After a week of voting we come to the next part of our vote – the top 5!
We have:
Most of these have been Brixton staples for years, aside from Kricket which re emerged in the old Brindisa site a few months ago.
Brixton Market
Casa Morita
Address: Unit 9, Market Row, Brixton Market, SW9 8LB
Website: http://www.casamorita.com/
Email: info@casamorita.com
Phone: 020 8127 5107
Opening times:
Tuesday – Friday 12:00 – 23:30
Saturday 11:00 – 23:30
Sunday 11:00 – 22:30
We had just returned from a brief holiday in Mexico and immediately wanted more Mexican food, so we sauntered over to Casa Morita. We’ve reviewed it before (see here, with apologies for the mis-spelling), so will not go into much detail, but there are now low and high tables and many people come just for a drink. We definitely wanted food.
We went at 6.00pm (that’s how desperate we were), when there was only another couple there, but it filled up quickly, inside and out. There are a number of combinations, including a tasting menu for two to share at £25.00. But we chose to eat three tacos each. You can mix and match the flavours and they specialise in gluten free. You can also go for the Torta – Mexico’s answer to a burger (not gluten free).
There are all the usuals – tacos with meat or vegetables and mole negro – a black sauce made from “30 ingredients” which comes with the chicken. This restaurant advertises itself as “Authentic Mexican Food”, so this was a test.
We ordered two chicken and mole tacos, a taco fresca and three with chorizo and guacamole. The chicken and mole was definitely authentic and even included a little salt that I really missed in Mexico. The mole negro is served lukewarm. The taco fresca is Queso fresco, black beans and jalapeño chilli. They provide extra chilli sauce and this is definitely needed with this taco to give it a depth of flavour before you bite into the jalapeño. The chilli sauce is also a bit smoky, as well as warming. 
The chorizo came with rather warm guacamole which was a bit of a surprise but good nevertheless. The tortillas were soft while not being rubbery, so it was easy to eat everything by hand.
If you have been to Mexico (or just watched Rick Stein’s visit) then this is an eaterie that will give you the real deal. Definitely one to recommend for the things with fillings. The bill including a soft drink and a bottle of beer but before adding anything for service, came to £20.30.
Salon
address – 18 Market Row, Brixton, SW98LD
telephone: 0207 5019152
email: info@salonbrixton.co.uk
Salon has little changed in decor from its previous incarnation. Just a few more tables which are easier to sit at and the arrangement still allows for squeezing past with balanced plates. Downstairs is also now a place to dine on high stools.
Bean and Bun – Vegan Burgers
Website: www.beanandbun.co.uk
Brixton Station Road Market – Saturdays
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bean-and-Bun
As reported before, Brixton Station Road is now a food court with a range of different outlets and have slowly been working our way through them. Coming back from the gym (first time in four years) we stopped to pick up lunch. There are many different foods on offer, but when you have decided on the stall, the choice is generally limited. Although we had given up on Vegan eating at the end of January, this place caught our eye. Continue reading
Brixton Market and Minestrone
Location: Electric Avenue and Pope’s Road, SW9
Brixton Market Traders Association: http://brixtonmarket.net/
This is another post in our occasional series about food shopping in Brixton. By Brixton Market I mean the more traditional street market; the actual stalls in Electric Avenue and Popes Road (Brixton Station Road deserves it’s own entry). It’s just enjoyed/suffered a makeover but the six or so food stalls, mostly selling fresh produce, amid the others with a mix of hats, hardware and other stuff, are still there. It might even still be recognised as a traditional street market by your genuine costermonger, keeping up the ancient tradition of closing down by 5:30 pm or earlier, as well as observing early closing day on Wednesdays. Continue reading
Best restaurant in Brixton 2016 – Top 5 Shortlist
Britain’s Favourite Restaurant 2016 – Top 5 Shortlist
So after around a week and a half of voting we have our shortlist. Click on the below to see what we thought of them.
Again we will be giving around seven days for you to pick your next favourite before the big unveiling next Wednesday. Share and get voting!
Valhalla
address: 29 Market Row, SW9 8LB
We have tried many times to visit this sandwich bar but their opening times are erratic to say the least. It seems to be closed for most of the week and even on a Friday they seem to lag behind everyone else. It was pot luck on a Saturday lunchtime that we walked past, it was open and we were hungry. This is a small Danish sandwich bar – understated with minimal interior of just four tables and another small collection in market row.
The menu is also understated but has breakfast and lunch with eggs of various sorts and toasted sandwiches with vegetarian options. We had a hot dog with Danish mayonnaise and a focaccia cheese toastie, with tea and an Americano. The food is not horrible but it is unremarkable. If you want a straight sandwich then it’s fine.
But prepare for a leisurely lunch, so don’t go too hungry. The service is very slow – presumably because they do not get much practice. Each sandwich is made to order which in our eyes (and stomachs) is a definite plus but then they do everything in series not in parallel, even though several of us were ordering the same thing. This is not a frenetic kitchen. It has zen-like calm but it did mean we sat for 35 minutes with cups of cooling tea and coffee waiting for something to arrive. We felt that they only noticed us and paid some attention when we did finally plucked up the courage to ask where the food was. We were offered another beverage but by then I just wanted to go home. The total bill for two sandwiches and drinks was £13.70 and they only take cash.
Butcher Shops in Brixton
Jones the Butcher,
Address: 1 Dulwich Rd, London SE24 0NT
020 7274 4629
Opening Hours: Mon: 05:00 – 12:30; Tue: 05:00 – 12:30 Wed: 05:00 – 12:30 Thu: 05:00 – 13:00; Fri: 05:00 – 13:00; Sat: 09:00 – 13:00
Dombey & Son,
19 Market Row, Brixton, London, SW9 8LB
020 7274 1035
Opening Hours:: Tue: 07:30 – 17:30; Wed: 07:30 – 15:30; Thu: 07:30 – 17:30; Fri: 07:30 – 17:45; Sat: 06:30 – 17:45
Michael’s Meat Market
49 Atlantic Rd London SW9 8JL
020 7737 1069
There’s no shortage of places to buy meat in Brixton and we cannot claim to have tried them all. We are also not great meat eaters, at least when eating at home. Nevertheless, it’s time we had a look at butchers in our series of reports on Brixton food shops. The trouble is that while there are lots of shops selling meat, there are not that many I consider proper butchers. Also when you see a secondhand supermarket trolley full of carcasses being wheeled down Atlantic Road it does make you think of being a vegetarian. But there are places I have found that can be relied upon to provide value for money. Continue reading
Brixton Flavours Festival
So.Much.Food. From sushi and brownies to chicken and tortillas and crepes I have actually only recently regained my appetite after our gluttonous evening in preparation for the brand new festival Brixton Flavours. With the actual day not until Sunday 26th October we were invited to see what the whole thing was all about this week and also apparently to eat our whole body weight in food.
Brixton Flavours states that it is a festival to introduce people to the wide variety of cuisines and restaurants that our beloved hometown has to offer. It was clear from the way the organisers spoke that that they were committed to making sure that they didn’t just go to the well-known haunts in town, but to showcase all that Brixton has on offer. This is something that we at Eat in Brixton are always striving to achieve so it’s brilliant to see others with such passion as well. The day ticket holders are invited to sample secret dishes not usually available on the menu from over 22 restaurants around Brixton (full list of those participating can be found here). You will also be given 15 Brixton pounds to spend in any of the participating restaurants, so incorporating the idea of boosting the local economy.
Carioca
address: 25-27 Market Row, Brixton, SW9 8LD
http://www.primadonnabrixton.co.uk
This is formally Prima Donna and has now become definitely authentic Brazilian so it now has a USP (unique selling point). It is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and not much has changed except the menu since its earlier incarnation. There are a few tables inside and they are not crowded together so you can hear yourself think above the music – much more Brazilian than previously. There are also tables in the market corridor.
Breakfast is a full English or with a twist (smoked iberico pancetta, free-range scrambled eggs & baked tomato slices on ciabatta – showing multiple influences again as iberico is from Spain and pancetta from Italy). You can be very conservative with the hamburger made with Brazilian beef (seems a long way to go for that ingredient). But we arrived in the evening – 7.00pm to miss the crowds. There is a fixed price two course menu and we chose from that one as it had all the interest we needed. It also did offer an excessive choice, which is something we are both wary . For starters there were – spicy chicken wings. braised beef empanadas, beetroot and blue cheese salad and Pao de queijo with choizo (a sort of cheese roll usually made with cassava flour but we didn’t try this one). The main course were Feijoada described as Brazil’s national dish. A stew made from black beans cooked with an assortment of meat (chorizo, pork ribs, beef and pork); Chicken Caipira – braised chicken; Arepa, which is a flatbread made of maize filled (or they say stuffed) with pulled beef and vegetables; and finally Courgette, Potato and Leek Frittata, which is an explanation in itself. THe main menu also has more grilled items like spare ribs and steak and cassava chips. Continue reading
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