Address: Arlington Parade, Brixton Hill, Brixton, London SW2 1RH

Telephone: 020 7733 4810

Website: http://www.vera-cruz.co.uk/home

Email:  Vera.Cruz.Brixton@gmail.com

Opening times:

• Monday to Saturday: 7am to 6pm
• Sunday: 8am to 4pm

Brixton isn’t all about the new places. There are plenty of relatively unassuming cafes and restaurants, where the newer Brixtonians will rarely be seen. These places will never be reviewed in Time Out or the Guardian and Vera Cruz is just one of those local places and it has been in our sights for a while. It’s in the small row of shops just at the beginning of Brixton Hill but isn’t looking its best at the moment covered with scaffolding that mean you can easily miss it. We went on the off chance but we guessed that it would have a long stretch at lunchtime – we were right.

The decor consists of red vinyl chairs and Formica tables, walls covered with plastic covered pictures of Madeira. The menu echoes these routes and is much too long to explain. We chose the special (creamy chicken curry and rice or bravas) and picado (pieces of tender sirloin steak cooked in garlic, gravy and red wine sauce).

As you can see from the photo, the chicken curry was creamy and lurid but had little flavour. A bit of salt might have helped. I was worried about the rice but it was good with separated grains.

The picado did not live up to its name – it was good exercise for the jaw and certainly took more than 15 chews. The sauce was ok although had a bit too much cornflour. The best bit one either plate was the chips. Homemade, golden brown and crispy and went well dipped in the gravy.

The really interesting part of this eatery was the choice of reading material on the bar – The Journal of Psychological Studies sounds pretty mainstream but not when it comes from the spiritist psychological society. This is a society that link philosophy and religion to the spirits with three main protagonists God, Jesus and someone called Alan Kardec. I might return just to flick through the pages but this time I will not roam from the egg and chips menu.

The meal for two cost was around £14 including one Coca Cola.

address: 43-44 Brixton Market; Coldharbour Lane, Brixton, London SW9 8PR

telephone: 07894353561

http://www.brixtonvillagegrill.co.uk

This is a fusion of Portuguese and English cuisine – so says the trendy website which also has funky music. We decided to write this review after our second visit as the first was early on when they were just learning the ropes. It was a Saturday and we were worried that we wouldn’t find a table anywhere in Brixton Village but on this Saturday we got lucky with an inside table at BVG. This allowed us to investigate the banksyesque pictures- Winston Churchill with a mohican hairstyle, Thomas the Tank Engine being grafittied and a cute take off of Bart Simpson (but we’ll let you see for yourself). The decor is plain (I’ve given up on the word minimalist) apart from the pictures and the two extra large black chandeliers.  On our first visit we missed all this because we decided to sit outside as the atmosphere inside the restaurant caught at the back of your throat –  burnt fat. But we are glad to report that they seem to have sorted out their kitchen extractor and it was absolutely fine inside this time.

The service was very helpful and pleasant from all the waiters and waitresses as they seem to share responsibilities. This meant we never had to try to attract someone’s attention as someone was always on hand. When we arrived they checked whether we wanted a leisurely meal or to cut and run to our next appointment and then chose a place for us – that made us feel they were taking an interest but also means they can turn over tables quickly.

The food – a short menu which is always a blessing –  is a fish and meat paradise but not much except olives and one main course for vegetarian.It is after all a grill and exactly what you would expect from a Portuguese/English restaurant. There’s steaks, chicken, ribs, and fish – relatively plain but there is peri peri chicken as a starter which may be spicy but we didn’t try it on either of our visits. So for starters we had the rock salt sardines which were good but perhaps could have done with a bit more salt. For main courses we had the ribs,and the fish of he day which was whole sea bream both with chips and salad. The bream was delicious and worth negotiating the bones. The ribs were tasty but a bit chewy. They were washed down with Sagres beer. We asked another table for their views of the red wine and they were in favour of the middle one on the menu – Casa Antiga. For dessert we shared a dime bar cheesecake – a good decision as they don’t go in for meager portions.

Overall we would visit again despite the wealth of choices in Brixton Village. It offers simple well cooked food which they can turn out quickly to a good standard and the relaxed ambiance where you can talk without shouting but still feel a buzz means we will take more friends next time. Later reports suggest that the vegetarian dish was very disappointing so perhaps they need to work on extending their menu to attract all types of customers.

The price per person is probably around £15 – 20 without too much alcohol but a welcome addition is their loyalty card which means that your 6th meal will have a 50%  discount –  so you can save yourself for the future blowout.