By Dianna Bautista
Live music, an inviting yet calming space filled with greenery, and aromas that reminded me of my childhood — this is what greeted me at the grand opening of D’Cocina, a Filipino restaurant in London, on Saturday, 25 April.
The grand opening festivities followed a successful soft opening on 18 April which featured special guests Ambassador Teodoro Locsin Jr and Deputy Chief of Mission Raphael S.C. Hermoso of the Philippine Embassy in the UK.
D’Cocina hosted a full day event to celebrate their new restaurant. From 11 am until late in the evening, patrons filled the tables and the open dance floor as they enjoyed delicious food and music from local Filipino artists. The event was fully booked, with 400 guests expected to attend throughout the day.
It felt like a fitting end to Filipino Food Month, as I sat and ordered a filling combination of shrimp tempura and sisig. With the grilled pork and egg sizzling plate on my table, the DJ behind me, and the stage in front of me, I waited for the first performance.
Over the next few hours, the background filled with the ambient noise of conversations in Tagalog as restaurant goers queued for a buffet featuring classics of lechon paksiw, beef kaldereta, and sinigang. Those looking for smaller dishes had the option of ordering from a menu which offered starters like lumpiang shanghai and mains such as crispy pata.
In the mid-afternoon the performances began with host and famous Filipina actress Valerie Garcia-Birchmore (screen name, Bangs Garcia) guiding the festivities. She was joined by fellow D’Cocina director and performer Jun Degamon. The musical acts kicked off with violinist RJ Demonteverde, followed by singer Allain Joshua. After a brief interlude, filled with karaoke, artists Ela Hidalgo and Jahna Lucero continued the celebrations late into the evening.
The Fulham site marks the fourth branch for the D’Cocina group. Established in 2011 by founder and executive chef David Miguel, the team has seen rapid growth, opening their Holloway branch in early 2024. With established locations in Manchester and Birmingham, their new Fulham home brings their signature blend of Filipino hospitality and flavour to the heart of Southwest London.
Dianna Bautista
Dianna is a Filipina-American NCTJ Gold Standard Multimedia Journalist curently in London. A graduate of Jacobs University Bremen in Germany, and the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, she has lived in Germany and the UK since age 17. A former scientist and science communicator, she now works as a journalist, covering science, culture, and misinformation. Her writing has appeared in European and British media outlets. With Tinig UK, she is interested in reporting on Filipino migration stories in the UK.
