An intriguing window displays a zebra, a peacock, a flamingo, penguins and a unicorn in a jungle scene could be the fantastical window dressing of a department store. Yet behind this arrangement is the curiously decorated Hux bar and 60-cover restaurant in Kensington. It belongs to the Hux Hotel next door and located opposite Kensington Gardens.
We pass a busy bar where mixologists create their cocktails beneath chandeliers, and a DJ dishing out his music mashup from a church pulpit, before arriving at the restaurant. It’s clad with navy blue walls, and some jungle lushness and monkeys hanging from the light fittings. We found ourselves dining under the gaze of an imposing taxidermied giraffe.
Hux Bar
Hux DJ
High up the end of the restaurant, a lion lords it over the entire scene while various birds spy from the shadows. It’s both a funky visual and an earful of modish music surrounded by an intriguing creature comforts.
Food & Drink
Hux’s menu has been curated by the highly experienced and charming head chef Stephen Collins and offers a contemporary twist on British cuisine. Highlights from the starters menu were the shredded poached salt beef with dill (Chef Stephen salted the brisket himself), carrot and parsley terrine and the juicy Dry Aged Angus steak tartare with smoked paprika oil served with soft-boiled quail’s eggs served with crostini.
For mains, it was the well-executed Aged Rib Eye Steak served with triple-cooked chips and a most delicious Cheltenham Beetroot Wellington. The Wellington was pastry-perfect and inside was the beetroot slowly cooked in balsamic and sea salt with portobello mushrooms that added some earthy flavours.
We paired our meal with three delicious wines: Golden Ribolla Gialla “Collin “ Tenuta Stella” with a buttery vanilla on the palate and the elegant and complex Chablis Domaine Ellevin. Then it was rich Perillo Taurasi 2011, a fine Italian wine made entirely from Aglianico grape with balanced tannins and spicy and mineral tones, the perfect pairing for the Rib Eye Steak.
Our deserts of sticky toffee pudding and vanilla bean cheesecake paired well with a plucky Sauternes.
Later…
A hidden staircase leads to the underground music lounge with a hint of the speakeasy vibe about it. Seating is soft sofas and the sounds are soulful Afro-Latin beats of the house band, Baldo Verdu. You could stay until dawn enjoying the music and downing one of their unusual cocktails.
We stayed till midnight sipping the unusual flavours of two of their cocktails: Flying High Loves Margaritas, chili infused1800 coconut tequila, Ancho reyes verde, wasabi agave and finished off with citric acid. And The Parrot One made with mezcal, coffee-infused Campari, chocolate bitters, saline solution and a blend of vermouths.
Verdict: Hux restaurant, bar and live music lounge offer a satisfyingly fun evening, with lots of eye candy, and great sounds both in the restaurant and in the subterranean lounge. It’s a lovely night out.
More info: Hux
Address: 9 Kensington High Street, London, W8 5NP