Address: 426 Coldharbour Lane, London SW9 8LF

Telephone: 020 7346 0098

Website: http://www.nanban.co.uk/

Opening times:
Mon – Thurs 5pm-11pm, Fri 5pm-12am, Sat 12 noon-12 midnight, Sun 12 – 11pm

We visited Nanban a little time ago, but put off posting this review, in case it interfered with the recent voting for Brixton’s best restaurant. We have been before, of course, and the previous review is here, and we have been since. This is undoubtedly one of Brixton’s top places to eat, if not the best. We ate in the add-on part of the restaurant in a booth and it was quiet for a meal with friends we had not seen for many years.

There is now a longer menu with summer specials and an added glossary, so you can understand the naming of dishes. The four of us chose from different sections. One went for a selection of starters: edamame with black sesame salt, some crispy fried marinated jackfruit with a honey miso-mayo  and finally Nasu Dengaku, which was roasted aubergine topped with almonds and a sweet miso sauce. I chose the Lazy Goat Ramen, which had slow-cooked boneless goat leg, thick noodles in a rich Indo-Caribbean curry sauce, topped with seafood sawdust, fried shallots and a tea-pickled egg. I asked for no scotchbonnet pickled bamboo shoots as I know it is spicy-hot enough. The other two ordered  – the spicy sesame udon salad with crab (spicy sesame-lime dressing with cucumber, red cabbage, cherry
tomatoes, fresh mint and chilli oil – only 3 chilis) and the Yuzo-sesame salmon – both on what was then the summer specials menu.

The goat was, as usual, exactly as described -soft, full of layers of flavour and I really love the tea-pickled egg – cooling when sweat starts to break out. The photograph (below) shows a part eaten version.

The crab and the salmon dishes were both well received, with the appropriate level of palette-tingling heat in the spicy noodles. At first glance the portions look on the small side but, in reality, there’s well enough to keep you satisfied.

Warming edamame beans and jackfuit fritters were easy finger food. The aubergine though was a little harder to tackle with chopsticks. All were pronounced exactly right by the person in our midst who has an allergy to too much chili.

The bill with service came to £94.61 and included fizzy water and four beers. We were full and contented but when we got home we had Brixton apple crumble for dessert.