Category Archives: East Kennington

The Forgotten Zoo of Greater Kennington

If you find yourself in Pasley Park in Walworth then you’re standing in the grounds of the Royal Surrey Zoological Gardens, London’s first ever public zoo. In 1831 a man named Edward Cross moved his private collection of animals from the Strand to Walworth to create what was a huge public spectacle covering 13 acres. Previous menageries, such as those poor animals on display for a select few at the Tower of London, were fortunately no longer profitable at the time and began to close. 

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The Zoo was set in the grounds of Surrey Manor House (the street ‘Manor Place’ being a nod to this) and featured carnivores including lions, bears and baboons contained under a giant 300 foot glass conservatory, which was at the time the largest such structure in England.  A similar massive structure was erected for herbivores. Also featured were moveable aviaries, a three acre lake and a waterfall. While not quite as vast as the newer recruit in Regents Park, the Zoo was nevertheless insanely popular with the public. 

In the early 19th century competition for public diversions was fierce, and our zoo had to counter the attractions of the newly opened zoo in Regents Park and the more libidinal call from our own Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. The zoo branched out and began to host historical re-enactments, such as the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the Great Fire of London. These were highlighted by nightly fireworks which must have added an odd element of frivolity to depictions of destruction and ruin. Also added were assorted gardens with hanging plants where people could promenade. Today  this is better known as ‘cruising’.

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Sadly (well, not for the animals),  our own landmark zoo could not compete with two influences. One was the inexorable rise of its aforementioned cousin in Regent’s Park, the other was the general decline in Pleasure Gardens in mid Victorian times, which also saw off Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. By 1857 (followed two years later by Vauxhall) and after just 26 years the Zoo ran out of money and was sold. It had a few incarnations after that, such as being the first home of St. Thomas’s hospital, but was effectively lost forever.

By the way, Pasley Park is a pint sized, petite and pristine little park and a delightful place to work, walk or wander.  Our team strolled over it on our way to review foodie hotspot Louie Louie  which we’ll be telling you about in a few days, you lucky devils. 

Theo’s Encore

Astute readers have probably noticed that we are slightly obsessed with Theo’s Pizzeria in Elephant and Castle. Indeed, it nabbed the #2 spot in our recent ‘top ten’ list a few months back. So on a rainy night recently we decided to recreate the feeling of actually dining there by having a takeaway. 

Theo’s is similar in many ways to other indie artisan setups such as Franco Manca and Pizza Pilgrims. But unlike those, Theo’s isn’t propagating like head lice; in fact there are only two outlets. Their regular menu is strategically small and while they are officially closed features just six of their pizzas. At the heart of these pizzas is their chewy, Neapolitan sourdough base which is crispy but at the same time thin enough that we ate them with a fork. Don’t judge us. 

My associate had the ‘Sausage and sweet roast peppers’ which featured tomatoes, capers, mozzarella, olives, oregano and garlic. The tomato sauce had a good sweet and savoury flavour and the mozzarella was springy and fresh. Your scribe had the ‘Anchovy’ pizza which, in addition to the anchovies, featured tomatoes, capers, oregano, garlic, and mozzarella. You might be thinking ‘salt overload’ here, but the balance was just right. And as you can see in the pictures below, the pizzas are slightly charred, giving them a smoky quality which rounds off the whole affair nicely. 

The two pizzas came in at £23. They are available for collection in person or by delivery (we have suspended our opposition to Deliveroo due to lockdown but don’t worry, it will come back). They are open Wednesday to Saturday, 17:00 to 21:00. As we’ve mentioned before, if these places are going to survive they need our custom now for than ever….Because if they close we’ll all be doomed to a world of…..PAPA JOHNS! 

To burn off the calories from a Theo’s pizza you might need to binge watch Joe Wicks workout videos for the next nine days but what the hell, these are strange times. 

Collective in Kennington Park

The café in Kennington Park has experienced a number of permutations over the years, almost to the point of us assigning the designation of it being a ‘jinxed property’. It was resurrected in July of last year as a  lunchtime pizza place called ‘Collective’. We went for the pizza, but as they open at 10am they also have croissants, coffees, muffins and teas. If the mood takes you, you can even have, umm,  a morning ice cream.

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Pizza seems to be the current vogue in Greater Kennington (with barbershops a close second), supplanting estate agents, which is a good thing. We’ve been meaning to visit Collective since last summer but gave it a miss as it interferes with Loose Women our healthy daytime regime.  It bats above it’s weight from the outset by having a large, wood fired pizza oven.

 

A good pizza is all about the base, and we had a basic marinara  to maximize the experience. The dough is definitely sourdough, and thin almost to the point of being transparent. True to Neopolitain pizzas, it is blistered and slightly charred, but not to the finger blackening gorgeousness of Theo’s in Elephant. The marinara was good but we encourage you to branch out to the ‘spicy boy’ or the several veggie options. Vegan cheese is also available.

The place is especially good for kids as it is spacious and the kiddos can even run outside without the fear of the number 3 bus mowing them down. If you’ve been in a coma for the past 5 months and you’re presently reading this in July,  the outside space is great and even BYOB. In our estimation the only downside is that many people do not want to devour an entire pizza in the middle of the day so it might be bountiful to invite your colleagues or take some home, which is an option. They are also open at weekends. Very good, but will it be in our top 10?*

*The final plug, honestly.

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The Elephant in the (Colombian) Room

Last night we navigated our way through Elephant and Castle shopping centre to have dinner at Colombian diner ‘La Bodeguita’.  Latin and South American fare have come in waves in recent years (Mexican then Peruvian then Chilean) and we predict that Colombian will be the next. In fact it is already one of Colombia’s best known exports after Shakira and, well…that other thing.

You might have never heard of La Bodeguita but you’ve certainly seen it looming sentinel like over a corner of the shopping centre. From the outside it looks like a nightclub (which it becomes later), but at other times it is a friendly diner with mostly Colombian customers (tick) and is apparently an epicenter of the Colombian community (tick again).

We found that the best items on the menu were the starters. One of our party had the meaty chicken croquettes with chipotle mayo. Another the Chorizo con Arepa (arepa is a kind of tortilla). The highlights of the mains were ‘Bandeja Paisa’ and ‘Arroz Especial a La Bodeguita’. Your writer had the Arroz and it was a seasoned rice based seafood dish with prawns, calamari and plantain. It was delicious, with plenty of fish and a good rice to prawn ratio.

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The Bandeja is the national dish of Colombia and is best described as a ‘Colombian mixed grill’ consisting of chorizo, black pudding, beef, egg, plantain (LOTS of dishes have plantain) and beans. The combination worked well but was at times a bit stodgy. The chorizo was definitely unique and the portion could feed a Colombian family.

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Keep in mind that a trip to La Bodeguita is more of an experience than an undertaking in ‘haute cuisine’. One of the glories of our community is that you can experience areas and feel that you’re in a different culture entirely, such as Elephant street behind the station which is heavily Colombian (ok, and a bit sketchy). A trip to the shopping centre itself is also a nod to a part of our community which, sadly, won’t exist in a few years.

A meal for four with a few beers came in at £135.

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Longdan Supermarket…Our Local Asian Superstore

If it isn’t on your gerbil trail then you’ve probably missed a very unique place at the top of Walworth Road called ‘Longdan’. Longdan is a pan Asian supermarket with a very tasty Vietnamese street food restaurant attached called ‘Aobaba’.

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We know that some of you sit up at night wondering just where you can source dried lotus seeds and 50 kilo sacks of jasmine rice. Well, now you’re in luck. Longdan specialises in hard to find products from Japan, Vietnam, China, Thailand and Malaysia, among other places. The hard to find products are perfect if you are feeling inventive, want a bit of culinary inspiration, or just want a browse. For the cautious sorts much of their fresh exotic goods are sold frozen and can be kept for the long haul.

 

One thing Longdan does very well is condiments (and who among us doesn’t favour a nice condiment?) and you can bag a range of soy and chili sauces, bean curd, stir fry mixes, and good old fashioned Siriracha. Recently we bought banana leaves to remind us of the time we were in Kolkata (oops, better pick up that name we just dropped!) in a sad effort to resurrect our curry meal there.  Having said that, our favourite bit is at the back, where they sell a variety of Asian kitchen products which are largely impractical for western chefs but a great way to make you feel like a cooking pro.

 

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As for Aobaba, it offers cheap and delicious Vietnamese fare to eat in or take away. In the past we’ve enjoyed summer rolls, Banh Mi (baguettes), grilled pork and beef noodles. At the time of writing they didn’t do Pho, but our capital certainly isn’t lacking in those joints…

 

 

 

 

So, if your gerbil trail  leads inexorably to our depressing ‘Shipping Container Tesco’ then try moving in another direction for a bit of a culinary challenge. Cabbage roots, anyone?

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Walworth Garden

We live in a lovely and luscious enclave of central London, but to be frank it isn’t the greenest place on earth. If you are ever in need of a little botanical realness in your life you could do a lot worse than pop over to the little gem that is Walworth Garden in East Kennington

In addition to being a great place to stroll around, sit and reflect (they have loads of benches), they also sell plants. If you’re fortunate enough to have a garden they can give you great ideas about what to plant and how to plant things. If your garden is in your front room they also sell a range of indoor plants. Walworth also has an apiary. When we first heard this we got very excited about the possibility of seeing actual apes. An apiary is in fact a place where bees are kept and feature centrally in what they do. Their honey harvest in July is an annual feature.

In addition to the many luxurious plants, Walworth also offers training courses for gardeners and a range of workshops including making eco friendly cleaning products, incense, oils, cosmetics and soap. Imagine the fun you could have by giving rosemary infused window cleaner as presents to your friends for the fifth year on the trot.

Walworth Garden is not a garden centre per se but it a registered charity, and they accept donations. However, they also have a  very good gardening service, as recommended by a friend of the Runoff.

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The Elephant in the Room

And over to East Kennington (the area formerly known as WALWORTH) we go for a visit to our favourite SE17 cafe, The Electric Elephant in Crampton St. It’s located in one of three Victorian mews yards  in the area which will be flinging open their artistic doors at the beginning of June. But I digress.

OK back to the cafe……..It is owned and operated by Louisa (who makes and sells a mean marmalade) and for lunch features a selection of salads, omelettes and sandwiches all made to order. Breakfast offers a very hearty fry up or croissants. Homemade cakes are also on offer. All very reasonable, and a mug of tea will set you back just £1.50 (what’s that sound…Vanilla Black gasping?). And they have WiFi.

The decor has a kind of ‘charity shop being squatted in by hippies’ vibe to it which is very relaxing and a perfect place for a quick lunch or a jaded Saturday morning. Image.png-4 Image-1.png Image-2.png

The top ten best restaurants in Kennington – no. 2 – Louie Louie

Positives: Most well-off residents of East Kennington have probably experienced Louie Louie by now, as a daytime brunch spot or nighttime bar or party venue. But have you eaten there in the evenings? They host residencies from up-and-coming chefs and they must choose well because we’ve never had a meal there that was anything but great. They serve real ale from the nearby Orbit brewery, and the co-owner Chris is lovely.

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Negatives: The gentrification of Walworth and Elephant & Castle has rightly been controversial and Louie Louie could be seen as a symbol of that, but it’s a genuine local business. Let’s hope Louie Louie can continue to thrive alongside the likes of the Red Lion (the massive old Irish pub) and Oli Food Centre (the Turkish 24 hour food shop opposite with the insanely delicious and cheap pide bread and dozens of different kinds of feta).

Louie Louie bar - kenningtonrunoff.com

Red Sea Restaurant & Bar and Kennington’s six Eritrean or Ethiopian restaurants

Eritrea used to be part of Ethiopia and we haven’t yet been able to discern any differences in the two countries’ cuisines, although they are completely unlike any other cuisine we’ve tried. So when friends raved about an Ethiopian restaurant on Camberwell Road, we got confused, Googled an Eritrean restaurant on Camberwell Road and found Red Sea.

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We felt something might be amiss when we turned up to find they didn’t have any other customers when we arrived on a Friday evening, they don’t take cards, but they do have a TV in the restaurant. The sign above said “under new management” so perhaps that was why, we thought. Four customers did come in later, plus quite a few people seemed to be heading to the club downstairs (we’re always curious about those clubs downstairs on Walworth Road and Camberwell Road but haven’t plucked up the courage to visit one for many years, and anyway suspect they don’t get going until after our bedtime).

Red Sea interior - kenningtonrunoff.com

We had no complaints once the food arrived – the vegetarian platter on injera was as good as in the three other Ethiopean or Eritrean restaurants we’ve tried in the area (Adulis, Bar 48 and Harar), and tasted very fresh despite the lack of customers. Very reasonably priced too.

Red Sea vegetarian platter - kenningtonrunoff.com

The restaurant our friends actually recommended? Zeret Kitchen of course – we’ll visit there soon. There’s also an Ethiopean restaurant at Artworks which we need to try – Beza. How wonderful that the Greater Kennington area supports six Ethiopean or Eritrean restaurants.

Louie Louie

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Gentrification has well and truly arrived on Walworth Road’s most interesting stretch, and very welcome it is too, as long as Oli Food Centre can stay opposite (long live Oli Food Centre), and Arments Pie & Mash is just around the corner. Louie Louie is a cafe/bar/restaurant from the people behind Fowlds Cafe. It was initially funded by a Kickstarter campaign and has already proven very popular with locals, whether for brunch, lunch, dinner or drinks.

The interior is impressive but our photos of it are not. They pack a lot of people in, plus there’s a bar, a DJ and displays of vinyl records.

We’ve sampled the weekend brunch twice and we’ll be back again. Great service and atmosphere. We highly recommend the hot chocolate, and they stock beers from the nearby Orbit Brewery.

We’ve also been for dinner in the evenings, which they serve from Wednesday to Saturday with Tel Aviv-born chef-in-residence Oded Oren. The evening food is really special, in the mould of Palomar and Ottolenghi.

These 5 hours braised ox cheeks, Moroccan paprika and humus were great, and the most expensive item on the menu at £17:

5 hours braised ox cheeks, Moroccan paprika, humus at Louie Louie - kenningtonrunoff.com

Less exotic but even tastier were these bavette skewers, with smoked aubergine and green tahini:

Bavette skewers, smoked aubergine and green tahini at Louie Louie - kenningtonrunoff.com

This roasted freekeh with caramelised leeks and pine nuts was decent if rather expensive at £9.50:

Roasted freekeh, caramelised leeks, pine nuts at Louie Louie - kenningtonrunoff.com

This was a salad of shaved roots salad, feta, toasted almonds:

Shaved roots salad, feta, toasted almonds at Louie Louie - kenningtonrunoff.com

Louie Louie has already received a rave review from Kennington’s leading restarant reviewer Jay Rayner. We agree with Jay – this place is great.