Street XO

Street XO behaves like a restaurant that has wandered into a club and decided to stay. The room carries American energy, loud colour and a sense that something is always about to happen. It could be exhausting, but the welcome is warm and the staff are exceptional at making the exuberance feel inclusive rather than aggressive. Cocktails arrive with their own visual language, yet the evening never becomes a theme-park exercise. There is genuine hospitality under the volume, which is why the room wins you over.

The menu is built for sharing and for hands: lively finger food, dumplings, croquettes and robata all arrive with enough contrast to keep the table interested. Hot-smoked scallops are particularly persuasive, while pigeon from the grill, crab and the Korean lasagne show how much pleasure the kitchen can find in collision. Flavours are big, but the cooking is not careless. The best dishes have a clear centre beneath the fireworks, with texture and heat used as structure rather than mere decoration. Desserts are less compelling, and the meal loses a little focus at the finish.

Service is the great stabilising force. The team knows the food, keeps the pace moving and seems genuinely pleased to be part of the evening. Street XO is not a quiet dinner and nor is it inexpensive, but it offers something more complete than spectacle alone. Come for the cocktails and the noise, stay for the staff and the strongest plates: at its best, this is exuberant cooking with real control behind the grin.