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Sandwich corner

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A takeaway from a local outlet, eaten in Brockwell Park, has been a real treat during lockdown, even when the weather has been inclement. Some of these outlets have sprung up but may only last a little while as lockdown ends. This is a description, not a competition and we don’t know when some will stop providing an al fresco lunch – although given the hopes for better weather, perhaps they might like to continue to feed those going into the park.

We normally enter the park from the Brixton Water Lane entrance, so our reports focus on what during lockdown became “Sandwich Corner”, with some interesting new choices. Obviously, there are other options near the other entrances, especially the one in Herne Hill. You could also buy sandwiches from Sainsbury’s, or even go for an old-fashioned kebab.

The trend was led by Maremma, who worked out early on that they had to show some initiative, given the pandemic. We have liked it as a restaurant (see here and here) and, unsurprisingly, their sandwiches were excellent.

Then we went to Il Sovrano, an excellent new Italian delicatessen. The address is Tulse Hill, but it’s down at the Brixton end. Don’t get confused and head off towards West Norwood. This place deserves an entry of its own, so watch this space. But here we really wanted to have their truffled beef sandwich, which is simply stunning. Perhaps it’s too good, as on the occasion of our review they’d sold out. So we had to have a salami and mozzarella wrap instead. Still tasty.

Finally there’s Naughty Piglets. Again, a top local restaurant (see here and here) offering a takeaway option during lockdown. They transformed themselves into a Burger Bar with a range of interesting options, as well as the classics. But this wasn’t a M*******d’s. We chose a char siu pork bun with Korean mayo plus chips. Here the culture clash worked to everyone’s advantage. And maybe our appetites are shrinking, but one meal was plenty for two of us. So the cost of £12 was reasonable value.

Station 26

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Address: Unit 26, Brixton Village Market, SW9 8PR

Tel: +44 20 3689 7124

E-mail: station26brixton@gmail.com

Website: https://www.station26.co.uk/

Opening Times:
Sunday 11:00 – 17:00
Monday Closed
Tuesday Closed
Wednesday 11:30 – 17:00
Thursday 11:30 – 22:00
Friday 11:00 – 22:00
Saturday 11:00 – 22:00

Note: This is a cash only restaurant.

We have returned to a longer standing restaurant in Brixton Village that seems much the same, but has changed it’s name at least a couple of times. It’s main distinctive feature is that it’s gluten free, with occasional vegetarian or vegan items. Set on a corner plot, there’s a few closely packed tables inside and outside around its two edges, but when we went at 6.30 on a Friday there was plenty of room.

The menu is blessedly short, with starters, mains and desserts. Starters include crab cakes, salads, bruschetta, including one with beans and chorizo, and hand cut chips but we opted to go straight to the mains. These include a tuna dish, crab, burgers (venison and halloumi), duck, chicken, pork ribs and finally a vegetable stack – so still a reasonable choice.

I chose the oddly named venison beef burger (maybe there was beef in the burger?) and my companion chose the crabcakes and salad. The burger obviously comes in a gluten free bun but also has tomatoes, some greenery and onion marmalade and is accompanied by a tub of chips. The gluten free bun is a bit spongy but a whole lot better than those you had to endure 25 years ago. It held the burger well until the last few mouthfuls and that may just be a lack of skill on my part. The chips looked OK but really weren’t crisp enough.

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There were three crab cakes. They do contain crab but they were under-seasoned and it was a bit of a lottery between them in terms of the proportion of potato. The salad was generous and had a great dressing.

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For pudding we shared a slice of pecan pie, served with a dollop of cream. This was good, so long as you like them at sweeter end of the spectrum, and the gluten-free pastry was excellent.

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S26_05The alcoholic drinks menu has beer and limited choice of wine – just one each of sparkling, white and red. We went for a bottle of the white and, while they had run out of the one on the menu, the alternative they provided was palatable. The total bill was £47.30 including service, but of that £17.00 was for the wine.

Canova Hall

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address: 250 Ferndale Road SW9 2BQ

telephone: 020 7733 8356

email: bookings@canovahall.com

https://www.canovahall.com/

This is our second visit to this restaurant and we hoped for a better experience than on our first occasion that you can read about here. Luckily it was nothing like the earlier disaster, but service was still a bit slow and they still have a few raw edges to smooth off. We also need to report that we did get an apology following our previous visit and an offer of hospitality in compensation (which we didn’t take up as we are still anonymous).

Canova Hall is based in an iconic building which used to be an annex of the Bon Marche department store and was later the Brixton Post Office. We describe the interior in our  earlier review but, in brief, it’s like a proper brasserie where eating and drinking both have their place. It is a squeeze fitting in six people at a table on the side but we are all reasonably slim, despite all the eating. Continue reading →

A short bus ride away – Peckham Refreshment Rooms

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address: 12–16 Blenheim Grove, London, SE15 4QL

Telephone: 020 8022 2852

http://peckhamrefreshment.com/

Booking via OpenTable

We had been thinking of going to this restaurant for some time, as it has been highly rated by friends. They are open all day for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner, so we dragged ourselves out of our comfort zone and visited with friends on a Saturday evening. They only do a couple of sittings, so we agreed on a 9.00 pm booking. We were on time but the table wasn’t clear, so we had free, and creative cocktails from the bar. Mine was a sort of Kir Royale but with Cherry liqueur but the others were also colourful and refreshing, even the non-alcoholic salted grapefruit.I have been a bit tardy about writing this up and we have lost the bill, so I’m sorry to say that some details are sketchy. There is a short menu and you cannot always depend on what it says, as they run out and substitute ingredients too. With no photos to jog my memory I can’t remember what we had as first courses. But I do recall that we were delighted and all plates were empty.

For the main course we had sea bass, with samphire and clams, which was made even more delicious with roasted lemon (I am a great fan). We also ordered aubergine parmigiana, which was not a great success, as it was more like ratatouille – perfectly tasty but not what was expected.
Finally, there was a bavette steak with hassleback potatoes. The steak was pink but the potatoes weren’t finely cut enough and so were not as crisp as we hoped for. We ordered a side of broccoli with garlic and chilli oil  (substitute for the Kale, which I would never have ordered).

Finally we ordered one, and only one, orange marmalade posset which was smooth and just the right balance of sweet and bitterness of Seville oranges.

We washed it all down with wine – a lot of it and all white.

The bill was large but not as large when you remove the wine. The mains are under £20, starters £6 or 7 and desserts about a fiver. The staff were very helpful and we encourage you to turn up early and have a cocktail.

Christmas in Brixton: Food Banks

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Christmas for many is about sitting and watching the new Dr Who, after stuffing themselves with a roast and wondering whether it’s time to tackle the Chocolate Orange. But some are not so lucky, so we want to offer the chance for everyone to give, as well as receive.

We should, of course, be thinking about our neighbours all year. But at what is a time of gluttony as well as a family celebration (at least it is in our house), we ought to give some thought to whether any of our neighbours have problems feeding themselves and their family.

The report out this week by the Joseph Rowntree Trust (link here) makes it clear that there has been an increase in the number of people who are in poverty. In other words, they don’t have enough money to achieve what is generally considered to be a minimum acceptable standard of living. We can campaign about the unfairness of Universal Credit for the whole year, but we are not going to do much about the economy in the next few weeks. However, we can do our bit to make it a bit better for those at the receiving end of Government policies and one of those ways is to support a local food bank.

We advise giving to our local Food Banks, which offer cheap or free food for families in need. At Christmas, with the longer school holidays, Food Banks need even more than during the rest of the year.

Continue reading →