Month: October 2011

Honest Burgers

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Honest BurgersHonest Burgers: Unit 12, Brixton Village, London SW9 8PR

Having heard so many good things about Honest Burgers a friend and I decided to check it out for ourselves this Thursday lunchtime. Surprised to get a table as usually when you pass there is often a queue, (HINT: perhaps lunchtimes are a good time to go). We were met with a smile by the staff and much like the rest of Brixton village the chefs are on show so you can see your burgers being assembled in front of your very eyes.

The menu is short but sweet with chicken, vegetarian option (cauliflower fritter), a special and then three types of beef burger. Thrice cooked chips with rosemary salt come with every burger but can also be ordered as an extra for those who are greedy. Limited drinks menu (they don’t have a license, although I’m sure comply with the byob system that most of the market adheres to) but the homemade lemonade was delicious.

We opted for the beef burger options, the standard cheese filled with cheddar or stilton, lettuce and extra yummy onion relish and the house favourite ‘the honest burger’ with bacon, pickled cucumber, cheese and the same delicious onion relish. The meat comes medium rare and melts in the mouth and every extra, such as the pickled cucumbers and glazed bun, gives them that special something. Good portion sizes ensure that you can use your hands without too much mess, something they appear to suggest by only supplying you with a knife. Personally the icing on the cake was the thrice cooked and rosemary salt chips. Crunchy on the outside and with a fluffy centre these are like your grandmas best roast potatoes in chip form.

With such a hype surrounding it we were not disappointed with our visit. Cost was around the same as the rest of the market (£17 for two burgers, chips and a lemonade). This place knows what it wants to be, so if its variety you’re looking for this may not be the place for you however this is by far the best burger I have had south of the river.

http://www.honestburgers.co.uk/

Mama Lan

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Address: Unit 18, Brixton Village Market SW9 8PR

As dumplings are fast becoming one of my favourite foods the news that a dumpling restaurant was to open in Brixton Arcade came with much excitement.  With our first visit at prime time for lunch we were worried that due to it only opening a few days before we would be out of luck however we were surprised to see that we had a whole bench to ourselves free.

With minimalistic decor and straightforward menu this place knows what it’s about and doesn’t seem ashamed by it. With three different types of dumplings (Beef and carrot, Pork and Chinese leaf and Dill and spiced tofu) , chilli oil chicken, slow cooked beef with Chinese herbs and spices as well as a smattering of vegetarian options the fact that you can pick 2-3 dishes brings variety to your meal. We chose a few dumplings, the seaweed salad and the chilli chicken between two of us. Although the salad was lacking in flavour, the abundance of it found in our other choices more than made up for it.

Aside from the food the cosy atmosphere created by sharing your meal with both your neighbours and the chefs brings me back to the backstreet dumpling houses I experienced during my time in Beijing . You can watch as ‘mama lan’ creates her dumplings with quick fingered precision as well as spy on your fellow diner’s food to see what looks good. Service was great and came with a smile.

Price came in at just over a tenner each, a little pricier than some of the other places in the arcade. However we left with satisfied and full tummy’s. Will definitely be visiting again.

They also run a supper club: http://www.mamalan.co.uk/index.php

Casa Marita

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address:Unit 9, Market Row, Brixton Market, SW9 8LB

This is a new restaurant in Market Row serving Mexican food. It is a hole in the wall with little decoration, just a cupboard piled high with tins and some pictures on bare walls with seemingly schoolroom castoff tables and chairs. But it all adds to the sense that it could actually be in a relatively salubrious part of a large Mexican town. There is an open kitchen with a large, shiny extractor and everything is on show – as there is little really to see. We speculated on where, if they had any, was their stock.

We went at 7.00pm and got a table relatively quickly but by 7.30 the place was full with even the tables set out in market row being full. The big rush was hard for the two waitresses who raced from table to table trying to ensure everyone had drinks  – you can pick from beer, wine and Mexican inspired soft drinks. The staffing issue is also a problem as we waited a time for the desert – well worth the wait but perhaps they need to consider their shift system.

There are all the usuals – tacos with fish or meat or vegetables and mole negro – a black sauce made from “30 ingredients” which was poured over chicken.  I thought that mexican food was really like tex-mex ….. hefty on chilli, refried beans  and guacamole and sour cream on the side. However this was not on the menu, a fact which we were quite pleased with as it allowed for experimentation.

The food was light and not overly hot as they serve hot sauce on every table so you can make it to taste. Beware of the odd mouthful of sauce as one bottle of beer disappeared trying to sooth the tastebuds. The mole negro was served lukewarm (not my favourite way of eating) and was not as tasty as I thought it might be. Perhaps warmer temperatures might bring out the chocolate and spices. It was served with what was described as rice and sweetcorn and as I hadn’t had any vegetables or fruit that day I thought this was a good option. However, they really fell foul of the trades description act as there were barely one or two kernels of corn in each plateful. The quesadilla and the pescadilla (with fish) came with a side salad. We had both kinds of sorbet – lime and passionfruit and there were thumbs up for both.

Defintely one to recommend for the things with fillings – I was not that keen on the mole negro which at £12.00 was a bit steep.  Portions are smaller than average but actually we eat too much and the portions are probably the right size for the cost (about £7.00). An excellent addition to the market.

Asmara

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Address: 386 Coldharbour Lane, London SW9 8LF

telephone: 020 7737 4144

 

This is an Eritrean restaurant on Coldharbour Lane with a very unprepossessing entrance. Peeping in through the window you can see a couple of low circular basket weave tables and then the usual more cafe like seating in the remainder of the restaurant. The walls have a few african adornments but it is not overwhelming cultural. But this is an experience place where you effectively eat the tablecloth so if you want the whole feel try for the low circular”ethnic”  tables. The menu is heavy on meat although there are vegetarian options. The reason for the reference to the tablecloth is the food comes on the bread that you eat with. It is called injera and it is a large circular  sourdough pancake. This is fine when warm but as it rapidly cools becomes more like trying to eat a large piece of felt.  If you don’t like sourdough you can choose rice or cracked wheat.

This is a meat heavy cuisine with spicy or not so spicy choices like kulwa ( lamb with tomatoes) and derho alicha (mild chicken stew).  There is an option for the Royal feast but actually this looked far too much for a mid-week evening meal so we didn’t venture that far. The portions for each option are not large so you need to share a few. Our companions on the most recent visit found it all a bit too much but they were teenage girls – one of whom was a recent reformed vegetarian.

The prices for a  neighbourhood restaurant were surprisingly high and although we have been several times we think that these need to be widely spaced. We do, however, recommend sitting on low stools for any first visit and to try the delicious flavoured coffee which is delivered in a surprising way – we don’t want to give this away but just to say that the smell is wonderful

Kaosarn

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KaosarnAddress: Granville Arcade (Brixton Village), Coldharbour Lane Brixton, London

Telephone: 020 7095 8922

This is a new Thai restaurant named after the bustling street in Bangkok and it has made a name for itself in Brixton Village with reviews by Jay Rayner in the  Observer (http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/may/01/jay-rayner-restaurant-review-kaosan) and Time Out (http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/venue/2:30398/kaosarn).  This is a tiny family run restaurant and with all this attention is full every evening and mostly during the day so book well in advance.  When we say tiny we really mean – only a few tables inside supplemented by five to seven outside. With autumn soon making it chilly these outside tables are likely to be difficult to fill unless they come with a blanket and hot water bottle.

The menu is short and cheap (about £15.00 per person for a full meal) with most main dishes costing less than £8. They serve all the usual Thai specialities – curries, salads and pastries filled with varieties of prawn or minced meat. There are not many vegetarian meals but the staff are willing to cook some up on request with tofu and vegetables. We used this restaurant before the Observer review. It is good but it isn’t great  – the Phad Thai was tasty with all the different flavours and with chunky prawns and a good blast of lime.  It is unlicensed so bring your own alcohol – remember this in advance as the options for buying it near to the restaurant are not that varied unless you just want beer. We would return there – if only we could get a table.

Under £20.00 for dinner and the portions are good so probably much less if you are not too greedy.

Laboratorio Artigianale del Buon Gelato – Lab G

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Lab GAddress: 6 Granville Arcade, Coldharbour Lane, Brixton Village, London SW9 8PR

I know you are not meant to eat ice cream for a whole meal but this place is really tempting so for a finale to any meal in Brixton go to Lab G. Here is a tiny temple to gelato, a tempting centre for high calory ice cream with plenty of cream like the salted caramel, or one of your five a day with mango sorbet or even something a little different. On one occasion we tried their liquorice and although in small quantities was delightful, in a hefty cone is a little hard to get through. The flavours are various – chocolate sorbet, real vanilla with flecks of vanilla pod, hazelnut, cherry and the usual flavours of Italian gelato like stracciatella. Flavours change all the time, so don’t depend on trying that odd flavour on your next visit.

It is not cheap at 1.50-2.50 a cone but with the large amount of ice cream it is well worth the cost.  We have seen mums hovering at the door and then, after seeing the prices, scurrying away with disappointed children so it would be useful for them to offer a small size just for kids which wouldn’t break the bank.

This place is not open mostly on Monday or Tuesday but that is by demand and I suspect that they will open later and later as the winter months encroach.