What's the draw
Perilla's founders, school friends Ben Marks and Matt Emmerson, have racked up some pretty impressive experience between them – chef Ben has done stints at Noma and The Square, while Matt Emmerson was manager at Polpo and Polpetto – particularly when you factor in that they're only 23 and 24 respectively. They're in the middle of a three-month 'anti-fine-dining' pop-up at East Dulwich's Platform1, following a series of sell-out supper clubs earlier in the year.
What to drink
Whether you know your stuff or not, Perilla's wine list is a joy to behold: they're all rare or indigenous wines, conveniently organised into a table of six flavour profiles. We took one for the team and sampled five (it was tough; we were swaying slightly on the way home), and recommend starting with the Austrian roter veltliner white before moving onto an unusual pinot noir from Languedoc – and the sumoll is a must if you finish with cheese.
What to eat
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Each course was as exquisite as the last, so we'll keep it brief: grilled lettuce leaves drizzled with tangy, lemony ewes cheese sauce were delicious (we don't even like lettuce); and fried duck egg with mussels and parsley tasted as good as it looked (ie. very good). Much to our delight, we were treated to a sneak peek at some upcoming dishes: a raf tomato, an intensely sweet variety that grows in the salty water of Almeria; and a playful take on traditional bolognese: cuttlefish 'ragout' with monk's beard 'spaghetti' – it would be hard to pick a favourite here, but that might just well be it. And if you've got room – we did, of course – you must try the vacherin mont d'or: a magnificently sinful plate of oozing, cheesy goodness. At £35 for six courses of utterly delicious food, this is truly value for money – but it's only on until 29 February, so make sure you don't miss out. If you do, rumour has it that the boys are searching for a permanent site. Keep your eyes peeled.
Dinner and wine for two, about £110. Platform 1, 71 Lordship Lane, SE22 8EP; perilladining.co.uk