Tonight is Diwali, the festival of light for Hindus, Sikhs and Jains, but we can all join in. So here’s a short round-up of the local south Asian restaurants that we’ve reviewed, where you can order food for delivery. Then just light some candles.
Salon now offers a timed delivery service. We have reviewed this restaurant, which offers a tasting menu several times ( here and here and here) It is a past winner of our @eatinbrixton public vote for Brixton’s favourite, so we were really enthusiastic to try their takeaway service on the first Saturday in Lockdown 2.0.
There are a meat and vegetarian three course meals on offer, both for two to share. We chose the meat one. The starter and dessert need little preparation, but the main course needs cooking. But, very helpfully, everything was labelled and there was a handy set of instructions to guide you through the meal – it made sure that we could eat the starter without worrying about the oven.
First came a pork terrine, luxuriously covered in salty ham/bacon with an accompaniment of mustard mayonnaise and bitter leaves. The other starter was a beetroot salad, caraway crackers with goats curd. Both were great and we just shared. All come with warm bread, whipped butter and cheese custard. Yum…. and honestly this would have been enough food for the evening.
Next course was hispi cabbage and braised venison pie with potato topping. There was plenty for two (in fact I had seconds the next day). The meat was soft and succulent and we served it with a hefty red wine to make it a real celebration.
Finally – and we did then move to a comfy sofa and the TV – we had the dessert and each one is enough for two. It was a coffee panna cotta (although actually more of a fluffy mouse) with a chocolate ganache top and some crumbs to sprinkle over it. This was also when the top trouser button was undone – fantastically delicious end to the meal.
This is a delivery that requires a table, candles and good wine – as good as a dinner out. It cost £59.00 for two and we thought it was excellent value. We have got into the habit of watching the 7.00 pm news during the week with our meal (lunchtime it is Bargain Hunt), but this as enjoyable as dining out and broke the spell. Great offering and we would certainly do it again.
This is a new restaurant in Market Row serving West African food from Adejoké ‘Joké’ Bakare and the restaurant was opened following her victory in the amateur category at last year’s Brixton Kitchen competition. Even across Nigeria there are many different styles and traditional cuisines – add to that the whole of West Africa and you get lots of different types of seasoning and cooking methods. You can eat in the market corridor or inside with the doors are thrown open so wear a coat wherever you sit. Inside you can watch the preparation, outside it is people watching in the busy thoroughfare.
There is a blessedly short list on the menu with starters, main courses, sides and desserts – just a few in each category. We shared Ekuru as a starter – it’s native to the Yoruba. It is (I think) made of peeled black eyed beans and wild water melon seeds and the paste is then fried. It comes with pumpkin seed pesto and scotch bonnet sauce. This was a soft and crisp start to the meal with delicious pesto, so I hope you haven’t thrown out those pumpkin seeds.
Then came the main courses where we chose one meat, goat ayamase, which came with spiced green sauce and condiments, and one veggie dish – chargrilled cauliflower with peanut sauce and puffed wild rice (although they forgot this little extra when it was served to us). We were advised to order a side of attasi rice, green salad and plantain.
The goat was really soft and didn’t have too many bones to discover. It had a spiciness that crept up on you so that a softee like me only had a runny nose three quarters of the way through.
The cauliflower was well cooked and the spiced green sauce is what it said on the menu – spicy – and the peanut sauce added to the thrill. We didn’t need the puffed rice.
We were delighted with the side dishes. The Atassi rice and beans was really good for soaking up the sauce on both dishes and the plantain with peanut sauce was a perfect foil for the spice in both dishes.
We finished the meal with a dessert to share – peanut butter ice cream with baobab crisps. We immediately dived in so no photo. The salty creaminess of the ice cream went really well with the surprisingly citrus flavoured honeycomb crisps.
We washed it all down with two bottles of Lucky Saint beer and water. The bill for two was £63.00, but this included a tip and money for a food support scheme. They only opened in August and will be hard hit by the current lockdown. Let’s hope they will run a click and collect or delivery service.
We recently reviewed this black owned restaurant (see here). We gave it favourable write-up and concluded that might even try the lobster for a special occasion. Well the special occasion arrived.
We ordered again through Deliveroo. We wanted to order the expensive menu, so we rang them direct, just in case they were going to run out – they advise to order relatively early, as they have a small kitchen and give their restaurant customers preference during the evening rush.
They have prawn, calamari or squid and chips on the relatively short menu, but we ordered the whole lobster boil bag (lobster, king prawns, shell prawns, crab, potatoes, blue swim crab and corn on the cob) at £60, plus some sweet potato fries. Continue reading →
Another Saturday night and nowhere to go, so we decided to watch Father of the Bride 3(ish) and order from one of our Brixton favourites (see here and here). It’s open for Click and Collect or Delivery after 6.00pm. Don’t be in too much of a hurry, as we had finished the film and were onto a nostalgia piece – Father of the Bride 1 before it arrived.
This new restaurant and wine bar in Brixton Village is at the back, along the alley with the African shops. It is a relation of the Donostia Social Club, which was a winner of the eatinbrixton public vote, when it was originally in Pop Brixton. It has now moved into multiple sites so clearly our public spotted the potential. Continue reading →
We’ve eaten there (see here) and had a delivery (see here) and given them favourable reviews. So when they sent us an email, advertising “apertivos and spuntini” (snacks), the suggestion seemed too good to pass up. I guess the idea is to get some early customers before the evening bookings and you don’t need to book. When four of us arrived on a Friday evening around 5:00 pm, we were the only ones there. We were pleased to see that masks were worn and they checked our temperatures on arrival.
We don’t often start drinking that early, even on a Friday, but we got into the swing of it. So we sampled a range of what was on offer, starting with an Aperol Spritzs, an Campari Spritz and a glass of wine (Feronia). The Campari got a repeat order; one of us opted for a Ginger Beer; and another couldn’t resist a Toffee Caramel Espresso Martini. Sweet, sweet, sweet.
It wasn’t just drinking – we also tried out the sputini, or snacks. The olives were olives, the pecorino biscuits were good and the summer truffle arancini (fried balls of flavoursome rice) were fantastic. We ordered two more portions.
It was a sunny evening and we needed cheeering up. We certainly felt better afterwards, although the cost that came in just under £80, including a tip, didn’t make it cheap. I’m sure we will be back, although it does feel more like a summer thing.
Just fancied an Indian takeaway on a Friday night, so we remembered that we used to have them from Curry Paradise. Read on because we want you to include it in your choices too – especially as Covid-19 is spreading and we need to keep supporting our local restaurants. We now can’t remember who delivered this, but I think most of the delivery companies have Curry Paradise in their lists.
Leave a little time to peruse the menu, as it is worth having a detailed look given the appetizing descriptions. So we didn’t order a Mathi – Hyderbadi style cooked with spring onion, fresh fenugreek leaves and crushed spices, but now wished we had. Most of the dishes come with different types of meat or vegetables. Unusually for the three of us we chose two meat (unusual as we generally veer towards the veggie options) and tarka dahl and an aubergine dish. We had rice, two naans – one garlic and one peshwari – and of course poppadoms. Extras weren’t necessary, but we had some onion bhajis anyway – three in a portion.
We had chicken korma, in recognition of Friday night in front of the TV with the children and a chicken tikka masala, because we didn’t collaborate at all on the order. Both were exactly what was expected. The korma was smooth and sweet and the tikka massala was also smooth but also had a great spice and a little chili.
The aubergine was a dish of small slippery aubergines and, of course, with lots of tomatoes and onion. The dahl was really good not at all mushy or watery. Both dishes went well with the Naans. And the bhajis were as crisp and tasty as required.
We drank our own Brixton IPA – a great combo with the poppadoms. We want to recommend this takeaway and will definitely be returning. The food was really good and the portions were so large we had another two lunches out of it. So, in effect, it provided seven ample helpings and, at a cost of £57, including delivery fee, offered great value.
Koi Ramen Bar now qualifies as a Brixton institution. It’s progressed from a stall in Brixton Station Road, through a unit in Pop Brixton and now just returned to one of the railway arches opposite to where they started. We’ve looked at it before in it’s previous incarnations, here and here. Now, like some other Brixton originals, it’s part of a chain, but has really found it’s feet. We went at lunchtime and sat outside, although there is some space inside that will be needed in winter months.
There’s a really short menu with four types of ramen, a few extra toppings and different types of gyoza, should you want a starter. You order at the counter but the dishes are brought to you. We went for the old scool Shoyu and the pure white tonkotsu with an extra nitamago marinated egg. The old scool shoyu (their spelling) is, as the name suggests, the original ramen, with a soy based soup with chashu belly pork. Tofu is available as an option. This was my choice and it was great and well presented in a proper bowl. Much better than the paper cups used on previous visits.
The tonkotsu, described as their “signature dish” , is a creamy pork noodle soup with chashu belly pork again, plus kikurage mushrooms and spring onions. Given that this is a meat broth there’s no tofu option. The egg was soft-boiled as required. My companion enjoyed it, but thought it might have benefited from a touch of chilli, to liven it up.
Ramen, at least in Japan, is real fast food. A lunchtime snack that’s eaten quickly and with relish. If this is what you are looking for this is now easily the best option in Brixton, benefiting from the narrow focus on its speciality. There are drinks available including Japanese beers and sake, but we just shared a bottle of still water. So the bill came to only £16.70, allowing for a £2.00 off lunch deal. This could well become a lunchtime regular.
Domino’s didn’t do so well in our previous pizza challenge (see here) but subsequent comments suggested that it had been under-rated. Anyway, we were craving some on a Friday night and decided to give it another go. It had to be a delivery, as we are just emerging from quarantine and still taking things really carefully.
The menu is reduced but actually it makes it much easier to choose and there seem to be all the favourites. We chose a large (13.5) Veggie Supreme and a large (13.5 again!) American Hot. And here they are.
Even when we finished they didn’t look very different, as we only managed about a third of each. Delivery does bring out the “eyes much bigger than stomachs” in me. On the bright side we have lunch and breakfast for the next two days.
My Veggie was delicious and somehow despite the cheese I felt virtuous even while I was dipping the crust in the garlic sauce. The American hot was well received as well, with good pepperoni and enough chilli to make it interesting. Apologies for the poor quality picture though.
It was good and inexpensive as the deal is £10.99 for any large pizza so £21.98 for the two pizzas and whatever you decide to tip the delivery guy. There are lots more deals too and we definitely think a large is enough for two no matter how hungry you are.
Finally – and we did then move to a comfy sofa and the TV – we had the dessert and each one is enough for two. It was a coffee panna cotta (although actually more of a fluffy mouse) with a chocolate ganache top and some crumbs to sprinkle over it. This was also when the top trouser button was undone – fantastically delicious end to the meal.
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