More and more Southeast Asian cuisines have found their way over to London in recent years, but perhaps the most unique of the lot is Filipino food. Influenced both by the food of Spain and The Philippines’ surrounding Asian countries, the cuisine is a fusion of flavours that has seen a surge in popularity in recent years. This is largely due to restaurateurs like Rowena Romulo, who opened her first London Filipino restaurant Café Romulo in 2016 serving traditional dishes from the archipelago. Her most recent offering Kasa and Kin, however, serves a more laidback contemporary menu, showcasing the cuisine’s versatility.

Overseen by executive chef Jeremy Villanueva, Kasa and Kin’s menu takes inspiration in part from The Philippines’ buzzing street food scene – but that’s only one element of the Poland Street restaurant. On arrival, diners are greeted by a bakery and patisserie counter serving everything from pandesal doughnuts and ensaymadas during the mornings to slices of calamansi citrus tart. The dining room itself is drenched in colour, with an impressive mural of a mythical Filipino bird covering the wall, while an open kitchen allows customers to watch their BBQ sticks being cooked on the pinoy robata grill.

While a broad menu of broths, sandwiches, kilaws and rice bowls are on offer at lunchtime, Kasa and Kin’s dinner menu sees dishes cooked on the robata take centre stage with the likes of lemongrass and annatto oil-marinated chicken, fresh baby squid and smoked aubergine available. Tempting desserts including ube cheesecakes, sticky turons and a dulce de leche and dark chocolate tart complete the offering. Kasa and Kin’s varied wine list, meanwhile, is accompanied by a selection of Filipino-inspired cocktails – the house martini for example is flavoured with ube while a tita margarita is made with papaya puree.

With Kasa and Kin, Rowena Romulo is showcasing the breadth of Filipino food whilst making it incredibly approachable, ensuring that people’s awareness of the country’s unique cuisine continues to grow.