11 Rushcroft Road, London SW2 1JS

http://www.edibleexperiences.com

This is a different kind of review as it is a pop-up restaurant that was only available for the day. But we decided to review it as it may reappear later and you can also keep your eye out for new themed pop-ups (see later).  Brixton now has a rich selection of restaurants but what it doesn’t have is one providing Peruvian food. This pop-up filled that gap even if for only a day. Last Days of Pisco is a travelling Pisco bar and cervicheria

The pop-up appeared in Cafe Sitifis, a small café just off Coldharbour Lane on a Saturday night (which has sadly now closed). This pop-up appeared at 6.30 pm for cocktails and at 8.00pm the food began. Of course with the “Last Days of Pisco” there were cocktails of Pisco  – including the traditional Pisco Sour. We were stick-in-the-muds and only went for traditional  – our cocktail (not as strong or long as I remember them from Lima) was a little frothy (the egg white) and with a balance of the sugar and lemon or maybe it was lime (who could tell after the first one…..).

With a set menu we were first presented with a side order of Quinoa and boiled Sweet Potato which was filling certainly but the Quinoa could have done with a little more boiling and a bit more salt. But the centre of the menu was the ceviches. Ceviche (pronounced cebichay) is an uncooked (i.e. no heat involved) raw fish medley mixed with onion and “cooked” (i.e. marinated) in lime juice. It is served all over South America but Peru has the largest number of recipes. There were three delicious ones on our plate – a bright orange plastic picnic plate divided into three sections. The naked fish were different in each of the three sections – sea bass, scallop and trout – so different colours as well as different textures.

Although the concept is South American some of the flavours are definitely British, such as scallops mixed with strawberries. The sea bass was more traditional with ginger, chilli, and red onion. The trout was reported to be marinated in tarragon cider vinegar and was slightly sweetened with honey but it was hard to tell following two Pisco sours.  My favourite was the traditional one but each was delicious. And I’d already eaten some by the time I remembered to take a photograph.

This was followed by a fried dough ball which was a bit chewy but was accompanied by a small pot of salted caramel dulce de leche ice cream that was divine and in the right amount.

We left not stuffed but pleasantly full. Our tickets were £25.00 each and our drinks menu came to almost £50.00 (6 Pisco sours and a grape spritzer). So for four of us it was £100.00 and they only take cash for the drinks menu. You can book by credit card online for the food and diners need to book but drinkers can just walk in..

We were delighted to experience this pop-up and hope that more will be based in Brixton. There are loads on the website so take your choice of Ghana (our next venue), Japanese, Indian and more. So what is next for Brixton? Backdoor Kitchen (see Edible experiences website or http://backdoor-kitchen.com/backdoorsalon/) will run brunch (noon) followed by an Italian Apertivo experiences (3.00pm) along the same lines as the Last days of Pisco – three nibbles and an Aperol cocktail all starting on 21st July upstairs at Salon at Cannon and Cannon. You can book online.