Fish

Sea Garden and Grill

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14E and 14D Market Row (Entrance from Coldharbour Lane)

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This is a relatively new restaurant, whose website says it is in Brixton Village but it isn’t. It’s in Market Row. The map is also confusing as the links for the Tooting Market outlet lead you to Brixton and vice versa. They are not very wordy on their website but they describe themselves as a modern British seafood restaurant and add “innovative”, fish “delivered fresh daily from St Ives” and meat sourced locally. They are No. 8 in the Timeout top 20 sea food restaurants – but this is the Tooting outlet. The Brixton branch has a connected, but separate bar with cocktails that you enter through a different door. We will tell you more later. Decor is darkish with candles and small tables for two, but they were also setting up for a large party. We missed that as we went very early on a Friday.

The menu varies and they offer everything on their QR code menu but the internet was very slow so we opted for a paper one. Most dishes are expensive, so be prepared to share – they do expect that. Fish of course pervades the menu (oysters, battered fish, salmon, squid, prawns and crab) but they also have some vegetables and a surf and turf option. We ordered a crab bun (tempura soft shell crab, pickled carrot, kohlrabi, spiced mayo and oyster dressing), and creamed mussels (with bacon, cider, thyme and cream) and a portion of chips.

The crab bun arrived first, cut in half so it wasn’t just easy to eat but with an expectation of sharing. We wolfed it down. The chips were triple-cooked and seasoned with vinegar salt (who knew?), so we could eat them with the bun or later for dipping into the cream sauce of the mussels. A hearty bowl of mussels they were too and at the end of the meal we had no room for dessert.

Before eating we glanced at the cocktails and couldn’t resist the Seadog Martini (“dry Tarquins martini, stirred with Vermouth & complimented with an oyster and citrus”) – dirty with an extra canape. It came with lots of theatre, including dry ice. We also chose a Spiced Pineapple Margarita (A Classic margarita, based on El Tequiuleno Blanco plus a pineapple reduction and a piece of dried pineapple that was pretty but inedible) again lots of theatre, and an interesting way to start a meal.

The bill came to £68.06 but £26.00 was the cost of the cocktails. It is a bit steep but without alcohol that is a large reduction and if you work for the NHS you get 15% off. They also have specials every day that are cheaper. The food was really good and we will definitely be putting this on our return soon list.

Fish Week – in lockdown

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We are now running low on innovation and so decided on fish week. We would love suggestions. Oily fish is very good for the brain, and we need a restart soon as our brain power has been reduced following all the bingeing on old and new TV series together with zoom meetings. There is plenty of evidence that this passive screen watching is not good for independent thought – may explain why our blogs have a much reduced vocabulary.

Our first effort was fresh mackerel. It was bought from a well known Brixton superstore, even though one of the great things about food in Brixton is the number of proper fishmongers. So apologies to them and perhaps we owe them an update our previous post on the subject – see here – one of our most read. It was served with fresh salads, including the potato salad with some excellent homemade mayonnaise. We probably overdid the size of the serving, as this could have been halved and still enjoyed.

Next was salmon. Another oily fish and easy to get hold of – this is the M&S version – served with fluffy mashed potatoes and broccoli – but importantly a lemon and caper sauce that i am told by the chef is a “doddle”.

Last we have some smoked salmon spaghetti with a chilli and lemon sauce. It came from an online recipe and, to be honest, was a bit underwhelming. It was probably underseasoned and missed the chives that were specified.

Fishbowl – the posh takeway

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Address: 5 Atlantic Road, London, SW98HX

Phone: 020 3995 5299

Open: From 3:00 pm (Deliveroo)

Website (Deliveroo): https://deliveroo.co.uk/menu/london/brixton/fishbowl-brixton

Instagram (Order by DM): #fishbowl_brixton

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 →

Fishbowl – the takeway

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Address: 5 Atlantic Road, London, SW98HX

Phone: 020 3995 5299

Open: From 3:00 pm (Deliveroo)

Website (Deliveroo): https://deliveroo.co.uk/menu/london/brixton/fishbowl-brixton

Instagram (Order by DM): #fishbowl_brixton

This is another black owned restaurant that got in touch following our Instagram post on black businesses in Brixton – see here. So we decided to give it try on our Friday night takeway slot. They don’t have their own website and we ordered through Deliveroo. But their own Instagram bio says you can also order via DM. We ordered earlier in the day so cannot comment on how quickly the food will arrive.

It’s one of the earlier businesses to open in the renovated arches in Atlantic Road. It’s not your usual fish and chip shop and in normal times the emphasis might be as much on the cocktails as on the food. But they do have prawn, calamari or squid and chips on the relatively short menu. If you want to splash out (no pun intended), then order the lobster boil in the bag (lobster, king prawns, shell prawns, crab, potatoes, blue swim crab and corn on the cob) at £60, or the Boil in the bag crab (snow crab, king prawns, shell prawns, potatoes, blue swim crab) at £30. We decided on a more modest choice – Tilapia and new potatoes with special fish sauce and a portion of squid and twice fried chips. Continue reading →

Roe

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Address: Unit S38, Pop Brixton, 49 Brixton Station Rd, SW9 8PQ

Website: https://www.popbrixton.org/members/roe/

Opening Times:
Monday – closed
Tuesday 5-10pm (last booking 9pm)
Wednesday 12-3pm (last booking 2.30pm) 5-10pm (last booking 9pm)
Thursday 12-3pm (last booking 2.30pm) 5-10pm (last booking 9pm)
Friday 12-3pm (last booking 2.30pm) 5-10pm (last booking 9.30pm)
Saturday Brunch 11-3pm /Lunch 12-3pm (last booking 2.30) 5-10pm (last booking 9.30pm)
Sunday Brunch 11-4pm/Lunch 12-4pm (last booking 3pm)

Online booking: https://www.resdiary.com/restaurant/roe

Email: info@popbrixton.org

This Pop Brixton venue has changed hands several times but has been fish restaurant the last two times. The painting of the fish on the ceiling is probably  some encouragement to stick to this theme. Eight place sittings on long tables mean that there is room for the waiting staff and it doesn’t feel crowded. Sit away from the door for a view of the open kitchen.

This is fish, fish and more fish. You can choose a la carte or just have the six dish tasting menu for £25. We were on a strict time limit, so we chose two dishes from the a la carte to share between us and a dessert each. The menu has 4 parts – starter sized dishes, small plates, mains and then desserts. Continue reading →

Fish and Chips supper – Where to buy

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We never know where to buy fish and chips, so we called a consensus meeting to rate four fish and chips shops around Brixton. Six people, with more than a hundred and fifty years of experience of fish and chip suppers, sat down to rate cod, chips and mushy peas each on a five point scale from the following outlets:

Brixton’s Cod 118 Acre Lane, Brixton SW2 5RA – Link

Chip Shop  378 Coldharbour Ln, Brixton SW9 8LF – Link

Fish Lounge 99 Brixton Hill, Brixton SW2 1AA – Link

Olley’s 65-69 Norwood Rd, Herne Hill SE24 9AA – Link

Continue reading →

Llewelyn’s Restaurant

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Address: 293–295 Railton Road, Herne Hill, London SE24 0JP

Website: http://llewelyns-restaurant.co.uk/

Phone:  0207 733 6676

Email: bookings@llewelyns-restaurant.co.uk

Opening times (for food):
Tuesday – Friday 12 Noon – 2.30 pm and from 6.00 pm
Saturday 12 Noon – 3.00 pm and from 6.00 pm
Sunday 12 Noon to 3.30 pm

Despite the Railton Road address, Llewelyn’s is definitely in Herne Hill, just to left of the Station. If it hadn’t been so hot we might well have walked through Brockwell Park but, in the event, we went by bus, calling in en route at the First Aid Box (review here) for some excellent cocktails.

Llewelyn’s inherits a site with a history. Many have mourned the loss of “Pullen’s”, and before that the brasserie “La Provencal” but the site now offers a modern minimalist style. The blank canvas is potentially noisy, especially on a hot Friday evening. But we had the added bonus of one diner on a nearby table having a laugh that was on the threshold of pain. Nevertheless, the three of us enjoyed the food and will doubtless return.

Continue reading →

Express Cafe/Lobstar pop-up

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15-17 Market Row, Brixton, London SW9 8LB
Telephone:
– Express Cafe 020 7978 8515
– Lobstar Pop-up 079 5843 8441
Opening times:
Express Cafe:
Monday – Saturday 7am–5pm (Wednesday early closing 3pm)
Sunday – Closed
Lobstar pop-up – only until the end of November:
Thursday – Saturday 7pm-11.30pm
Lobstar is a short run pop-up at the premises of the Express Cafe in Market Row. The Express Cafe is a greasy spoon, one of the few left in Brixton, that only opens during the day. So it occasionally rents itself out to pop-ups in the evening. We’ve been a couple of times, for vegan food – see here and for hotdogs – see here , and now, for three days a week in November, there’s a limited menu of lobsters and seafood.

Continue reading →

CLOSED – Hook

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address: Brixton Pop, 49 Brixton Station Rd, Brixton, SW9 8PQ

Telephone: 020 3808 5112

email: cairene@hookrestaurants.com

website: http://www.hookrestaurants.com/

A damp and cold Friday sees us wondering if we really want to go out to eat. But there was a place getting a bit of a buzz and we wanted to see if it lived up to the hype. Hook is a fish and chip shop in Brixton Pop offering sustainable everything (even the knives and forks) and a menu which includes Afro-Caribbean, Cajun and French influences. The cosmopolitan air was reinforced on our visit as it was provided by an all Italian team.

Small but perfectly formed on the top floor of Brixton Pop, this restaurant can sit about 16 inside and an outside area for when it gets a bit warmer. The menu is written on the wall and consists of about five fried fish dishes covered in panko (Japanese style breadcrumbs) or tempura batter. Cajun spiced or jerk are options as well as a more restrained basil and lemon.

hook04We chose the Jerk Hake and the lemon and basil tempura seabream. Both came with what was described as seaweed salted twice cooked chips and we ordered a couple of sides  (minty peas and celeriac slaw). You can interpret this as our wish to serve our followers or just that we’re greedy. We were worried that the jerk spice would overwhelm the fish but it didn’t – the flavour was there but jerk enthusiasts might even say it was  a bit bland. The accompanying chipotle sauce did came with a kick, however, as well as being very smoky, and was a great for the chips.

hook03The basil and lemon batter was very subtle but the batter was good and not too oily. The truffle sauce was also subtle but that’s what this good white fish needed. Fish can be overcooked so quickly but  both mains were just right. The chips – you could see the relationship to a potato which we both loved but we were not sure why they mentioned seaweed salt. The sides – we really liked  but didn’t finish them nor our portions of chips so beware over-ordering.hook02

So did it live up to the hype … yes. We liked it a lot. Not a place for a long relaxing dinner but it was very pleasant and the food different enough for us to think we would return quite soon. They also do takeaways and Deliveroo if it gets too wet and windy.

hook05Despite the long list of drinks they didn’t have much of a range in stock. We had a bottle of water and a bottle of And Union Unfiltered Lager. The total cost – £36.50 was pricey for fish and chips but we thought for the quality it was worth it.

The Chip Shop

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address: 378 Coldharbour Lane, SW9 8LF  (on the corner with Atlantic Road)

tel: 07894 353561

email: info@chipshopbxtn.co.uk

website: http://www.chipshopbxtn.com/#!home/c9l

Opening hours:

Tuesday to Thursday: 11:30pm – 3pm / 6pm – 11:30pm

​Friday to Sunday: 10am to 11:30pm

​Monday CLOSED

I suspect our readers have made New Year Resolutions about increased physical activity, weight reduction and are perhaps even partaking in Dry January. But there is no chance of fulfilling any resolutions if you go to Chip Shop this month.

This new restaurant opened in the first week of November and is already pulling in the punters. It was opened by the people who own The Brixton Village Grill in Brixton Village. They sell…. wait for it … fish and chips but this is not the usual takeaway (although you can take it away if you want to). It labels itself as a hip hop chip shop and we can vouch for the steady stream of music which definitely does not stay in the background. Small and perfectly formed tables of two, three or four allow for reasonable conversation.

The menu has the usual cod and haddock but then it also has sea bass, monkfish, lobster and specials like swordfish. We chose a starter between the two of us – scallops with chorizo on a bed of samphire, which was easily enough for two.The scallops were cooked as they should be and the samphire wasn’t  woody but still had a good crunch.

To follow we had a special – swordfish – and the fishcake. Most of the mains, although not the fishcake,  come with two of the following: rice, chips and salad. We watched the monkfish and chorizo for other diners come by on skewers hung upside down and a really large lobster but our meal proved to be more than a match for the “show”.

The swordfish, which is a meaty fish anyway, was also enough for two, especially with the salad and chips plus some beans we had ordered as a side.cs05

The salmon and haddock fishcake was of the same size and it doesn’t come with chips, although it really needs an accompaniment to make it interesting. Perhaps it would be better as a lunch dish and, anyway, it now seems to have disappeared from the menu..cs04

We fitted in a shared dessert of pannetone bread and butter pudding. This was not up to the standard of the other parts of the meal as it was a hefty slab – no lightness that you would have expected from the pannetone. Clearly it was chilled and then heated and perhaps they need to consider another option. If you ate this for lunch you would be asleep all afternoon. The cheesecake or the sticky toffee pudding might have been better choices.

cs02We washed it all down with tap water and a Sangres beer. The total bill for two was £42.65, before adding a tip and we thought this was value for money. We had really good food, the service was attentive and we came out really full. We ate at 8.00pm but by 9.00pm it was very full, so choose your time carefully. We will be back, with the £20 whole grilled lobster a likely target.