Tapas

Gremio de Brixton

~ eatinbrixton ~ Leave a comment

Gremio de Brixton

St Matthew’s Church, Basement, Brixton Hill, London SW2 1JF

Opening Times (for food)

Wednesday        6PM      10PM

Thursday             6PM      10PM

Friday    5PM      10PM

Saturday             5PM      10PM

Website: https://gremiodebrixton.com/

Phone: 020 7924 0660

Previous review link here (2015) and here (2013)

We went to visit an old haunt which has not changed in the last 9 years. It still feels like the inside of the cathedral in Cordoba with brick pillars everywhere but they have improved the lighting so you do not now need to have the torch on your phone.

We visited early-ish mid-week so out for a snack rather than a three course meal. We travel to Spain quite often so have the hang of a menu, though usually we only buy the drink and the tapas comes free. We ordered mushroom croquettes (Croquetas de champinon con ailoli), fried aubergine with honey (Berenjenas Fritas con miel), fried goats with pear and honey (queso de cabra frito con miel y pera), pork belly and crackling (panceta y chicharron) and bread with spreadable chorizo(pan y sobrasada). All surround this text. We enjoyed the ambience and the food although we should have ordered less fried plates. We really enjoyed the aubergine but left some of the sobrasada as it is very rich and salty. Despite thinking we were ordering just enough we clearly over-ordered – take note, order as you go along.

We drank lots of water and had a bottle of red wine and took home half of it to drink later. The whole mean cost £78.18 but this included £34 for the wine that washed everything down well. So only £44.18 for the food for two.

Boqueria – the takeaway

~ eatinbrixton ~ Leave a comment

address: 192 Acre Lane, Brixton, London, SW2 5UL

telephone: 020  7733 4408

BOQUERIA TAPAS

info@boqeriatapas.com

Delivery by Deliveroo

When we have eaten in the restaurant, the food had compared well with the meals we have had in Andalucia, so we really ordered our favourites which is very easy from the categorised menu – Rice, Meat, Seafood, Traditional, Salads and Charcuterie. We ordered boquerones, arroz negra (black rice with seafood and squid ink), pulpo a la Gallega, croquetos con jamon, patatas bravas, albondigas, artichoke flowers and rollitos costilla iberica (a new addition to the menu). We discovered that some portions are definitely not tapas sized, so of course we had to much …. much too much.

It is always a tense time seeing the bicycle leaving the restaurant and wondering if it will get cold on the way. Luckily most of the food was fine as long as it was eaten straight away, and when we were not quite happy with the temperature we microwaved just a little (beware that this may overcook the pulpo – octopus).

As we said earlier, tapas can be (should be?) a slow meal – its really a discussion interspersed with food and that’s what makes it enjoyable. If there are only two of you in the party then having the food come two dishes at a time is fine. When you order a takeaway you have the whole lot at once, so we had to decide how to slow it down by serving it in waves to give us that holiday feeling.

Boquerones to start with some bread to mop up the oil and then the croquetas (a hit) with the patatas bravas that needed a extra spice and were a little soggy when they reached us (always a problem with steam when packed into the takeaway container). The pulpo a la Galega was lovely with just the right amount of bite and not the rubber tyre variety. We loved the arroz negra which has some prawns, squid and mussels. In fact we ate some the next day, as it wasn’t the conversation but the portions that slowed us down. We nearly gave up on the albondigas as we were so full, but are glad we didn’t – although we would have liked more sauce. The artichokes were left to the next day. The new addition to the menu – the rollitos – were meaty and crispy rolls…. so popular (with us and the public) that they are currently sold out, but I am sure they will be replaced soon.

It cost £53.52 which should have been the giveaway on over-ordering. Although this is about the cost of eating in the restaurant but had no wine. But we could have managed with half the order and it did last two days.

The Tapas Room Brixton

~ eatinbrixton ~ 1 Comment

TB01

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 →

Pedler – a 5 minute bus ride away

~ eatinbrixton ~ Leave a comment

pedler01

Address:: 58 Peckham Rye, Peckham, London SE15 4JR

Telephone:  020 30305015

website: http://www.pedlerpeckhamrye.com/

We thought we would travel further afield and go to the nearest hipster area – upcoming Peckham. This restaurant styles itself as “Your vibrant neighbourhood eatery, set up by a team that live in and love Peckham.” How could we resist, especially for a special treat on a weekday to entertain a guest. The smallish restaurant has a bar and mostly 4 person tables so they have two sittings between 7.45 and 9.00 and allow two hours. We hit the 7.30 one. Our four person team were shown to a table in the space near the toilets (worth a visit for a look at the décor) but really close to the kitchen where all the action is.

Dinner comes as a series of plates one at a time so you share, making it all very communal with lots of time for conversation. The plates are different in size but you can only tell that by the price. Dishes and influences come from all over the world, although the ingredients are sourced relatively locally.

We chose a series of smaller and larger dishes including: chilli & bean arancini, patatas bravas, tuna, mac and cheese, veal belly, fried chicken, beef suet pudding with a side order of beef dripping chips.

pedler03pedler04pedler05pedler06

pedler07pedler09

The service is slow, but deliberately so, and it does allow you to savour each dish, But with four of us it might have been easier if we had two dishes at any one time. The starving fell on each dish as it arrived and it was a bit of a scrum at the beginning (you can tell by the pictures which were often taken as an afterthought). We really loved the beef suet pudding and the mac and cheese (we ordered two!). The chicken was very spicy so might have had a bit of a warning, but despite that the plate was wiped clean. Sometimes there was a detail or two we would have changed (e.g. crispier fat on the veal) but we thought everything was high quality and interesting. We failed to take a picture of that day’s menu but you can see by the pictures that all looks pretty.

We also ordered puddings – some to share including chocolate mousse and  treacle sponge. We enjoyed them but occasionally there was a slightly bum note as one of our company lost a tooth in the very sticky caramel but we don’t blame that on the restaurant.

pedler10pedler11

We washed the food down with cocktails and some wine. The bill (including £33.50 of alcohol) came to £113 for four people which we thought a bargain. When we have another set of guests in the neighbourhood we will definitely go again. An exciting place that is pushing boundaries and definitely somewhere to celebrate. Our loyalty to Brixton is undiminished but, if pressed, it does seem that currently the food scene in Peckham is a bit more interesting.

 

 

 

Gremio de Brixton

~ eatinbrixton ~ Leave a comment

gremio04 address: underneath St. Matthews Church, Brixton Hill SW2 1JF

telephone: 020 7924 0660

http://gremiodebrixton.com/

It’s more than a year and a half since we first reviewed Gremio (see here) but little has changed, although the lighting is better and the number of customers has swelled. It lies underneath St Matthews Church with the entrance down some steps on the northern/town centre side. The crypt is a restaurant and bar with tables outside overlooking the Peace Garden – even in the depths of a winter’s night there were a few hardy souls or perhaps committed smokers sitting there. It is a bit like a cut down version of the Mezquita in Cordoba. Lots of pillars obscuring the view of the other diners, making the spaces a bit more intimate (so might be good for Valentines). The bar is dark and looks smoky, although, of course, it isn’t, but the spaces are again small and dark. The restaurant tables have overhead lights, making it possible to read the menu.

Continue reading →

Wahaca

~ eatinbrixton ~ Leave a comment

wahac08

address: Wahaca Brixton, 20 Atlantic Road, London SW9 8JA

telephone number +44 (0) 20 3763 6357

Homepage

We did say when we set up this blog that we would only review restaurants that were not part of a chain  … but we make the rules so we can break them. Also, the opening of Wahaca Brixton marks a further shift in what Brixton has to offer and does deserve some comment. It has taken over a large pub that used to be the Railway Hotel but was also part of the Brady’s chain of pubs and known as such by many locals. It was home to gigs, caucus meetings and other more shady goings on. There are some that still mourn its going but not so much by us. The beer wasn’t anything special; the carpet on the floor stuck to your feet if you rested for even a few minutes; and with the smoking you could cut the atmosphere with a knife. We spent many nostalgic and definitely misspent evenings there but, while there are different views about its loss in the eatinbrixton team, we do think that the new restaurant is an asset for Brixton. Continue reading →

Brixton Flavours Festival

~ eatinbrixton ~ Leave a comment

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.

IMG_1104

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.

Continue reading →

The Provincial

~ eatinbrixton ~ Leave a comment

Address: 21 Market Row, Brixton SW9

Provincial has been known as the place where you do not know when or if you will get the food you ordered. We decided to test this again after we had a recommendation to try their ceviche. Now we know a little something about ceviche having learnt how to prepare it on the Amazon and eating in the best ceviche restaurant in Peru – showing off I know but we wanted you to know that we have got some expertise in judging this dish and its authenticity.

Provincial opens its doors so that it flows into Market Row. With its colourful orange interior and the wall mural of Peruvian life it does have the feeling of a South American restaurant down to the rickety chairs and tables. They can take larger groups as we saw on the Saturday night that we visited. The waiting staff were all women overlooked by the manager who pops into the restaurant from the kitchen to deliver food directly to the tables.

Continue reading →

Gremio de Brixton

~ eatinbrixton ~ Leave a comment

gremio04 address: underneath St Matthews Church, Brixton Hill SW2 1JF

telephone: 020 7924 0660

http://gremiodebrixton.com/

We have no idea why we have waited so long to make a visit to Gremio de Brixton. It is underneath St Matthews Church – a place we know well as one of us went to playgroup there. But now the whole of the crypt has been turned into a restaurant and bar with tables outside overlooking the Peace Garden. But there was no room outside on such a warm evening so we headed into the dark cool depths to the cellar like rooms. It is a like a cut down version of the Mezquita in Cordoba. Lots of pillars obscuring the view of the other diners (although there were none when we visited). All the small tables were lit with a single candle but with overhead lights making it relatively easy to read the menu. The ceiling is low, the music loudish and we thought when full the noise would echo off the plain brick walls and pillars. But nonetheless we thought it was a fantastic venue.

Continue reading →

The Provincial (formerly Tapas Pa’Ti)

~ eatinbrixton ~ 6 Comments

Address: 21 Market Row, Brixton SW9

Another of the new restaurants popping up in Market Row is Tapas Pa’ti (translated to Tapas For You) a place advertised as serving home cooked Spanish tapas. With an open front and tables both inside and out, Spanish music playing in the background and the red brick décor and dark wood the place has a real feels of a traditional Spanish bar.

Before I begin on the food I must point out that the eatinbrixton gang are frequent visitors of Spain, meaning we are huge fans of tapas. One thing I love about tapas is the environment that you eat it in. With baking heat, Salsa music playing in the background, a leg of ham hanging from the bar and usually a couple of regulars who seem to always be hanging around, all create the mood of a Spanish bar. Luckily this place creates that for us (although don’t rely on the weather!).

Continue reading →