30 Wandsworth Road, London SW8 2LG

Home

Tel: +44 (0)20 7720 2926

Just a couple of minutes walk from Vauxhall tube and an interesting restaurant inside an architectural reclaim house that was once the domain of the Duke of Brunswick, although that’s going back a few centuries. The dining room is lit by a large number of low hanging chandeliers and has more swags that would not be out of place in a stately home. They all add to an intimate dining experience with the deep brown tables and chairs echoing this restaurant’s less than humble past. As the weather is improving you can also eat out on the terrace where the plants provide a barrier between you and the noise of traffic.

This was a lunchtime venue with a friend to talk (well mainly gossip) and we were able to do that without being overheard and unlike many places without having to shout. For lunch there are two options – one pretty cheap with two choices per course and two courses is only £15 although fries are extra. We didn’t stick to the set lunch but chose from both options. with starters, mains and a pudding.

As it was a little while ago I may be guessing and after staring at the picture below I can only think of gherkins but it looks like a fish pate of some kind but I am told by my partner in crime that it was …. pork rillette

Then another starter – described as Smoked Beetroot, Fior Di Latte, Marcona Almond

Further detective work on the set lunch menu says it is middle white sausage, Puy lentils and mustard.

I remember this one as it was a treat – Roasted Cauliflower, Baby Leeks, Coriander Chutney, Yeast Crisp – good textures and flavours.

Puddings don’t change as frequently but even so I can’t guess this one but it could be cheesecake with goat’s cheese – although that isn’t on the menu!.

Finally – I do know this is the Lincolnshire Poacher, Honey, Cornichon with some lovely salty crackers. We drank water and Alvarinho white wine that was delicious.

What you really wanted to know was whether we liked it – we did. We thought the quality of the food was really good especially given the overall cost. Lost the bill but you can guess from the price of the set menu. Well worth a visit and for me … a return one.

Address: 432 Coldharbour Lane, SW9 8FN

Internet: Clutch Smoked Meats & Burgers

Clutch is new but has a similar menu to the previous incarnation of this restaurant but now has lots of meat on the menu. Its long and on their website but contains chicken, beef, lamb, fish and veggie options in burgers, on skewers, in wraps and layered in pasta. They also have smoked meats. Starters are the usual hummus, falafel, chicken wings, halloumi and spicy potatoes. We ordered one starter to share – chicken wings and then two mains – beef brisket and Korean chicken each with a side of chips or cheesy chips.

As you can see the brisket was a large amount of meat with coleslaw and a variety of sauces. It was definitely enough without any starter and I didn’t manage to finish.

The Korean chicken was really delicious but we might have overdone the cheesy chips – eyes bigger than stomach sort of thing. The chicken wings were coated in a crumb and were not very nice to eat. We had hoped for some crispy skin but it was wet underneath the crumb so our advice is to swerve that one.

This is a fast food restaurant and they want to move people on quickly. We got the main before the starter so sent it back and asked for the starter to come first. We waited ages and finally the chicken wings turned up. So if you really want a starter make it clear that it needs to come first. Next time we will just order amins to share as it was certainly enough to eat.

We ordered a Fanta and a “best of passion” a lime, passion fruit and pineapple mocktail. Very nice and only £6.99. The bill came to £50.53 including 12.5% service (not optional). We will return but maybe get a takeaway if we are not wanting to eat at breakneck speed.

132 Brixton Hill, SW2 1RS

https://www.flavapepper.com/

Email: dine@flavapepper.com

Phone: 020 4568 7045

Sunday: 12 – 6 pm

Monday & Tuesday – Closed

Wednesday & Thursday: 5 – 9:30 pm

Friday: 5 – 10:00 pm

Saturday: 1 – 10:30 pm

This restaurant used to be Jamaican but now it has a twist to Barbados with Bajan food – all with a twist of Flava Pepper and Jason Howard. This is Caribbean food beyond just heat, although there is some scotch bonnet too. It is a cosy restaurant with wooden tables, white chairs, floral artwork, and a chalkboard menu – although we did also get our menu on paper too. On the night we went I had booked so we weren’t disappointed but we ended up as the only four people in the restaurant sharing with just a line of takeaway drivers – it was a Thursday.

There are many things on the menu – starters including soup and wings – we chose fish cakes to share. The mains include jerk and curry goat and sharing plates. On a Saturday there is also Cou-cou and Steamed fish or pudding and chicken or pickled pork. We ordered Curry goat, curry chicken and Bajan BBQ chicken. They all come with sides like rice and peas and plantain. We don’t have a picture of the plates at the end but take it from me we did our best but no-one can finish a whole plateful. They were right about the spice not heat so subtle flavours that we all enjoyed.

I must remember not to start on the plantain first! We had no space for dessert.

We drank beer – Bajan Banks – and a rum punch. The total bill for four of us was £159.75 as it includes 12.5% service charge so about £40 per person including the alcohol. We might be back on a Saturday to try the specials.

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

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

Home

Llewelyn’s has been through many iterations but is still going strong as shown by the clientele on Friday lunchtime. This was a business/pleasure luncheon, so we were prepared to do some serious eating and drinking. We ate inside as the weather was inclement and to cheer ourselves up had a cocktail. Both of us chose a blackberry martini which was small and sweet with hidden depths (no idea what they were but it was definitely alcoholic).

Despite the reviews about the speed of the service (too fast) ours wasn’t slow but was not at the breakneck speed others have commented on. It was also not too loud, but there were no big groups celebrating on Friday lunchtime. We were able to have a civilized conversation and swap gossip! The lunchtime menu is not long, which is a blessing. It has vegetarian options, but we are omnivores. We chose a couple of the nibbles to share – boquerones (anchovies in oil and vinegar) and coppa (dry cured pork neck fillet, similar to prosciutto but that comes from the hind leg). Given the relatively small offering, the coppa was expensive but delicious.

Then we missed the starter section which has three vegetarian offers as well as chicken livers and sardines and all looked interesting. There were five mains on the menu with one veggie option, two fish and two meat. Again, we headed into the carnivore section with pork belly (with boudin noir (black pudding), celeriac and apple sauce) and the roast mallard (with quince, water cress and bread sauce). We had a side order of crispy potatoes and aoli. The pork belly looked very inviting, crispy skin and a delicious centre. This dish had an additional part not mentioned on the menu – roasted red cabbage. Some was left on the plate as it was a little hard to cut and chew on.

I loved the accompaniments to the duck – the bread sauce and quince. I was warned about “shot” appearing in the mallard and to be careful when chewing. In the end shot was absent. I would have liked the duck to have been rested as blood ran out and it was a bit tough, but I almost finished it, so it was clearly tasty.

The crispy potatoes were crispy and the aoili delicious – we didn’t finish them all – a sacrilege but I was leaving room for pudding.

There are three desserts to choose from and I had the Clementine Choux bun with sea buckthorn. I still don’t really know what the sea buckthorn tastes of – I guess it is tart, but the orange flavour either overwhelmed or complimented the cream and the choux. Anyway, we were so engaged in our conversation that I ate it (with help) before we realised that we hadn’t taken a photo. I would order again as it was delicious and not too sweet. My lunch companion had a sweet wine to finish – Szlachetny Zbior which he reported was good. We think it is Polish.

We were both full and not hassled about the table (despite the information on their website), so had a leisurely lunch with alcohol. As well as the cocktail and the sweet wine, we also had a bottle of Bergerac rouge and a single small glass of Cauzon Tinto – neither were the most but certainly not the least expensive on the menu. This is not a cheap restaurant but we did spend £83 on alcohol so you could make the bill much lower – ours came to £211.39 including 12.5% service. The food only came to £105.00. We may go again when we have made our New Year resolutions and will try to stick to them.

Pop Brixton, 49 Brixton Station Rd, London SW9 8PQ

Open: Wednesday to Sunday: 12:00 noon to 10:00 pm

Website: https://uhk-dogsnjuicy.com/

This new stall is an added new choice to the culinary variety and vibrance of Pop Brixton. This is a challenge not only for the appetite but is also a trial for thinking speed. Most people have heard of Korean fried chicken – delicious but this is far away from that. Think lollipop. First you need to know that a K-dog is a Korean specialty popular in the night markets of Seoul. But that explanation doesn’t prepare you for the “sausage” wrapped in dough and covered in whatever you like. Options are numerous and one is sugar – yes sugar.

They do try to make your choice as easy as possible by dividing it into three. 1. Choose your “dog” – turkey, corn, vegetarian or vegan. 2. choose the wrapping – the dough is impregnated with a wide variety of things you didn’t associate with a hot dog like Ramen. 3. choose your sauces – up to three some of which we had heard of like tomato ketchup and garlic mayonaise.

We chose the French Fries K-dog with a vegetarian sausage and tomato ketchup and sriracha (couldn’t be asked to choose three) and a classic (right) with a chicken/turkey sausage and garlic mayo and parmesan. We also had one carton of fries and ate the feast in front of a football match with a bottle of water.

So what did we think – well it was quite exciting. It is relatively fast food as it takes 8 minutes in the fryer and they do warn you. It is a messy meal but fun too. Although we finished the classic and the fries we only had two thirds of the French Fries K-Dog. It isn’t a meal to share and most of the sauce didn’t go down the front of us but that required concentrated effort – two sauces is definitely enough. It was £19.00 for the two K-dogs and something for the water and fires on top. So not a cheap fast meal though very filling. We will return when we are completely unconcerned about calories or need our stomach lined for a long night.

Coldharbour Lane, Brixton, SW9 8LQ

Telephone: 07802 473444

Website: https://franzinatrattoria.com/

Open everyday from 12.30 pm to 11 pm: except Tuesday 6-11 pm

This is not the first time we have visited Franzina Trattoria; you can find our other reviews here when we ate in and here for when we had a home delivery. On this occasion, we went with two friends, so we could try more dishes. We went on a Tuesday after the bank holiday for the Queen’s funeral and it was relatively empty, as were all the restaurants down Coldharbour Lane. The decor has not changed, stripped back and with most tables not too rocky – a perennial problem across Brixton. There is a reasonable menu on one side of the table mat and on the other side is the drinks, making it possible to re-check what you were eating. There is also an extra menu of specials which is also on the blackboard. This Sicilian-style trattoria serves small plates (some not so small) and homemade pasta with various sauces.

Continue reading →