Everybody remembers a restaurant they’ve gone to where the music just wasn’t right. You wouldn’t want to hear Cardi B at Noma or be subjected to a crackly overhead speaker while dissecting a 15-course tasting menu. Sound matters as part of the culinary experience – a sentiment that sits at the heart of Caia on Golborne Road.

Tim Lang launched the open-fire restaurant in 2022, complete with a lower ground dining space installed with impressive Living Voice speakers designed by Kevin Scott, a Kuzma record player and an analogue rotary Isonoe 420 mixer – which today has a waitlist of over a year – that fill the room with a warm clean sound. The flavour? Nu jazz, dub, reggae, soul, funk and dreamy psychedelic with a kick. ‘It’s like journey music, it takes you on a ride,’ Lang says, hinting that most of what’s played is fairly unrecognisable. ‘A lot of people are Shazamming and failing, which is great because it gives them a reason to come up and speak to the DJ.’

Caia’s unique approach to music curation stems from Lang’s extensive experience that ranges from throwing house parties with musician friends and working as a promoter at The End to being a club manager at Big Chill and then running bar No90 Hackney Wick. As a result, Lang’s little black book is positively bulging, so when Caia’s opening was on the horizon, he already had 25-30 DJs on speed dial.

‘Going to a restaurant is a sensory experience and music enhances the food, the service and the rest of the ambience. It allows people to disconnect more when they’re having dinner; they can forget about their worries and immerse themselves in a bubble. To add to that, the club scene has changed massively. People are looking for an opportunity to have a really good dinner but also feel like they’ve been out.’

Dalston’s Brilliant Corners served as an early inspiration for Lang, where he recalls working through the sushi tasting menu and ‘feeling the music through my bones. It was overwhelming. At that point I was like: ‘This is exactly what it’s all about.’ And music has been at the front at every venue I’ve been running since. The power of music is an unconscious feeling that people aren’t aware of, but they feel good.’

Part of Caia’s charm is the restaurant’s close relationships with labels and record shops. Rough Trade Records, Honest Jon’s, Phonica Records and Sounds of the Universe are among those bringing their vinyls for a spin, and you’ll also find label owners on the decks. ‘It’s all about relationships,’ Lang says. ‘I’m not going out pitching to any of these people, I just trust what they do. I really appreciate their work and I think it differentiates us from other places that just book your regular DJs who play in Mayfair.’