Author: eatinbrixton

Trinity Arms

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Address: 45 Trinity Gardens, SW9 8DR

Telephone: 0207 274 4544

http://www.trinityarms.co.uk/

Situated in a hidden spot, right near the main hub of Brixton, a short walk from the tube station and surrounded by old Victorian Houses and a housing estate, the Trinity Arms has for many years been spoken of as a surprising delight in Brixton. With a good mix of locals, visitors and after work drinkers this is a Young’s pub that doesn’t pretend to be anything else than a good old fashioned local boozer. Although with a lick of paint and some new furniture last year made it seem slightly more ‘gastro pubby’ than many would prefer, it still retains the old charm that so many loved.

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Khan’s of Brixton

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Address:  24 Brixton Water Lane, London SW2 1PE

Telephone: 020 7326 4460

Booking on the website too:  http://www.khansbrixton.co.uk/

This is an old favourite of many people but at eatinbrixton we have only managed to have a takeaway so  we decided to visit in person on a rainy tuesday evening. When we arrived it was completely empty except for the two waiters and so we got to view the interior of stylish leather covered chairs (very comfortable) and plain cream and mustard yellow relatively unadorned walls. The TV, which presumably is to keep the waiters happy, was muted and we were not drawn to the picture, even though it was Eastenders.

The restaurant did fill up over the course of half an hour with people celebrating birthdays (the waiters happily took the birthday cake) and with people coming for a takeaway and the service was impeccable with everything coming reasonably quickly and without too much fuss and bother, or without feeling rushed.

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Bukowski Grill

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Address: Unit 10, Market Row, Brixton Market, SW9 8JX, London
Telephone: (temp) 07973663105

email:info@bukowski-grill.co.uk

http://www.bukowski-grill.co.uk/

This is the latest of the pop-up restaurants in Brixton Market. Already with a location in Shoreditch, their experience in the restaurant business is clear, with the place running smoothly although only just opened. It is in the heart of Market Row, which nowadays seems to have restaurant after restaurant popping up each week, making it almost seem like a food court rather than the market it once was.Inside one wall is stripped down to the bricks and the other they seem to have stopped half way and the only decoration is the fluorescent tube of the name Bukowski along one wall. Tables are for two or four and on a Friday night spill out into Market Row. Lighting is simple and was turned down for more atmosphere as the evening progressed. It was quite noisy so the music being played in the background seemed a little pointless.

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Jalisco

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Address: 1, 48 & 49 Granville Arcade, Brixton Village Market, SW9 8PR

Jalisco is a Mexican restaurant just opposite the very popular Kaosarn in Brixton Village. As it was previously a Columbian restaurant (which unfortunately we never got to try out) I must honestly say we didn’t notice that the place had changed hands, so when we headed out for an evening of Columbian food we were very surprised.

I feel that I may mention a lot in these reviews that I have one ultimate type of food that is classed as my favourite, Japanese, Thai etc. but I’m going to carry on regardless by saying that Mexican really is up there as some of my all-time favourite foods. With the spices, coriander, sour cream, guacamole, meat or fish and a big dash of heat, the flavours and ingredients of Mexican food make it too perfect for words. That said getting good Mexican food in London is hard. Yes you have the Wahaca’s and your Chipolte’s, but good local decent Mexican food is a rarity I find. Although there is already the staple Mexican in Market Row, Casa Morita, our visit there wasn’t incredible and we haven’t returned since, mainly because we found it way overpriced for the quality and quantity of food served. El Panzon is the complete opposite.

With a kind of disarrayed decoration to the place and tables outside to sit on, which I’m sure will be lovely if this darn Summer would arrive, this is quite a basic restaurant. There is also an upstairs seating area which we didn’t get to see, but makes me feel comfortable that there will be no Honest Burger type problems with getting a table if I wanted to return.

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Cafe Sitifis – NOW CLOSED

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11 Rushcroft Road, London SW2 1JS

We’ve been running this blog for less than a year and we’ve already covered almost 50 places where it’s worth eating out in Brixton. That’s 50 places just a short walk from where we live and I also work. There can’t be many places that offer such a rich diversity of food, most of it good and at reasonable prices. And that’s not counting the places we haven’t managed to get too yet. For example, we have yet to cover all the pubs that offer reasonable meals. (fn1)

But there is a drawback to all this richness. Sometimes it is simply difficult to keep up, which means that some places get missed out, even though they are excellent. So I was concerned when I read on the Urban 75 Brixton forum that Cafe Sitifis is “is struggling to stay open”. (see the thread here http://www.urban75.net/forums/threads/cafe-sitifis-review-rushcroft-road-great-for-kids.269737/) I’ve already been a couple of times and it’s great but I never got round to writing a post. I have to admit that I’m not as good at writing up reviews as other members of the team. So I’ve just been again, just to check it still delivers, and I’m pleased to report that it’s as good as ever.

Cafe Sitifis is named after a town in Algeria which is where the owner comes from. So the food is North African. What it offers is straight-forward – a range of meze served with flat bread and a choice of cakes. And coffee or tea to drink. Within that there’s a wide choice of dishes but, because it’s such good value, I’ve always had the Chef’s Special, which is simply a bit of everything crammed onto a plate.

I actually lose count of what’s on the plate but it’s uniformly excellent. But this time I had the vegetarian version which included hummus, olives, couscous, tomato and cucumber salad, aubergine salad, marinated peppers, dolmades, tzatziki, lentil salad and so on. It comes with a dressing that’s just asking to be mopped up with the bread. This latest time I had the mint tea but I’ve also had the coffee, which are both great. This all costs £7.45 but there are cheaper dishes with, in effect, your choice of meze out of what’s on offer. The fresh cakes and middle-eastern pastries all look good as well.

So this is a strong recommendation if you want a light meal at lunchtime or maybe just a coffee and a pastry during the day. However, it’s not open in the evening. It’s got a welcoming atmosphere and, more practically, wifi.

fn1. The coverage excludes the Brixton branches of chains, which we don’t cover as a matter of policy, and a handful of other places that we know from bitter experience simply aren’t worth including. But please let us have your recommendations if you think there is somewhere else in Brixton we should cover.

Bellantoni’s Cookery Course

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Address: 5th Avenue, Brixton Village, SW9 8PS

Telephone: 078 7294 5675

Email: bellantonis@yahoo.co.uk

Website: http://www.bellantonis.co.uk/Cookery_Classes.html

I’ve just eaten one of the best meals I’ve had in Brixton. And I cooked it myself – sort of. “Sort of” because I cooked it under the guidance of chef Dario Bellantoni, at one of the courses he runs at his restaurant in Brixton Village. His aim is to help you to create the pleasures of Italian home cooking by teaching you how to make and roll by hand pasta dishes, to use seasoning, to cook sauces and to improve food presentation.

Dario comes from Liguria in northern Italy, so this is his style of cooking; simple with the accent on flavour. He told me that much of his approach to cooking was handed down by his grandmother; so now it’s been passed onto me.

One thing he emphasises is the integrity of the ingredients that he uses. Some come direct from his own sources in Italy but he also buys locally, such as the fish from Brixton Market. It’s also noteworthy, from the point of view of the amateur cook, that everything he does can be done at home. I was amazed to find that all his cooking is done in a space smaller than that of most home kitchens, with just a domestic oven and a four ring hob.

The course lasted around three hours but in that time we prepared four dishes, totally from scratch.

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Okan

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address: Unit 39, Brixton Village Market SW9 8PS

telephone number: ?

email: ?

http://okanbrixtonvillage.com/

Okan is a restaurant in Bricton Village with little decoration except some Japanese lanterns. Half the inside is taken up with a counter on which the two (or sometimes three) chefs prepare your food hot and straight from the griddle. The remainder are tables and stools as there is no space for a chair. Sharing tables is a must, especially at the peak times (7.15 to 8.15)  but that only adds to the atmosphere and allows you to peer at your neighbour’s food before making a decision. There is no chance of not seeing the food and every chance you might put your elbow in it as the space is very, very tight. I must have apologised or been apologised to several times while in there for a little under an hour.

Okan specialises in one type of food – Okonomiyaki.  We were holding back on visiting this restaurant as we have had heard widely differing views and we were also not sure we were up to cabbage omelets.  But this Japanese fast food restaurant actually serves a cabbage pancake which is street food in Osaka. It is served with a special brown sauce (we weren’t brave enough to ask what it was), Japanese mayonnaise, green seaweed and bonito shavings (for added salt we assume) and has a variety of toppings. We chose the “special”- kimchi, prawn, corn and  squid and other was kimchi with pork.

But first we ordered a starter – an Otumami (presumably meaning getting you going). We chose four dishes for two people which included Kimchi (Korean pickles in fish sauce),  Edamame (beans with salt but I was expecting more salt), Onasu (fried aubergine), and tofu salad. The salad sounded boring but it really wasn’t. Lots of green peppery leaves with tiny chunks of tofu and Japanese mayonnaise.  The aubergine was soft and sweet (added honey) and although there was not enough salt on the edamame we could probably have done without any more and looked after our heart a little better. (We’ve already eaten a lot before taking the picture)

This is a fast food restaurant and it lives up to its name. If we hadn’t had the starter we would have made it out in about 25 minutes. Sometimes that’s good and sometimes you want to relax a bit. The main courses came piping hot and it takes time to eat it because it needs a bit of cooling, particularly when you are eating with chopsticks. Again we enjoyed the pancakes. They were soft but with a bit of a crunch from cabbage which isn’t slimy. For those who do not have to courage to break out with a pancake there are safer options like yaki soba noodles which our dinner companions ordered and reported were also delicious.

They have a drinks menu including alcohol. There are three types of Japanese beer, three of saki and three of tea and a variety of soft drinks. The smoky but relaxing tea (Houji) didn’t really live up to its promise but came piping hot in a lovely little teapot. The cranberry and fresh mint was refreshing and came cold with a lot of ice.

Everyone welcomed us and said goodbye (although I did crave a Japanese welcome). The service was attentive, although our first course went to the next table. But we were able to spot it easily as the bemused customers asked what it was. Portions are fairly large but not cheap – £8.25 for the Okan special which had a lot of prawns but not much squid. The total bill was £28.15 for two. We would go again but it isn’t for a leisurely meal and there is no booking. As usual with restaurants in the Village they are only open Wednesday to Sunday and only in the evening on Thursday to Saturday. Bring cash as no credit cards are taken and we had to sort through our pockets before we could order.

The Provincial (formerly Tapas Pa’Ti)

~ eatinbrixton ~ 6 Comments

Address: 21 Market Row, Brixton SW9

Another of the new restaurants popping up in Market Row is Tapas Pa’ti (translated to Tapas For You) a place advertised as serving home cooked Spanish tapas. With an open front and tables both inside and out, Spanish music playing in the background and the red brick décor and dark wood the place has a real feels of a traditional Spanish bar.

Before I begin on the food I must point out that the eatinbrixton gang are frequent visitors of Spain, meaning we are huge fans of tapas. One thing I love about tapas is the environment that you eat it in. With baking heat, Salsa music playing in the background, a leg of ham hanging from the bar and usually a couple of regulars who seem to always be hanging around, all create the mood of a Spanish bar. Luckily this place creates that for us (although don’t rely on the weather!).

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Prima Donna

~ eatinbrixton ~ 4 Comments

address:   25-27 Market Row, Brixton,  SW9 8LD

http://www.primadonnabrixton.co.uk

I never wanted to start a review with the sentence ‘The problem with this restaurant is…’ but I don’t feel creative enough to say it another way. So … the problem with this restaurant is its USP (unique selling point). It has an Italian name, a Portuguese/Brazilian style of food at dinner and it plays music from Radio 1. Described as an cafe/restaurant the breakfast menu looks English yet lunch seems to be more Brazilian. I quite like novelty but this is so eclectic that may be difficult for passers by to understand (and be drawn to) its open doors. This is a shame as it probably deserves encouragement.

This is a new restaurant in Market Row rather than in Brixton Village and it builds a new epicurean alleyway particularly as the Village is getting fuller and fuller and hard for the casual visitor to be sure of getting fed. Small tables (for two) are inside and outside. Its white walls have little adornment (well there isn’t much wall in there) and across the back wall is the kitchen.

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Courtesan Dim Sum

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Courtesan Dim Sum

69-73 Atlantic Road, SW9 8PU

0208 127 8677

This is a little gem, filling a place in Brixton for a classier Chinese restaurant. The unassuming entrance leads into a bar area filled with golden birdcages and low lights. The restaurant decor is not the eclectic throw it together kind – it is simple with matching tables and comfortable chairs and benches. Lighting is Chinese style but not on the bling side – no red lanterns. It is an area of calm – until the tables begin to be filled.

This is a Dim Sum restaurant with a Brixton flare. We have the usual steamed Dim Sum (prawn, chicken and roast pork) but there is the oddball of jerk chicken in rice wrapped in a palm leaf. This looked relatively unassuming when it arrived – just green on the outside and white on the inside. But it was really delicious – full of ginger with not a hint of chilli but a big dose that grew in warmth but didn’t overpower the delicate rice and the really well cooked chicken.

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