Vegan

En Root – at the Ritzy

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

Address: Ritzy Picturehouse, Brixton Oval, SW2 1JG

En Root is open all week, 12.00—21.00

You don’t need a picture of the Ritzy cinema – you know what and where it is. But you might not know that our old friends En Root, see here and here, have taken over the foyer cafe. They’ve given up the cafe, although not the deli, in Clapham Park Road, although they haven’t yet updated the website.

En Root kept us in fresh food boxes during COVID lockdowns (see review), but unfortunately, this service has stopped. Instead, they have returned to their own roots as a cafe, but based in the Ritzy. We haven’t been out for a while so, after an early showing of Fabelmans, our choice of restaurants was made easy as we walked through and saw an empty table. People do sit here but often for a short period. So it is worth hanging around but make it out of the screen smartish after the end of the film.

En Root is an evolution in cooking. First a little deli, then producing their own hot sauce and then on to restaurants in Brixton and Peckham. This is a vegan restaurant – plant-powered, Indian-inspired goodness. We ordered samosa chaat to share, then the En Root thali and a Don dada platter.

The samosa chat is a crunchy sensation and we would happily have had a larger one for a whole meal. The vegetable samosas are hot (by temperature and really crispy – so a run from the fryer to the table) and they were cut and served with chickpea, onion and pomegranate mixed in with the “spice crispies”, raita and chutney both hot (with spice) so do not think this will alleviate any chilli burn.

The main courses were huge and as you can see from the photos difficult to differentiate. Both had daily dhal, coconut curry, golden rice and rainbow salad but the Thali is the one with the raita and jerk mushroom mix, while the Don Dada had the sag aloo and plantain. They also differed in calories – those on a diet choose the Thali (457kcal) as the Don Dada was 53kcal more. We also added a paratha. The food was good and spicy, but nothing extreme.

We enjoyed everything but couldn’t finish it all – I am sure it is plant-powered goodness but next time we will share a main. There was enough good fibre for a whole day.

We washed it all down with a kombucha (raspberry and hibiscus) and a couple of beers. We estimate that it cost us £33.00 without the beers and a tip (we lost the bill). We will return but this time will be prepared for some serious eating and a tussle over what to share.

Note that there is a lunchtime special available for £6 from noon until 3pm, which looks good value.

Brixton Pound Surplus Canteen

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BPC01Address: Platform Cafe, 2 Ridgway Road, SW9 7AH

Open: Mondays & Tuesdays, 12.30 pm to 2.00 pm and 3.00 pm to 6.00 pm

Twitter: @brixtonpound

The Brixton Pound Cafe has given itself a new name and, following the loss of the premises in Atlantic Road, has moved to Loughborough Junction. But it still offers lunch and supper made from surplus food on a pay-what-you-can basis. It describes itself as a new social eating place serving vegetarian & vegan meals using surplus food saved from landfill. Continue reading →

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 →

Eat of Eden

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IMG_0281 2020-01-09 13_23_58

Address: Unit 4, Brixton Village, Coldharbour Ln, Brixton, London SW9 8PR

Phone: 020 7737 7566

Website: https://eatofeden.co.uk/

Opening times:
Monday: 11:00 – 18:00
Tuesday to Sunday: 11:00 – 22:00

Don’t assume because this is a Vegan restaurant we are changing our diet for January. This was a spur of a moment Wednesday evening dinner and we are so glad we made the effort (finally) to visit this place at the front of Brixton Village. There is a relatively large outside but onlya small inside for 6 people; so choose your night if you intend to eat in. Most people seem to come for a takeaway. Continue reading →

Pipoca

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pipoca01

address: 224 Brixton Rd, London SW9 6AH

Telephone No.: 020 7501 8539

https://www.facebook.com/pipocavegan

Open every day except Monday

This is a Vegan restaurant/cafe offering food and shopping. Bar stools and small tables are included in the cafe but you can (and we did) sit in the most charming section in the shop with our own private table in the window surrounded by jars and bottles. Those with long memories will recall that once upon a time here was Floridia Bakery. Continue reading →

Max and Taff’s at Brockwell Blend

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Address: Brixton Blend, 19 Tulse Hill, Brixton, London SW2 2TH

Reservations: maxandtaffs@gmail.com

On Thursday and Friday (6.30 to 10.30 pm) but only until the end of July there’s this pop-up at Brixton blend. It describes itself as South London’s premier Vegan, Asian Fusian, Pasta Makers. Really hard to live up to but THEY DO. Interesting food, not expensive and great wine. Oops not much to write about now … but I’ll try. .

The menu is short, organised and requires little regret, as everyone can choose something. There are two starters – crunchy red cabbage slaw (with sesame and other seeds) and smacked cucumber (with chilli and other bits) – we chose both. They were definitely crunchy and the smacked cucumber is spicy but not blowing your head off hot. They woke up our sleepy tastebuds.

Then there are two two types of pasta as mains. The first is Cavatelli (small pasta shells from eggless semolina dough) with two toppings: sweet tomato, Chinese cabbage and sichuan pepper or squash, miso and pumpkin seeds. The second pasta is hand pulled noodles with either kale, spring onion and chilli oil or, the less daring, aubergine, cherry tomato and basil.

Max, the chef, makes everything fresh, so the dishes come one by one. So you get to share. The first to arrive was the pulled noodle with aubergine followed by the cavatelli with tomato, cabbage and pepper. In this restaurant pasta is definitely al dente. But the aubergine was comforting and the cavatelli with pepper gave a punch, but not as big a one as the chilli oil on the table.

We finished it all off with a chocolate truffle each –  orange and chilli (there is a theme). Both were the size of rocks.

The wine list has two whites and one red – we had the red, Pinot Nero – the most expensive at £32.50 a bottle. The bill came to 52.50 including the wine and without a tip so you can see the teetotaller would get a bargain. Go now before they close down for the summer.

Café Van Gogh

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cvg01

Address: 88 Brixton Road, SW9 6BE

Phone: Tel: 07546 966554

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

Opening hours: usually 9.00 pm on website but on the door it says it opens later

We are not usually drawn to Vegan restaurants – except in Veganuary for a change of habit and a contribution to the post Christmas diet. But we were pleasantly surprised by Cafe van Gogh.

It was a bleak weekday evening and we dropped by at about 6.30pm. Although there were not many diners downstairs, the upstairs had several groups and by the time we left, the place was full but not heaving. Downstairs it looks like a cafe but climb the spiral stairs and you are in a room under a dome of stars – dark blue and definitely atmospheric but bright enough to see your food.

Continue reading →

Bean and Bun – Vegan Burgers

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bean_and_bun01

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 →

Vegbar

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vegbar01

Address: 45 Tulse Hill, Brixton, London,  SW2 2TJ

Telephone: 020 8678 0697

email: info@vegbar.co.uk

http://www.vegbar.co.uk

So who knew that Vegan January was a thing. For those hoping to cleanse their system after a hearty meat eating festive season, a January of vegetarian food might be a good idea. But it seems rather unfair to dump vegan food on the unsuspecting, so we have gone out of our way to investigate potential restaurants. Vegbar serves only Vegan food, so the choice was easy. We reviewed this restaurant before so look for our positive review here. It is out of the way on the road to Tulse Hill but if you know where Brixton Social is ,then just keep on walking. The unprepossessing exterior is not at all inviting and the decor is also aiming for minimal going on Spartan. Gone are the small but inviting dashes of colour. Wrap up warm if you are going early as the temperature inside early in the evening is definitely cool even though we sat next to the radiator. Continue reading →

CLOSED – Vegbar

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vegbar01

Address: 45 Tulse Hill, Brixton, London,  SW2 2TJ
Telephone: 020 8678 0697

email: info@vegbar.co.uk

http://www.vegbar.co.uk

After returning from meat eating Colorado, where it was impossible to find even a tomato that wasn’t a garnish, it was a pleasure to go to a restaurant with nothing but vegetables. Vegbar has taken over the premises of the Portuguese restaurant Brazas on Tulse Hill. This corner is seeing an upswing in the types of cuisine offered with two new restaurants opening here in the last couple of weeks. It now offers Caribbean, Indian (Khan’s of Brixton), takeaway pizza and two new wine bar/restaurants as well as this Veggie-Vegan restaurant.

Vegbar has updated the interior by painting the inside all white and covering up the rather austere wood panelled walls. The light-heartedness stretches to tiny colour changing LEDs and multi-coloured light shades. The tables and comfortable chairs remain as does the open grill area. Vegbar opened its doors on March 26th and they were still finding their feet with an empty salt cellar and the soux chef occasionally forgetting a vital ingredient on the plate. But we enjoyed it. We hope it does well as it is not in Brixton Village but up the hill nearly opposite the large Sainsbury’s.

They offer small plates, which are all vegetarian and marked with vegan and/or gluten free as an occasional dish does contain cheese. All the descriptions make the plate inviting and we ordered four. The first a Junkyard Dog (a vegan hot dog topped with pickled chilli and fennel salad) was tasty because of the accompaniments. We thought it wasn’t fennel salad but some sort of cabbage or beetroot but we didn’t ask so we can’t be sure. Next we had an Arepa’s Delight which was cornbread topped with a scramble of tofu and black beans. We only noticed that the accompanying guacamole had not been added when we had eaten half but they were happy to bring us a bowl. Both were really interesting and the cornbread had just enough chili to warm the mouth but allow you to taste the more subtle flavours on the plate. The guacamole had little tomato (a plus for some) and lots of coriander. It needed a little more salt and that is when we discovered the empty pot.vegbar08

Next was Kumara Kings (sweet potato and spinach jerk bites with pineapple salsa). We were not so keen on these, as they were a bit dry and there was not enough of the pineapple salsa to go with them. The pineapple salsa was delicious – sweet and pickled and a little warm we could have eaten much more.

The star of the show was the last dish – Don’t know Jack? – spicy jackfruit and mushroom tacos with almond and plantain sauce (on the menu) but we thought it included tomato. There were three on the plate and we could have eaten them for the whole dinner. Who knew that jackfruit could taste so good. vegbar07

vegbar06We also ordered a side of sea salt and black pepper fries which were great after we added more salt and pepper.

They also have desserts but we were full. They did look interesting and again were vegan (pies and brownies with ice cream and alcohol). We will certainly try them next time.

We washed all this down with a couple of halves of Heineken. They did have wine but we didn’t see a drinks menu. The meal cost about £29.00 for two people including the drinks. A good value meal and we will certainly be visiting again with more people so we can try more of the small dishes.