Roasted kale with cod roe and crispy chicken wings stuffed with mushroom
Poached pears with soft herbs and creme fraîche
Fried duck egg with mussels and parsley
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