Month: March 2012

Brick Box

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address: Brixton Village, Brixton SW9 8PS

telephone: 020 727-4221

email: hello@thebrickbox.co.uk

http://www.thebrickbox.co.uk/brixton.html

Brick Box, in the heart of Brixton Village, describes itself with some hyperbole as a place for art, love and magic. We were not totally convinced; however, it does serve food, so of course we had to review it. With the usual wooden tables and mismatched chairs, it squeezes in tables at angles in the small internal space and outside in the alleyway so it has much seating. It is extremely popular so at 6.45 on a Friday the outside tables were full and we were lucky to even get an inside table. This was in comparison to other restaurants which were relatively empty at that time. One explanation fir this might be the happy hour which starts at 5pm.

The venue says it provides for a number of events including screenings, live art (?) and theatre which will be a bit of a coup given the size of the place. Most events seem actually to happen in their Tooting site although the walls are covered with art.

This community arts group have partnered with Senzala in Brixton to provide the food- a  range of sweet and savoury crepes and galettes – and of course a fully licensed bar which seemed to be attracting the most custom. We ordered a Caprinha and a lemon daiquiri to get us into the spirit  and, sorry but they were both a bit of a disappointment. They were more like alcopops rather than cocktails so we wished we had chosen the wine.

The menu comes in two section – the savoury and the sweet crepes. There is some allergy advice on the menu and you can get a wheat, gluten, lactose and egg free gallette which is what we chose. We ordered the Senzala and the Caramelised goat. These were very similar – rocket and cheese (gorgonzola or goat’s cheese), caramelised red onions and mixed herbs with the addition of sun dried tomatoes in the Senzala. They were plump and the gallette was thin and crispy but stuck together enough to allow you to get all the bits into your mouth at the same time. We enjoyed them but we want to point out that if you highlight the caramelised red onions on the menu then they do need to be caramelised and not just a bit sweet and limp.

Service was fast for ordering and helpful  – pointing out that we should try the homemade chili sauce as we would never have noticed it in the sugar container. A little of it went a long way – but it does add spice to the cheesy mix. We were surprised at how much better the galettes were on this occasion from a previous visit when we had the Spaniard which was a bit limp with too little filling. We didn’t repeat the choice so we can’t verify a change in this one.

We didn’t have a sweet crepe but they looked more variable with mixtures of the following ingredients – bananas, nuts, Belgian chocolate (white, milk or dark), rum, coconut, nutella and maple syrup. We just went to Lab G for an ice cream – two pancakes in the same meal definitely seemed one too many.

Our bill was £21.00 for two including the drinks and they do provide tap water on the table. Wine is about £15.00 and cocktails around £6.00

We might go back next time for a cup of tea and a sweet pancake which would make a change from the cupcake offerings in most of the other tea shops in Brixton Village.

El Rancho de Lalo

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Address: 94-95 Brixton Village Market, SW9 8PS

Telephone:

email: elranchodelalo@hotmail.co.uk

http://www.facebook.com/pages/El-Rancho-De-Lalo/156815314336773

El Rancho de Lalo has been in Brixton Village for as long as we can remember and, despite the area’s recent renaissance in smart modern eateries, its simple approach to Colombian food still seems to be holding its own. Located on the Coldharbour Lane side of the Village, the restaurant’s exterior still manages to stand out with a tidy awning, dark wooden detail, and half a dozen tables outside. The interior is simply furnished with an open kitchen displaying hanging sausages and a couple of chefs hard at work. The service was friendly, came with a smile and, although not advertised on the menu, provided us with a couple of Corona beers served with lemon, and a surprisingly refreshing Kiwi juice.

The menu was short with similar looking dishes throughout. As with other South American Cuisines Colombian food is relatively simple mostly consisting of meat, rice, and beans. A couple of us ordered the Colombian National dish, the £10 Bandeja Paisa, which was more of a platter than a dish, consisting of a large Colombian Sausage, thinly cut steak, crispy pork belly, kidney beans in a dark sauce, a mound of rice topped with a fried egg, corn bread, avocado, salad and a slice of plantain. All in all it was pretty delicious. The sausage was beautifully spiced, the steak well cooked, the avocado perfectly ripe and the unlikely presence of an egg somehow seemed to work. The other member of our party went for the £10 pork that came with similar trimmings plus a potato and was, by all reports, pretty tasty. As is probably clear from the sheer quantity of components, the portions were huge, and could quite easily have been shared.

Dessert was super sweet figs, a semi solid serving of caramel and a white Colombian Cheese. The saltiness of the cheese worked well with the sweetness of the figs and the caramel bound the two together perfectly.

El Rancho de Lalo is a simple restaurant serving simple, well executed food. If you’re a big fan of meat, looking to fill yourself up, and not willing to spend more than a tenner when doing so, this is probably the place for you.

Opening Hours Mon – Wed: 09:00 – 19:00 Thurs: 09:00 – 22:00 Fri – Sat: 09:00 – 19:00

Seven

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address: 7 Market Row, SW9 8LB

telephone: 020 7998 3309

email: market@sevenatbrixton.com

http://sevenatbrixton.wordpress.com/

We have now visited Seven four times and feel it is time for a review as we have seen it busy, empty and when you can get a table but still feel it’s buzz. Seven is a Spanish style cocktail bar in the now, less fashionable, Market Row near to Franco Manca. It also serves food to soak up the alcohol. But they also have coffee and it is a welcome quiet haven on a Sunday when Brixton Village is heaving and you realise that you should have booked a seat.

Cheap cocktails include dirty martinis, non-orthodox cocktails (bramble comes in a teacup with a cupcake on the saucer) and old fashioneds (spirits, bitters and no sugary fruit additives) as well as Spanish beer. The bartender (who never seems to get a night off) spoke to us each time we visited and is helpful, as well as charming. He explained about all the types of drinks and had time to chat about the food – well on one occasion we were the only customers – but on others, even when we had to squeeze past other diners, we still got a little chat.

Decor is quirky. Downstairs we tried out a bench surrounded by heaters, another time we were relegated to a table made out of an old trunk – which if it hadn’t been quaint we would probably have tried to swap as it is hard balancing coffee on such a vaguely curved table with ridges. We also ventured upstairs which is a warren of small rooms each with its own ambience – wall paper with writing on it, low tables, dark romantic looking corners and high bar stools with an accompanying table – take your pick. It is definitely surreal, especially the large anglepoise. But tall people beware there will be a lot of ducking. It is also warmer upstairs when there is a February chill in the air.

Quirky is also a word to describe the luggage tag menus which are blessedly short. The suitcase references are a nod to the shop’s past. Food is tapas and the larger sized pinxtos (sounds like pinchos). These you pay for by the stick – £2 each and at the end they add up the sticks – exactly like you would in the some Catalan and Basque parts of Spain. They include anchovy, chilli and tomato, or chorizo and manchego as well as figs and other less usual combinations. There are some hot dishes too but we chose the meat plate to share with padron peppers on the side and a bottle of Rioja (after a cocktail). The Rioja was very good and there was certainly enough food to stop us feeling hungry for the rest of the night.

You can spend time here playing games and reading books which are arranged by colour not size or subject. They also have wifi. However, staying too long in the current cold months really requires a few layers of clothes as the whole bar is open to the market. Blankets and heaters help but on one occasion I kept my coat and scarf on.

Opening times are variable even though it seems to be open every day. We went on a Monday night when it was completely empty apart from two wifi addicts and left at 8.00 pm when the security man came and asked everyone to leave. We had to make a “Mission Impossible” run at the barrier which was half closed and shimmy underneath. I like this bar – it is one of the friendly ones and they do seem to have got their act together. Try it on a sunday when you might have a warming cocktail – usually only a fiver. The shared plate is aobut £7.00