Cinder restaurant review, St John’s Wood, London

Cinder has branches in St John’s Wood and Belsize Park

(Image credit: Nic Crilly-Hargrave)

published 20 February 2023

When we think of cooking over fire, a few images come to mind. Dads stood over a barbecue, holding a Budweiser and sporting an apron bearing phrases like “if you’re reading this, bring me a beer”. Other images include southern American-style hunks of meat, brisket cooked over coals for 14 hours, or maybe the blistered sourdough and bubbling cheese of stone-baked pizza.

This is not what to expect from Cinder, which opened its second outpost on St John’s Wood High Street late last year, following the opening of the Belsize Park branch in 2021. Jake Wood, the man behind Cinder, seems to have a thing for quaint, posh north London neighbourhoods.

We were seated at one of the tables for two at the front of the restaurant, which are set up in a way that recreates the intimate setting of the Belsize Park branch, with a similar rustic décor – think bare plaster, chipped tile and olive paint. If you’re a group of four or more, you’ll likely be seated in one of the booths or tables that line the walk down to the open kitchen, and there is both a downstairs bar and an upstairs private dining room.

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You might expect the result to be all char and smoulder and smoke, but it’s far more subtle than you might expect; a charred jalapeño in the house margarita, for example, or a bowl of olives that have been individually and painstakingly grilled. The margarita, it’s worth saying, is a must – the table next to ours saw ours being delivered, immediately asked what they were, ordered a round, and seemed as delighted by them as we did. The wine list is similarly impressive, and we were recommended an organic Beaujolais that is light enough to go with everything we order.

Our waiter, an extremely attentive and personable chap called Arthur (all of the staff seem genuinely happy to be there) recommended ordering a few small plates and a couple of main courses between two. Whatever you do, make sure you start with some bread: it’s warm, charred and fantastic. Perhaps get it with some of the whipped cod’s roe, which is garnished with some crunchy radishes that look like they were ripped straight from a garden before plating. The mastelo cheese is also worth ordering; it’s similar to (but better than) halloumi and dowsed in a lip-smacking, sweet olive glaze then littered with fresh oregano leaves.

After the small plates, there’s a number of routes you can take. There’s a couple of raw dishes, as well as a wide selection of fire-kissed veg, seafood and meat. We order the cedar-plank salmon and the chicken thighs with confit lemon, which are both stalwarts on the menu, as well as a spiced steak, a baby gem caesar and a side of potatoes. It’s admittedly far too much food for two, but narrowing our selection down further may have been too difficult a task for a Friday night.