in your teeth: aubergine tartare loaded with parsley; bright green schug; and a take on the “Gilda” pintxo with crushed green peppers and olives. “You must eat this with your hands,” says Pelles of his buttery Moroccan frena (flatbread), which can be ordered with different dips (tomato-topped labneh and silan, a date honey syrup, among them). Lip-smacking and plate-licking are similarly encouraged. Had I been bold enough, the latter would have come in helpful for finishing off Pelles’ fig-speckled ajo blanco. “I love the texture,” he says. “It’s sweet. It’s pungent. It’s everything together.” Website; Directions
Tell us where you’ve enjoyed a great fig-based dish in London in the comments below. And follow FT Globetrotter on Instagram at @FTGlobetrotter
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