Brixton Village

Noko

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48-49 Brixton Village, SW9 8PR

Tel: 020 3793 0874

This is a newish restaurant at the Coldharbour Lane end of Brixton Village. It has only been open for a week, so it is on its soft launch. It is part of a small south London chain and serves Asian food and is definitely a place to try with cash in your pocket, as they don’t yet have any credit card services. But this is a blessing as you get a discount on the food you buy. Sit on small tables or at a counter watching passers by.

On Saturday the menu contained – snacks, noodles, dumplings, robato (skewers), “plates” including sake seabass and fried chicken any style. There are enough vegetarian options to produce an interesting meal. We chose Dan Dan noodles (as recommended) that includes a lot of garlic, peanuts, sesame and soy sauce, skewers of pork belly, skewers of broccoli and tahini as well as grilled aubergine. We were very hungry so we tucked in before taking pictures. There could have been prettier shots – blame our appetite.

The grilled aubergine was soft and delicious and relatively easy to eat with chopsticks. The pork belly was spicy and simple to eat with the fat giving a lovely flavour. The tahini and roasted broccoli florets was a revelation – just the right crispness and sweetness and a relief from all the chilli. Noodles were spicy too but also soft and our waitress cut them up and tossed them in the delicious sauce. We stopped there – we were full and thought we will visit again very soon especially with the 20% discount as an incentive.

We washed it down with water and a glass of a passionfruit drink. The bill came to £27.00 with the 20% discount and including service.

The Mac Factory

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Website: https://brixtonvillage.com/trader/the-mac-factory/

Address: 7 First Avenue, Brixton Village,  SW9 8PR

Opening times: Tuesday to Sunday: 8am – midnight

We are losing pace with the blogs. We try to compete them a little time after a visit so that no-one can put a name to a face and we are then anonymous. However, this means they sometimes disappear before we publish. This one has but it may be back so keep your fingers crossed.

This was a new addition to Brixton Village is the takeaway (or eat perched on a stool) New York styled pasta and pizza shop. Pasta is, of course, macaroni accompanied by set of “cool” titles and pizza slices or a large whole pizza (about £27). Pizza includes Margarita, Peperoni, Mushroom (with whipped ricotta), and Ground beef (with chili and red onion). Pasta stretches beyond the macaroni, to include fettucine, spaghetti, and rigatoni.

The six types of macaroni are cooked on site and in front of you. Called Nostalgic (a signature cheese blend), La Med Babe (basil pesto, semi dried tomato, baby mozzarella) ……. you see what I mean about the titles. We ordered the La Med Babe and a Hey Mac A Rena (beef chili con carne, jalapeno, sour cream and tortilla crisps).

They were both great although mine was too big for one person and maybe a little too much cheese.

Spicy and crispy – there was an empty box by the end.

We had a takeaway as it was a little chilly in Brixton Village. Food cost £20.00 with no drinks, although they do have beer. We were full and one box had about half left over for the following day, so definitely reasonable.

House of Momo

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Address: Granville Arcade, Text

Unit 71-72

Website: https://houseofmomo.co.uk/

It isn’t often that we wander round Brixton Village and find space in any of the food outlets but on this occasion we were lucky. Then we discovered that we were not really lucky as House of Momo is open 7 days a week – so no baked bean Mondays. The restaurant is inside and outside. We chose inside, one of the few tables available, as it was a bit cool in the Village corridor. Decor is limited – wooden benches and tables but little on the walls as most is window.

A Momo is a steamed and filled dumpling from Nepal or Tibet. It is usually served with a sauce called Achar. They offer steamed and steamed and fried momos filled with Chicken, Veg, Cheese & veg or Beef, but also there are Thalis, curry, fried rice and noodles or a combination (Combo) of rice or chow mein together with momos.

We chose two “combos” – fried rice and chicken steamed momos covered with sweet, hot and spicy sauce and steamed and fried momos filled with beef on top of chow mein with that same sauce.

We liked the steamed dumplings but the fried ones when cooler were a bit tough so we recommend sticking to the steamed ones – alternatively order the fried ones separately as a starter, so you can definitely eat them while they’re hot. We liked the noodles and the fried rice – both were very big portions and spicy, the rice a little more than the noodles. The veg additions gave them some texture and a bit of a bite.

They were very large portions, so we were too full for dessert.

There were soft drinks, juices, beers, wine, whiskey (Hibiki and Nikka!) and mixers like gin and tonic as well as a tea selection. We washed everything down with water, a mango lassi and a beer.

The bill was £36.00 and we were full. Service was fast and we could easily have made it to the Ritzy for a later show, but we returned to lolling on the sofa while we digested all this food. We will return when we are not on a calorie-controlled diet.

The Joint

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Address: 4th Avenue, Brixton Village Market SW9 8PS

telephone: 07717 642812

https:thejointldn.com

We don’t buy much meat but on occasion we just want to tuck in. This was that occasion on a trip round Brixton Village on a Friday with few places to spare – even though early. We have reviewed this restaurant before and on this occasion went inside out of the clamour of the hallways. As always we ordered a lot, but not as much as our neighbours, who were definitely flagging. They say on the website that this is not fine dining and they are right, it is meat and a sauce so be prepared to get your hands sticky.

The offer is wings, pulled pork, burgers and ribs and for the faint-hearted a halloumi burger or tacos without the meat. Luckily only three sauces to choose from – BBQ, Spicy, Korean. There are also sides, the usual fries or the sweet potato or cheesy variety. Neither of us went for the deep fried mac and cheese bites and we disowned any salad – we wanted to concentrate.

First up there was a large order of BBQ wings – large means large and I was probably ok with the children’s version. They were as they suggest, luscious, sticky and eaten with fingers although they do provide a dainty fork.

Then there was the large portion of ribs – Korean sauce accompanying it just to get a sweat on. Again these are hard to handle and need some delicate cutting to get it finger sized. But it was as promised hot and meaty and very, very large.

Of course we couldn’t eat without fries, but we were conservative and chose the chips that come with salt and are just the right crunch.

The bill for Joint came to £33.75 inclusive of one beer and service. The large sized meat orders are £10.00 each and we suggest sharing.

We did think that we were full but wandered past Kaspas Desserts in Rushcroft Road and had two of their cornets – there must be a second stomach for desserts. We cannot remember what they cost, but it was very little, and we cannot remember what flavour we chose, but they were both delicious.

Ice creams from Kaspas – https://kaspas.co.uk/ Unit 3, 11 Rushcroft Road, SW2 1JH

Danclair’s Kitchen

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Address: Brixton Village, SW9 8PR

Phone: 020 7737 4888

Web: Danclairs Kitchen

This is a very new addition to Brixton Village and a very welcome one. They serve a variety of tapas-style Caribbean food which means you can try a few to share. They also have a good drinks menu involving Jamaican-style concoctions like Pink Ting and White Duppy Share as well as wine and beer – not just Red Stripe but some from Trinidad along with the Brixton variety.

We chose barbecue wings with Guava glaze, Marinated King Prawns with tamarind sauce, Fish, Wings and Tings famous cod fish fritters with garlic and lime aioli and sides of potato fries (we decided against the cassava ones) and, for our health, a salad.

Nothing was too hot but the chili or the pepper added a lovely warmth. The wings were just right, meat falling off the bone and the guava adding a foil for the barbecue sauce. We were delighted to find that we didn’t have to pick our way over the prawns as someone had thoughtfully removed the middle part of the shell. The tamarind sauce was spicy so only a little was needed to prevent the prawn being overwhelming but it was good to dip the chips into.

Cod balls straight from the fryer are a delight with the garlicky sauce. I am not sure what the difference is between aoli and may is so i looked it up. The difference is that aioli is made from garlic and olive oil while mayo is made with egg yolks and oil. The chips were good and not soggy to the last one and we could use all the sauces as well as the ketchup I ordered. The salad was ok but we only ordered it so that we had some vegetables on the table.

We didn’t go thirsty and as it wasn’t a school night we ordered a Pink Tingaling (pink ting which has grapefruit in it and duppy Share rum) and a Mojito – both were refreshing and not too sweet.

The bill came to £60.50 without the tip but including £20.50 of drink so not cheap but a good evening as the service was at just the right pace. Reducing the bill means switching to water. We will definitely go again as we saw the tempura prawns and the fried pepper calamari on another table and they looked really appetizing.

Whipped

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65 Brixton Village, SW9 8PS

https://whippedlondon.com/

Whipped is a new addition to Brixton Village. It is on a corner opposite Le Brixton Deli on the way to Lost in Brixton. There is another shop in Covent Garden. They focus on four things – baked cheesecake, cookie dough (never understood this), blondies, and brownies. The choice is tough, even though we decided to only look at the cheesecake, but there is a really helpful person who can help you meander to a choice.

The decision is fruit or not (blueberry, apple crumble etc) or nuts (peanut butter) or caramel (on most of them but there is Dulce de Leche as well) or chocolate (comes in most of them but there is red velvet, cookies and cream with white chocolate)……. and these are the ones I can remember. Lots of choice, so an excuse to go back for more.

We chose apple crumble and peanut butter. The slices are as American as the choice – very large. We got them to takeaway and we advise on more sustainable packaging especially as it was really hard to open the plastic containers without getting your hands all creamy.

The apple crumble had a good dose of apple and was delicious.

The peanut butter was a tower of delicious flavours – crunchy bottom, a dark chocolate brownie then baked cheesecake and topped with a fluffy cream with peanut butter oozing – a very good idea as peanut butter can be very cloying. It was topped with colourful mini Reece’s pieces for crunch and an extra burst of peanut butter.

We have commented on the size – we ate them for a delicious, but totally unhealthy dinner. We advise that you buy two and share over two dinners if only to save on the waistline and avoid leaving any on the plate. They cost £10.00 for two.

The Tapas Room Brixton

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Address: Unit 52/53, Brixton Village SW9 8PS

Opening times:

Tuesday to Thursday – 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm

Friday & Saturday – 1:00 pm to 10:00 pm

Sunday & Monday – closed

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

Email: info@tapasroom.co.uk

This new restaurant and wine bar in Brixton Village is at the back, along the alley with the African shops. It is a relation of the Donostia Social Club, which was a winner of the eatinbrixton public vote, when it was originally in Pop Brixton. It has now moved into multiple sites so clearly our public spotted the potential. Continue reading →

Mamalan – takeaway

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Unit 18, Brixton Village, SW9 8PR

https://mamalan.co.uk/brixton/

Opening times: Monday 11:30am – 4pm, Tuesday to Sunday 11:30am to 10pm

You can Click and Collect or go through Deliveroo.

I usually save the punchline for the end of the review but I have to say – this is the best Chinese takeaway I have had in many years. We are long-term fans and have reviewed the restaurant before (see here, here and here). It is currently possible to eat outside, but for our Friday night treat we ordered through Deliveroo and ate in the confines of our house.

The menu is just the right length – long enough for variety, but not overwhelming with the suspicion that they are over-extended. It has everything you might expect from its Beijing roots – stir fry, noodle soups, bao buns, salads and posh sides (Dumplings, Hot wings, prawn toast, spring rolls etc.). The list is different on the website and Deliveroo. But they do now have meals for two and cater for vegans. We chose the miso wings, Sesame oil Chicken noodle salad, the miso, tofu rice and some prawn crackers.It comes in paper boxes or bags and is clearly marked – a blessing if some look similar to each other so preventing a few mouthfuls before you swap boxes. First the wings – bottom centre in the picture.They were delicious, hot, soft and the meat falls off the bone. Sticky, so you either need the chopsticks or just get messy.

The miso, tofu rice comes with some vegetables – bottom left in the picture. Even though it didn’t have far to travel, we were amazed that the rice still has separate grains and didn’t go into a mush with all the steam. The tofu was a little soft, but the whole meal a delight.

The noodle salad – bottom right – was also great.  It was really a whole meal in itself with vegetables and spicy sauce with a reasonable amount of chilli.

Finally the prawn crackers. They come with a sweet chili dipping sauce and are not the normal airy white one but were more like crackers. After adjusting our expectations, we decided we enjoyed them, particularly as they were not at all oily.

The bill came to £26.80 – a bargain even though, unlike other times, we ate it all. We will return soon.

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

Restaurants come and go but this gluten free cosy restaurant seems here to stay. Not a lot has changed since our last review (link) in June 2018. Everything is gluten free, even the beer, with vegan and veggie options too. Our daughter who should be gluten free, but finds it tough, said, “…it was such a relief not to have to closely read each dish’s ingredients”. It is on a corner plot, and when we say it is cosy we really mean it. It has closely packed tables inside and even then they give you a blanket. It is a good idea to book. Continue reading →

Mamalan

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https://eatinbrixton.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/mama_lan.jpg

Unit 18, Brixton Village, SW9 8PR

https://www.mamalan.co.uk/

OPENING TIMES

Monday 12:00 noon – 4:00pm

Tuesday – Sunday 12:00 noon – 10:00pm

We haven’t reviewed this restaurant for four years (see here and here), so  a revisit was essential. Mamalan is named after the chef’s mother and serves Beijing street food. They have developed a thriving takeaway and delivery service and spread its wings from Brixton to a couple of other venues. We needed to give up people watching to concentrate on other things so we chose to eat inside. Although there are tables for two or four they are really squeezed in, so you need to do a bit of mountain climbing to settle into place.

The Village fills up at 1.00 pm and so to make sure we had a table we arrived at opening time, 12.00. The menu isn’t taxing – four soups, three rice dishes, a salad and side dishes which all warn you about the level of chilli. Side dishes include hot chicken wings (“some say the best in London” – a bold comment in the heart of jerk chicken land). We ordered the Wonton Noodle soup and the Sweet Chili Chicken rice which were easily enough for lunch.

The Chicken lived up to its name, crispy chicken pieces with sticky sauce on rice with a little side salad.

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The Wonton soup was also pronounced delicious, but the broth didn’t have much depth of flavour. The menu described it as “light” so was definitely not oversold. There were plenty of pork and prawn wantons.

mamalan02

Both bowls were demolished and were washed down with a ginger ale and a can of diet coke. My only complaint – plastic straws. The bill came to  £27.50 for a very satisfying meal.