Specializing in wood-fired cuisine that emphasizes open-flame cooking with a four-meter-long grill at its center, Humo is a dark, cavernous restaurant located in a historic townhouse in the heart of Mayfair. The name "Humo" means "smoke" in Spanish, reflecting its focus on infusing dishes with subtle smoky flavors from carefully sourced woods like applewood, silver birch, and whisky barrels. The concept blends Japanese-inspired precision in techniques (such as aging fish and sashimi-style preparations) with elements of South American and global influences, creating a "fire dining" experience centered around fresh, high-quality produce.
Humo opened in early 2023, introducing a revolutionary approach to wood-fired cooking in London's fine dining scene. It quickly gained recognition for its immersive, fire-centric kitchen and earned its first Michelin star in 2024, solidifying its status as a destination for innovative gastronomy. The restaurant started under the vision of Colombian-born chef Miller Prada, who drew from his heritage to incorporate South American flavors alongside Japanese methods. In January 2025, Prada departed to launch his own chef's table concept called Abajo, exploring more of his Colombian roots. Since then, Humo has continued to evolve under new leadership while maintaining its Michelin status and fire-focused identity.
Following Chef Prada’s departure in January 2025, Robbie Jameson took over as head chef in March 2025. Jameson, who was previously part of the team, has led the kitchen's ongoing development, including recent collaborations and menu refinements. As of September 2025, he remains the head chef, overseeing the restaurant's operations.
Walking off the street and into the restaurant was like stepping into a dark cave in the neolithic times - dark woods, dim mood lighting, all surrounding a long wood slab counter separating patrons from the show kitchen with the focal point being the open fire grill, with many different options for direct and indirect grilling. The blast of heat emanating from grill warming the entire room.
Humo's extensive a la carte options are divided into sections like "Ignite" (raw, sashimi-inspired), "Smoke" (grilled vegetables), "Flame" (direct-grill items), and "Embers" (aged fish and meats), with daily changing cuts emphasizing seasonality and aging techniques. Not knowing what to order, I figured the easiest thing to do is go for the tasting menu that would give me the best “taste” of the restaurant’s signature dishes.
Beneath the restaurant sat some dry-aging refrigerators, with cuts of meat and fish slowly being prepared for their turn in the kitchen upstairs.
Looking through the drinks, I decided on a Shizo Ume Collins, clearly drawing on Japanese inspiration. Light and floral, I managed to finish a few of these before the alcohol started creeping up on me.
The amuse bouche were served on a stone and a slab of wood.
Firstly, a crispy meringue with a tomato jelly on top and dusted with a dehydrated tomato skin powder. Light and crispy meringue with a hit of tartness from concentrated tomato flavour.
Next, a piece of sourdough with potato honey and a piece of fish bone that was slowly roasted over the fire until it was brittle and crispy. On its left was a medallion of chicken thigh, heavily smoked to the point it was almost bitter, skewered on a sprig of rosemary and topped with shiso pepper leaving a bit of kick on the palate.
The first course, “Igniton” highlighted grilled, smoked, aged preparations of fish.
Starting from the bottom, a slice of trout with a tropical sauce with English horseradish, a basil chiffonade, compressed granny smith apple, trout roe. Refreshing with another kick from the horseradish.
Moving to the sea bream, gently sprinkled with a vegetable ash and cured. A bit like a fish pancetta.
Next was some 5 day aged tuna, with a sweet, smoky dressing, topped with a a small dollop of caviar.
Finally, the 14 month aged tuna, served in a jerky form on top of a tuna vertebrae. Concentrated umami flavour, dense and chewy. Neat, but glad a single bite was about the right amount.
The next course was a signature, and at first I didn’t understand why. It seemed like a fairly ordinary garden salad. It turns out, the vegetables are grown in house in the ashes from the grill, and the leaves hide a chunky rosemary-smoked potato mash. Topped with a bit of crispy shallot, edamame beans and a well- balanced dressing, a big hit, and not exactly what I expected from a place that specializes in fire!
Moving on to the cauliflower, a vegetable that does very well with fire. Roasted over oak wood and coated with white miso, cheese and truffle dressing, a bit of acid from pickled cauliflower slices to cut into the fattiness of the sauce, all topped with a bit of grapefruit, whey and brown butter. A lot going on in the dish, and surprisingly worked really well together.
The chef explained the next dish featured whisky as a motif, and the scallop would be cooked over the wood from old whisky barrels.
The giant Orkney scallop is another signature dish at Humo, and was served with a whisky sabayon and white nectarine. Tender, rich, citrusy, an absolutely amazing dish!
The first preparation of the main came as a candied lollipop of lamb sprinkled with sea salt flakes, finely chopped chives, in an intensely sweet and garlicky glaze. Gamey, and delicious.
Two Cornish lamb chops appeared shortly after in a beetroot sauce, and served with an Italian bitter vegetable topped with an onion chutney. Great pairing, not intensely sweet. Well-executed.
The showstopper was the dessert, highlighting Amalfi lemon. An olive oil sponge topped with a lemon curd and meringue, touched with glowing Binchotan charcoal to caramelize and set the meringue. Served with an lemon ice cream topped with lemon zest. And as if the Ume Collins weren’t already sneaking up on me, dessert was served with a shot of limoncello! Absolute highlight of the meal!
The petit four - a smoky macaron whose underlying flavours I could not discern, perhaps due to the limoncello and the earlier Ume Collins, and a classic choux pastry.
Overall, really neat concept. A lot more delicate and refined than I expected from a place specializing in fire. I was half expecting giant slabs of meat smoking Texas BBQ style or giant steaks over charcoal Hawksmoor style. Instead, Humo highlighted many different techniques using their one giant fire - direct and indirect heat, drying, smoking, roasting, baking. Using everything from different woods in the grill, to the ash after grilling to grow more vegetables. Worth repeating.
Total damage: 225 GBP/1 person