Please note, POPdown by Cuisson has now closed. Time Out Food and Drink editors.
What would you think of if someone said ‘interactive restaurant’? Alcoholic architecture? Eating your supper in a tree? That’s the kind of thing I thought of too. Popdown, a six-month pop-up from self-proclaimed experimental caterer Cuisson, bills itself as a ‘dining experience’, but don’t go expecting any wacky stuff. Do go for the five-course Asian-inspired feast. It’s seriously delicious.
Particularly good was a delicate sea bream ceviche served with yuzu (a citrus fruit) and juicy mooli (white radish) shavings. Other highlights were a fresh, nutty cucumber salad, and pork loin that came with sticky rice and wonderfully crisp, tiny fried onions.
But ‘interactive’? Well, unlike the downstairs bar – where £20 gets you two dishes plus a set of 3D goggles that, apparently, make it look like you’re eating on a Scottish beach – there’s little in the way of theatrics here. Unless you count one of the chefs coming to the table to apologise for a 25-minute third-course delay. Though there was interaction between customers, with strangers making new friends at two long tables.
All in all, though, this buzzing, shabby-chic dining room is a not-half-bad little place to pop down to.