Cannon and Cannon

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address   – 18 Market Row, Brixton, SW98LD

telephone: 0207 5019152

email:  info@cannonandcannon.com

http://www.cannonandcannon.com/say-hello/

Cannon and Cannon is in the less fashionable part of Market Row and is mainly a shop selling bread, cold meat and cheese with pickles and other mainly English goodies. The shop is on the ground floor and above is a large room with the usual odd mix of large and small tables and chairs and even a couple of vinyl covered bar stools next to a raised bar against the wall. The room is very light as it has windows on two sides with views on the busy market below.

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Crown and Anchor

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Address: 246 Brixton Road, SW9 6AQ

Telephone: 0207 737  0060

Opening Hours: Mon – Thurs: 4.30 – 12, Fri: 4.30 – 1, Sat: 12 – 1, Sun: 12 – 11

After having meant to visit this pub since it reopened many months ago we headed down on Thursday evening to finally check the place out. The reason it probably took a bit longer for us to pay a visit is mainly because of its location. About a 10 minute walk from Brixton station, if you are hungry and don’t fancy a walk you probably won’t make it down there as there are plenty of options much closer to (our) home. Located opposite the infamous ‘after party’ location for Brixton Academy gigs, Jamm, this isn’t a part of town that has experienced the surge in restaurants and bars that central Brixton has. That’s why it is quite nice to get out of the main hub. Located on the corner of Brixton road, just by the entrance to Slade Gardens, the Crown and Anchors front is a welcome and shiny addition to the run down and very empty shops that line that end of Brixton Road. The pub is long and thin with high ceilings with plenty of tables, although I don’t see where a big group could really sit together without some manoeuvring.

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Brixton – Washington DC

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address: 901 U St. NW,  WASHINGTON, DC 20009
telephone: 202-560-5045

http://www.brixtondc.com/

Is imitation the sincerest form of flattery? We decided to see if it was after noting a post on Urban75 (here) that there was a Brixton bar and restaurant in Washington. We were also interested in the ‘gentrification’ issues that the bars in this area had generated, as they seemed similar to those being discussed in Brixton blogs.

The Brixton is a “concept” bar with food. It was opened by a company called Brixton that herald from San Francisco and they make clothes. We believe (the barman told us) that they were originally from South London. But this is not any part of South London that we have been in. The surrounding streets were part of a mainly black community (so that’s the same). In fact Obama chose Ben’s Chili Bowl which is just along the street from the Brixton to emphasise his black credentials and there is a monument to Afro-americans who fought in the War of Independence. The area is now being “gentrified” with new businesses mainly being run by white entrepreneurs – hence the discussion thread on Urban75.

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Bellantoni’s – Now closed

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address: Unit 81, Brixton Village Market, SW9

telephone: 078 7294 5675

For information see http://www.bellantonis.co.uk/Welcome.html

After a Christmas break the chef proprietor Dario Bellantoni has returned.  Easy to detect how the name of this Italian restaurant came about. But it is difficult to understand where some of the additional comments below their name come from but more in a minute. It is spread across two sides of an alleyway in Brixton Village with one side an open kitchen and a few tables and on the other a small dining room – in between the windswept alleyway with tables which is where we ended up – only daring to remove our gloves to eat. But in the summer — you guessed it — we ended up in the dining room as all the other tables were full. The dining room was empty for most of our meal which meant we could easily talk above the din of the busy Sunday lunch crowd.

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Upstairs

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UpstairsAddress: 89B Acre Lane, entrance on Branksome Road, SW2 5TN

Telephone: 020 7733 8855

http://www.upstairslondon.com/web/index.html

We are realising the need to update our posts and so will be repeating the old information and changing our views (if we think they are different from before). For this restaurant we are only heaping more praise so read on.

Finding and getting in to Upstairs is a feat in itself. Although the restaurant overlooks Acre Lane the door is in Branksome Road and even with these instructions it can be missed. There is a doorbell just round the corner of Acre Lane and a discreet notice. After ringing, the door mysteriously opens and you enter a two up two down house – although in fact it is three floors. The first floor now contains a much reduced bar area where you might stop for an aperitif next to the fire or continue “upstairs” to the main dining  room –  minute but not seemingly crowded. The bar area has now been converted to include more tables presumably because of its popularity and consistent quality.

Who would believe that such a secretive restaurant would be so good and so consistent. Although the secret is out and we definitely can’t now appear without a booking. This is an Anglo-French restaurant with a good but blessedly short menu of fish, meat and vegetarian courses. All are wonderful. On a previous occasion I couldn’t make up my mind so we had the tasting menu.  Never a bum note in the list. Lots of interest and changes not too drastic between courses. On our most recent visit we chose the a la carte menu and again were pleased with everything. Small soups with intense flavours and things made of beetroot stick in my mind. We went with a discerning wine drinker and the wine was good and not expensive. The cocktails too are interesting and fizzy wine very palatable.

Everything on the menu changes by the season so there is always something of interest. This is not cheap eating establishment but is a place for celebration or a quiet dinner for two or four. Conversation is easy to make and the service is very good and not at all intrusive but at the same time informative. For people who have had the cocktails trying to remember what we ordered was a little tough so a reminder at each course was really welcomed.

You definitely should book as it is only open for dinner and not then on every night. When we went on a Thursday it was relatively clear as the tables in the downstairs room seemed to be empty. So probably a late booking would be fine. You can book direct or through toptable.

Eating on a Monday

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This is not a usual post on this site as it is not about a new restaurant. It isn’t that there are no new ones opening it’s is just that we are waiting for them to settle down (e.g. Cannon and Cannon in Brixton Market). But we have recently come across a problem so thought we might address it here.

The issue is where to eat on a Monday evening. This is never a popular day to eat. Perhaps it’s because we have gorged ourselves on the Sunday roast or that the chef needs at least one day off a week. But all over London most restaurants are closed on Mondays. In Brixton the list is endless – including of course all those in the market (although you can still squeeze into Seven if you don’t mind eating very early). It’s a little more promising along Atlantic Road with Kaff open seven days a week, with food served daily until 10.00 pm. That’s because the kitchen is off site so they only reheat it. However you can have an all day breakfast at Lounge, which then closes at 5.00 pm. Irritatingly some restaurant websites do not have their opening times (e.g. Khan’s) so it needs lots of phone calls to assess whether they will be open.

Along Acre Lane, Veranda, Brixton’s gourmet Caribbean restaurant, is tantalisingly open but only for a themed evening in the bar with table football and cocktails. Further along at 6.30pm, Upstairs is closed and so is Khamsa. Eventually you get to Boqueria, the tapas bar and it is an oasis. The bar is open for ice cold sherry and the restaurant is open for its full menu including the large chalk board of specials.

When we arrived at Boqueria at 6.45 pm it was sparsely populated, but we were not the only ones who had eventually found sustenance. So this is the place to go when the thought of the reheated Friday night Indian food or a plate of cold risotto is unappealing. It is also much quieter on a Monday, so you can actually have a conversation, sometimes tough in most popular restaurants. This one has bare walls and lots of glass so the sound just keeps bouncing around.

We left early (well it was a Monday) but after our fill of padron peppers, chorizo, fried aubergine and other delicacies (not an adjective we often give to a tapas). We washed it down with Rioja and manzanilla. We also had good service. This is not always the case in Boqueria as on other visits they have been caught out by a “rush” without enough staff. On one occasion we even found it difficult to pay the bill as no-one seemed to be paying any attention to turning over the tables quickly. But on a Monday there is a lot of attention with the food arriving at a steady pace (also lacking on the previous occasions).

So we welcome comments on other restaurants in Brixton which are open on a Monday (apart from the pubs) to add to our current very short list.

More recommendations for where to eat in Brixton on a Monday from our lovely Twitter followers

  • Negril (Carribean – 132 Brixton Hill)
  • Khan’s of Brixton (Indian – 24 Brixton Water Lane)
  • Ichiban (Japanese – 58a Atlantic Road)
  • Fujiyama (Japanese – 5-7 Vining Street)

Trinity Arms

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Address: 45 Trinity Gardens, SW9 8DR

Telephone: 0207 274 4544

http://www.trinityarms.co.uk/

Situated in a hidden spot, right near the main hub of Brixton, a short walk from the tube station and surrounded by old Victorian Houses and a housing estate, the Trinity Arms has for many years been spoken of as a surprising delight in Brixton. With a good mix of locals, visitors and after work drinkers this is a Young’s pub that doesn’t pretend to be anything else than a good old fashioned local boozer. Although with a lick of paint and some new furniture last year made it seem slightly more ‘gastro pubby’ than many would prefer, it still retains the old charm that so many loved.

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Khan’s of Brixton

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Address:  24 Brixton Water Lane, London SW2 1PE

Telephone: 020 7326 4460

Booking on the website too:  http://www.khansbrixton.co.uk/

This is an old favourite of many people but at eatinbrixton we have only managed to have a takeaway so  we decided to visit in person on a rainy tuesday evening. When we arrived it was completely empty except for the two waiters and so we got to view the interior of stylish leather covered chairs (very comfortable) and plain cream and mustard yellow relatively unadorned walls. The TV, which presumably is to keep the waiters happy, was muted and we were not drawn to the picture, even though it was Eastenders.

The restaurant did fill up over the course of half an hour with people celebrating birthdays (the waiters happily took the birthday cake) and with people coming for a takeaway and the service was impeccable with everything coming reasonably quickly and without too much fuss and bother, or without feeling rushed.

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Bukowski Grill

~ eatinbrixton ~ 5 Comments

Address: Unit 10, Market Row, Brixton Market, SW9 8JX, London
Telephone: (temp) 07973663105

email:info@bukowski-grill.co.uk

http://www.bukowski-grill.co.uk/

This is the latest of the pop-up restaurants in Brixton Market. Already with a location in Shoreditch, their experience in the restaurant business is clear, with the place running smoothly although only just opened. It is in the heart of Market Row, which nowadays seems to have restaurant after restaurant popping up each week, making it almost seem like a food court rather than the market it once was.Inside one wall is stripped down to the bricks and the other they seem to have stopped half way and the only decoration is the fluorescent tube of the name Bukowski along one wall. Tables are for two or four and on a Friday night spill out into Market Row. Lighting is simple and was turned down for more atmosphere as the evening progressed. It was quite noisy so the music being played in the background seemed a little pointless.

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Jalisco

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Address: 1, 48 & 49 Granville Arcade, Brixton Village Market, SW9 8PR

Jalisco is a Mexican restaurant just opposite the very popular Kaosarn in Brixton Village. As it was previously a Columbian restaurant (which unfortunately we never got to try out) I must honestly say we didn’t notice that the place had changed hands, so when we headed out for an evening of Columbian food we were very surprised.

I feel that I may mention a lot in these reviews that I have one ultimate type of food that is classed as my favourite, Japanese, Thai etc. but I’m going to carry on regardless by saying that Mexican really is up there as some of my all-time favourite foods. With the spices, coriander, sour cream, guacamole, meat or fish and a big dash of heat, the flavours and ingredients of Mexican food make it too perfect for words. That said getting good Mexican food in London is hard. Yes you have the Wahaca’s and your Chipolte’s, but good local decent Mexican food is a rarity I find. Although there is already the staple Mexican in Market Row, Casa Morita, our visit there wasn’t incredible and we haven’t returned since, mainly because we found it way overpriced for the quality and quantity of food served. El Panzon is the complete opposite.

With a kind of disarrayed decoration to the place and tables outside to sit on, which I’m sure will be lovely if this darn Summer would arrive, this is quite a basic restaurant. There is also an upstairs seating area which we didn’t get to see, but makes me feel comfortable that there will be no Honest Burger type problems with getting a table if I wanted to return.

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