Amici in Kennington Cross is a great survivor and has bagged the #8 spot. We feel for them, as first they were hit by the small issue of a pandemic (remember that?), then a flood in their basement closed the place for even longer. Then they went through a frankly bizarre ‘car boot phase’ where they sold everything from jewellery to tins of food. Luckily all three have passed and in its it’s latest incarnation Amici matches the classics from their (RIP) Persian restaurant Doost with the Mediterranean offerings of Amici. For a split second we had a nightmare vision of pomegranate pizza, but owner Houman explained that it’s just the greatest hits of each place. Whew.
Phil from IT had one of the specials, a meatball dish from the northern, Caspian region of Iran. It was markedly tart with a pomegranate and herb-based sauce, so a bit different from what we think of as “standard” Persian. It was served with fluffy basmati rice. Your scribe had a long grain rice dish with spicy squid. And of course, served with loads of dill. It was light and had a slightly nutty tone to it.
The mandarins at Observer Towers usually yell at us if we order starters (which is now referred to as small plate), but co owner Sethi was able to tell us not only from where each dish originated and how it’s made, but even offered insight as how her family members have been making them for years. So we caved in and had a kind of Persian roasted bruschetta topped with aubergine, and a delightfully tomatoey aranchi rice bowls.
On a subsequent visit we indulged in some of the Italian offerings at Amici. We think their strengths lie in Persian fare, but if it’s Italian that you crave we can reccommend the lamb ragu tagliatelle and lasagne. Namaste….
And the number #9 Spot is awarded to the very independent Bonnington Cafe. We recently made a much overdue visit to Vauxhall institution Bonnington Café in Bonnington Square. We had been a bit concerned that BC had not survived the pandemic but it has emerged phoenix like and is part of a larger Bonnington Centre, and but on that later.
Bonnington Café was established over forty years ago as a not for profit endeavour and still serves its original purpose of serving affordable (£5 starters £12 mains £5 desserts) vegetarian and vegan fare prepared by a rotating cast of chefs. They also have a BYOB policy to make it even more affordable. At the moment the chefs are creating American comfort food, vegan Polish fare, and locally sourced favourite dishes. Our night was led by Syrian chef Hind Danoun, who passionately cooks her mother’s Syrian vegetarian dishes. She’s in the kitchen on Fridays and some other nights.
The menus at BC are purposefully very small, and showcase what the chef is working on at the moment. Cliff from the HR team chose the grilled aubergine with tahini and paprika sauce topped with nuts for a starter and he called it ‘sublime’. The tahini was described as creamy and smooth, no clagginess: a light dish of splendidly umami flavours. The lentil kebab main didn’t feel remotely like a kebab to Cliff, so an odd name: lentil steak would have been closer. This was lightly spiced, and benefitted from its accompaniment of yoghurt sauce and a great sumac sauce that made the dish.
Your scribe had the fattoush salad with pomegranate molasses, which was bright and sharp: a little too sour for some tongues but a nice contrast of leaf and crunch. Meanwhile, majouka felt rather like a Syrian take on a vegetarian biryani – which was a result that your scribe could get on board with: simple, tasty, hearty.
Overall, both in terms of pocketbook and what we consumed we left feeling healthy. Well, maybe that £7 bottle of Tesco Malbec we knocked back in half an hour wasn’t so healthy, but your place is not to judge. If you don’t fancy a meal at the BC then pop over to Bonnington Square itself for a bit of a wonder, as it’s a verdant urban subtropical oases with a storied past that we wrote about last year.
The Bonnington Centre has an eclectic sounding programme of activities on the first floor including one called ‘Death Café’, which rather reminded us of the time when Phil brought homemade brownies into the office. They also have yoga and film nights. On our night there were a motley and hungry group of amateur musicians coming downstairs for a bite, while as we left we were serenaded by the lovely tones of other musicians upstairs.
And were off for 2025! The number ten spot has been grabbed by the Japanese canteen Taro at the bottom of Kennington Road. Part of the Greater Kennington firmament for over five years now, Taro consistently delivers authentic ‘Izakaya’, (roughly meaning ‘pub food’) very similar to the food you get in Japan, and is good value for money. They also have a menu more diverse than most Izakaya places (not always a good thing but it is in this case), which caters to varied tastes. Believe it or not there are a number of Japanese joints in our area, but this is reams above the lot, and militantly avoids fusion cuisine.
Some Observer staff have been to Japan and on a previous Taro visit we took KR freelance journalist Mark, who lived in Japan for years and served as our culinary attaché. We had sushi (both tempura-maki and other maki) which was fresh and generous on the fish side. We also had fried chicken (above), which was crunchy and equally meaty. For a veg angle we also indulged in juicy tofu steak, with a surfeit of ginger and wasabi. For sides we recommend onshinko pickles and gyoza dipped in soy vinegar. Both veg and meat gyozas are great. The salmon teriyaki bento box at the next table also caught our eye.
And if you’re lucky, Taro himself will be on hand to guide you through his dishes and can remind us all that sushi should never be served cold. And yes, Tesco have been tagged in this post.
For purposes relating to our wholly scientific and profoundly subjective top 10 list of the best places to eat in Greater Kennington (+ a Sunday roast) The Kennington Observer (formally known as the Runoff) just paid a TKO visit to hot new Chinese restaurant J –Seven in Vauxhall. Our top ten list kicks off in a couple of weeks. But will it make the cut?
J-Seven occupies one of the arches in Albert Embankment, and the arches typify the evolution of our storied manor. Previous inhabitants have included coal, railway sidings, gyms, motorbike shops and nightclubs. J-Seven has now pitched up in one of the arches offering upmarket(ish) Mandarin cuisine with the totally intoxicating element of lounge singers in the evening. Sadly we attended in the daytime with no singer evident. But the helpful manager Bear explained that there are singers most nights.
J-Seven presents itself in that wonderfully Chinese restaurant manner of seeing customers as a slight inconvenience, and they prove this by plopping an Ipad in front of you to order. As Ipads came about only twelve years ago, we are very much up with the kids and your scribe ordered the slow braised brisket with rich sauce. This was proper slow braised beef with juicy fat on the sides, served with Chinese rice and a firey spicy cabbage which was delicious when mixed with the stewed meat juice.
Very few of us at the Observer have real life partners as we’re overworked. However, you are luckier than us we again J-Social for a date owing to its banging cocktail bar in the front, the precise menu, low romantic lighting, and the food is properly Chinese. And when under the arches think about all those amazing women and men who might have worked there shovelling coal, building a railroad, dancing or just buying a motorbike. Our evolution continues.
In our never ending pursuit of gastronomic excellence in Greater Kennington (read – to find a flimsy excuse to cram food in our face), we recently ventured to independent gastropub ‘The Rosy Hue’. The Hue opened in Elephant Park in 2022 and is part of a small south London based chain. Since then, its positioned itself as a kind of sports pub with a separate gastro restaurant. The upshot being can you can’t really hear the pub in the restaurant.
For this dinner your scribe was joined by partner in crime Karen from Finance and her friend from Milan, Gabs. Karen was pondering the burger versus fish and chips, and when the waiter indicated that the fish and chips was the more substantial plate, it was music to Karen’s ears as she was keen to break her January resolution. This certainly proved to be the case with a lightly battered fillet of haddock taking up half or more of her plate and sitting atop crispy golden chips. It also came with a small bowl of crushed minted peas and some homemade tartare sauce. As pub fish and chips go, this was a very creditable offer. The fish was fresh, the batter was light and perfectly crisp, and the chips were good.
Your scribe opted for the daily special, which was steak and ale pie. The pastry was sturdy and buttery, and topped with some seeds. Inside the pie, the juice was a good combination of sweet brown ale and beef stock. The steak was plentiful and tender, and in the mix were small hints of bacon. It was served with some very creamy mash and well prepared tender stem broccoli.
As for Karen’s friend, when his burger and chips arrived he commenced eating both with a knife and fork. Karen and your scribe looked at one another with bemused fascination, and I asked him if in Italy its customary to eat a burger with a fork. Without looking up he retorted ‘yes, everyone does’. As we were leaving, Gabs was asked if he’d like to share his fork eating burger experience with our multitudinous readers. He quipped, with Milanese aplomb, ‘not really’.
But the burning question is…will the Rosy Hue make our top 10 list of best places to eat in Greater Kennington 2025?
As many Greater Kenningtonains spend a few days working from home, we thought we would up our lunchtime review game by checking out Oval staple ‘Cable Café’ at the top of Brixton Rd. By all the brick a brac you might think you’ve stumbled into dear Aunt Flo’s house clearance after she refused to let anybody in for 40 years, but what you’re getting is a mighty fine and eclectic café.
The daytime trade consists primarily of people popping in for hot drinks and working on their laptops, and the atmosphere is laid back and quiet. We stopped in for lunch, and the specialty is the bang on trend sourdough toasties. Your scribe had it with cheese tuna, and Phil from accounts had his with cheese and jalapeno. The sourdough was crisp and with sharp and abundant cheese (£6.50) . Phil remembered that we were at work and had an Americano as opposed to his usual massive red wine. We also had our eyes on the homemade pastries, sharing boards, and smoothies.
What Cable does ingenuously is transform itself from a lunchtime sandwich/coffee bar to an evening cocktail and beer joint. The transition happens during the 3-5 happy hour when laptops and chargers give way to candles and, on Wednesday, live free jazz. There is a full bar on hand (cocktails £9) in addition to wines both bottled and draft (at £5, sadly quite cheap). A good alternative to the at times chaotic pubs of Greater Kennington.
Cable Café is open from 9:00 to 23:00 (midnight weekends) and is even available to hire out for parties. We need to keep independent places like this or they may go the same way as their sister outfit Cable Bakery, which has sadly gone to that big flour mill in the sky. More importantly, we need to keep it going in 2025 to prevent it descending to the hellish netherworld that is the ‘bottomless drag brunch’. Because we’ve been there dear reader, and it’s a very dark place.
Before we commence our mega mix of how you can buy gifts for people you love/put up with this Christmas, let’s think about the Greater Kenningtonians out there who are struggling to put food on the table in these difficult times. This year we’re supporting the Secret Santa campaign run by our friends over at the Kennington Association. Last year KA raised funds to give shopping vouchers to 150 local households, with the families chosen by local early needs professionals. To find out more and to donate, click here. If you like the more hands on approach there is a food collection box next to the exit at Tesco in Kennington Lane.
FOOD AND DRINK
Italo Vauxhall and Nosh at Marcellos (formerly Mimi’s Deli) both have a range of Italian foodie gift ideas including wines, beers, spices, panettone (that’s Italian for ‘stale cake’), oils, cheeses and even posh sauces. Mimi’s has also added to the seating at turned it into a kind of glitter themed pop up Italian accessory shop not visible from the road. They also do custom made hampers. As you can see below, the joint is rammed this year.
The new kid on the Block is Chocolate Dino Company in Kennington Road. Before establishing a bricks and mortar premises they functioned primarily as an online retailer, and you can still buy their cookies and pastries online. Reserve this for someone you have a crush on. as the delicacies aren’t exactly cheap. But we need to support these fellas as they are the bulwark against Gail’s.
Oval Farmer’s Market Ever thought about buying an edible Christmas gift from our own beloved country market? They stock many things that won’t perish under the tree such as chorizo, chocolates and wine. We’re also concerned that the Market is kind of dying and we need to prevent this. You have two Saturdays before Christmas!
The Market at Elephant Park is another newbie for 2024 and offers items similar to that found in Oval, with the addition of some wooly jumpers and those ponchos that you see everywhere but no one seems to wear.
Beefeater Gin Distillery has a lovely but totally deserted gift shop offering unusual, limited run gins and gin accessories. You can also buy a gift voucher to tour the distillery (we can confirm it’s great fun). Perfect for your loved one who likes a nice holiday tipple or to get your annoying uncle Fred to nod off before the turkey is served. We understand Beefeater’s parent company Pernot Ricard is the opposite of independent, but it’s Christmas so don’t judge us.
Orbit Brewery is our own hidden away little gem of a brewery in Walworth. Online or in person you can buy a range of their lagers, cders, ales, porters, and even socks. And the rumour is true, they sell tzatziki flavoured beer that we can only describe as, well, ‘adventurous’.
Didi and Franc have gone full tilt in 2024 and are selling custom made hampers to fill with their gorgeous goods. But if, like us, you don’t fit their demographic, you can just buy one of their baskets and fill it with things from the corner shop. And while you’re there you can pick up a panettone at I due Amici next door. Panettone being of course the food that you never actually eat, but just regift at a Christmas party you’ve been invited to.
NON FOOD
Castle Square When you think of Christmas shopping the first thing that springs to mind probably isn’t ‘ooh, lets go to the place behind Elephant Station where they keep the bins’. But if you venture there you’ll discover a clutch of independent shops that used to exist in the shopping centre. Great for your younger folk looking for baseball caps, hoodies, clothes, or undergarments to make your bum look either smaller or larger. While there pop over to the retro video game emporium 4 Quarters?
SoLo Craft Fair is a collective of online artists and creatives who run a bricks and mortar shop in Elephant Park. Sixty small businesses have their work shown on rotation and during our journey we saw affordable jewellery, handbags, baskets, cards, scarves, bath salts, prints and T-shirts. Things that smell nice seem be dominant this year.
Hound Hut The Hound Hut is proof that in Britain dogs are more important that mere humans. Known by us as the ‘Harrods of doggie treats’, here you can treat your pooch to refrigerated dog food too posh to eat yourself. And of course, what discerning doggie in Greater Kennington would be seen without a lamb ear (with hair!) to gnaw on?
Pretty Shiny Shop sit nexts to the Hound Hut and they swaggeringly claim to be Greater Kennington’s Christmas Shop (steady) and they stock a range or cards, houseware items, and Christmas tree goodies, and small pieces of jewellery. It’s like a giant Christmas explosion in that place. They even have a ‘dress your own Harry Styles’ kit.
Windmill Flowers stocks not just flowers but also collectables and houseware accessories and Mary is in charge to show you the way forward. Mary also has some Christmas trees and accessories for those who haven’t got their act together quite yet.
Vanilla Black in addition to books also has some nice gift ideas such as cards and stockings and a few food items. We think VB secretly hate us but we’ve moved on with our lives and are plugging them anyway because this is the time for charity. Or something.
QueArts is a sterling little arts and crafts store across from Kennington Park and they also undertake framing. Great for your creative or just bored friends.
Bee Urban is bee based charity in the middle of Kennington Park (behind the cafe) selling all sorts of honey and honey related things such as candles, fragrances, soaps and even cards. An interesting place to check out even if you don’t buy anything. And they sell Kennington honey!
Walworth Garden and Urban Botanica While perhaps not the easiest thing to wrap, have you ever considered the gift of houseplants? The charity and juggernaut of horticulture, Walworth Garden are selling cacti, cards and other things in their geodesic dome. While over in Kennington Cross, UB is one of the few places on earth where you can sip your Minor Figures chai latte while browsing Boston ferns.
Umber Works We’ve never seen an actual human being inside Umber Works in Kennington Park Road, but accordingly to their website they run a range of pottery workshops and offer gift vouchers. Of course, the downside of this is that you might be getting useless ceramic ashtrays for the next five years.
We have expended an inordinate amount of emotional energy worrying about the former ‘Firecracker’ site in Windmill Row in Kennington Cross. But now, like a phoenix rising from our underground bunker, its back! For those not in the know, Firecracker Chinese restaurant and takeaway in Windmill Row was closed during Covid, opened briefly, and then closed for over three years owing to a pesky flooding issue. We can officially report that the Runoff loves the new Firecracker. This time around the menu is shorter and cheaper and all main dishes come complete with rice or noodles. Just what one needs for a neighbourhood restaurant or a mid-week takeaway.
Your scribe went to Firecracker with Bunty from HR. As Bunty purports to be posh, he resisted sharing a starter. However, after being stabbed with a chopstick and a quick reminder as to who was paying, Bunty relented and we shared a prawn and chive dumpling. These were good quality with plenty of filling inside the glutinous dough and there was range of dipping sauces available. Bunty then went for a char sui roast pork and upgraded the steamed rice for chicken rice (but of course). This dish also came with some pak choi as standard. The pork was delicious and the chicken rice a revelation. Rebecca, our server, explained that this is rice cooked in chicken stock.
Your scribe had a black bean sauce stir-fry with chicken served with steamed jasmine rice. The intense bean flavour set of the jasmine in the rice very well, with loads of juicy peppers and onions swimming in the mix. For those familiar, inside Firecracker it’s the same vibe as before. There are half a dozen or so tables with comfy seating and it is pleasantly, if a little brightly, lit for people of a certain age. Overall a comfortable place for a casual meal. There is a short wine list and prices are all in the £20-30 range.
We are glad to have Firecracker back and we think the simple and value-for-money menu will be a hit with former and new fans alike. Make sure you give heartly hello to manager/server Rebecca, who owns Firecracker with her family and who lives around the corner.
For reasons relating purely to our highly scientific yet wholly subjective Top Ten Best Places to Eat in Greater Kennington (+ one Sunday Roast) countdown, your scribe and Karen from Finance made an exploratory revisit to Kennington Cross institution Kennington Tandoori. And to cash in on their 40% discount, but more on that later.
We love the dark woods, slinky banquettes and high staff to diner ratio at KT, which lives in stark contrast to the kitsch appeal of nearby Ghandis, with their wonderful melange of celebs from a bygone era (Richard! Judy!) in the window. We started with two onions bhajis, which got Karen so excited that she ate both of them. While chewing, she waxed philosophical that this is a dish that demands a balance of crispness and softness, should be made with gram (chickpea) flour, and the added kick of spice was welcome. Karen stayed vegetarian for the rest of her meal, choosing Amritsari chole (a chickpea curry) and a tarka dahl. These both come as side dish sizes but together made for an adequate main. The chole was a particular revelation, medium to hot spice level and a great winter warmer. Tarka dahl is a reliable favourite, mildly spiced.
Your scribe had the king prawn bhuna, which were cooked Sylhet style with carmelised onions, tomato, chillis and aromatic kaffir limes leaves. All very well balanced with just the right chilli kick. Your scribe experiences an existential, first world crisis when eating prawns in an Indian place. Do you eat the shells or burn your fingers getting them off? From the specials menu, Karen added an Afghan naan: effectively a naan studded with poppy and sesame seeds and was fresh from the tandoor. Your scribe had white rice.
Until 30 November you too can also live like your scribe and Karen by taking advantage of the KT 40% discount by adding ‘Year40’ to your online booking. While a 40% is nice, what ends up happening with Runoff staff is that we capitalise on said discount by just ordering more items, which rather diminishes said discount. Please don’t turn into us because if you do, you’ll end up in a very dark place.
Over the years we’ve seen Oval Farmers Market become smaller and less relevant, which is an inevitable symptom in the evolution of our cherished patch. Well, maybe not so inevitable given that a lot things there are overpriced. So we welcome the new outdoor market that’s popped up in Elephant Park. Elephant Park Market is in the new park located just south of Elephant Road, the home of some amazing South American joints and sometimes home to gentlemen who enjoy an outdoor beverage.
Elephant Park Market is a new neighbourhood market for street food and drink, artisanal food and designer-makers, bringing together and supporting independent, local, ethical and sustainable food producers and crafts traders (yes, we’ve cut and pasted from the press release). On our visit we saw traders selling cards, pastas, biltong, honey, juices, coffee, beauty products and, umm, pencils. We have a particular weakness for those soaps with things stuck in them which look strangely edible, and they’re on offer as well.
The Market at Elephant Park runs every weekend, Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 5, and features over 20 independent traders. But keep going as there is plenty of room for growth and it appears to be getting larger.
