Having garnered itself quite a reputation for clever pan-Asian reinterpretations, outgrowing its pub-kitchen roots into the bargain, XO Kitchen now sits proudly and independently among bits of the local art school, boho boozers and flint-knapped churches that crowd Norwich’s medieval centre. Despite being a sizeable place (bigger than either Oxford or Cambridge) the city retains an out-of-the-way feel, set apart under vast Dutch-landscape skies in the extreme east of England. So you have to make a conscious decision to come here and probably stay a few nights. But you’ll be rewarded with a lively, quirky food scene worth every mile. And XO’s Asian fusion is the lively, funk-music-fuelled place to start.
Delightfully colourful, its menu stretches away even further eastwards, neither slavishly authentic nor thoughtless pastiche, just chef/owner Jimmy Preston heaping tastiness on tastiness. Things like shattery wantons (pictured above), plucked from cauldrons of seething oil, that we gobbled with indecent haste while rocking joyously to their lemon-grass-lifted burn. Chicken wings kra pao style (crunchy, Marmite-y and holy-basil blessed) and charred hispi cabbage – a menu regular for a reason – heavy with black-bean sauce and ‘XO seasoning’ made from crushed Frazzles and Scampi Fries (crisps/potato chips of excellence for those not in the know). A lemongrass-chicken banh mi special was reborn as an Asian smorgasbord, different if not really an improvement on the crispy-baguette approach, but the fally-apparty meat and surf’n’turf charms of their Ribwich burger were pure Umami 2.0. And a delight.
The intense tastiness of each dish – slashed by sourness, piqued by chilli, gilded by sweetness and singing with saltiness – needs plenty of liquid refreshment. The list is short but pleasingly Asian-food-friendly, with a Riesling (Hermann Ludes Mosel Riesling 2023), an Austrian Zweigelt and a skin-macerated orange South African Sémillon all making for good choices. Plus there’s local sparkling rosé (Flint) and Macedonian Malagousia from Charalaboglou to tempt you to something slightly different. Or you might happily go off piste entirely with one of their craft beers or interesting cocktails: we won’t judge. We might join you, in fact, with a Honshu sour (shiso gin, plum wine and Suze) or a Triana made from gin, fino, pear liqueur and lime. And there are genuinely interesting soft drinks like switchels made with organic apple cider vinegar, and burnt-lemon Rapscallion Sodas.
By the time you get to the puds – meringue tarts flavoured with sea buckthorn or maybe an ice-cream cookie sandwich laced with miso caramel – you will likely order them with a sense of hypnotised inevitability. And you’ll leave happy, gurgling and over-stimulated like a toddler after too much Sunset Yellow. Just like we did.
Supper for two including sufficient quality/quantity Riesling – £122.
XO Kitchen St George’s St, Norwich, UK NR3 1AB, @xo__kitchen
Other Norwich restos
Benedicts – fine dining with chef Richard Bainbridge and team (and quite possibly asparagus, as Nick found out).
Brix and Bones – Hipster flame-throwing, aged-meat-wielding types but much cleverer than that sounds.
L’Hexagone – Proper French brasserie food and à pointe wine list from proper French folk.
And where to stay
The Georgian Townhouse – Lively, dog-friendly, bar-menu and spritz-garden fun.
38 St Giles – a B&B of super-elegant, sophisticated mien.
The Gunton Arms – A little way outside Norwich, on the way to the glorious north Norfolk coast, an superior gastropub with great food/wine list and lovely rooms.
