Category Archives: top 10 best restaurants in Kennington

Theo’s in Elephant

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At the Runoff we take our annual top 10 Best Places to Eat © rundown very seriously. So purely under the guise of quality assurance and not as a flimsy excuse wolf down pizza on a weeknight,  we return to Theo’s in Elephant to see if it still deserves it’s #2 ranking.

Our marketing intern Millicent ordered one of the specials: the Fugazzeta. It was  topped with mozzarella, gorgonzola, onion, olives, garlic and parmesan. Millie is proving to be an intern without a great eye for detail, and had not read that it was in fact a “white” pizza, ie without tomato sauce. Luckily, the well drilled staff at Theo’s heeded her request to throw some sauce on top and probably upset the chef in the process. Moving on, there was no stinting on the gorgonzola, so not for the fainthearted. The result was a super cheesy-oniony topping,  complemented by plump olives and subtle garlic. And of course the usual top-notch, chewy, blistered Neapolitan-style base.

  • The not so white pizza
  • Sausage and Tropea

Your scribe had another special, the sausage and tropea onion pizza. We had frankly never heard of a tropea onion, but it was delicate, sweet, and quite tender.  The yellow tomatoes were a treat as was the inclusion of a cheese not often seen on a pizza, pecorino. But what made this pizza were the sizeable chunks of fennel sausage. And again, the sourdough and slightly scorched base finished it off perfectly. And for £12/13, it seemed pretty fair to us and in our less than humble opinion Theo’s remains the best pizza in Greater Kennington, and that is no mean feat in these parts. 

On the drinks front, Theo’s has a good selection of Italian wines and beers at good prices.  Millie was a bit alarmed that the carafe of wine ordered was solely for the consumption of your author. But if you’re reading this Millie (and if not you really should be) at the end of a day you’re just an intern so content yourself with that Pepsi Max and a made up pizza. 

Beza Vegan Ethiopian

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Beza Vegan Ethiopian is the Runoff’s favourite vegan joint and has been bothering our top ten 10 list for a number of years. It started its local life as a pop up in Elephant and Castle shopping centre in 2016 and lives on close to the new ‘so hip it hurts’ dining area Sayer Street in Elephant.

If you don’t know a great deal about Ethiopian food they make it easy for you as there is only one thing on the menu, and the very friendly Ethiopian staff can tell you all about it. The food is served on a giant platter and is intended to be eaten without cutlery by means of a glorious bread called injera, but you can choose rice (but don’t). Injera has a slight tangy flavour to it and they will bring you as much as you want. On the platter we had red lentils with garlic, sautéed mushrooms, chickpeas, spinach, beetroot and cabbage cooked in a variety of ways. The heat level was moderate but if want to ramp it up we were given two condiments. One was hot and the other felt like we were chomping down on molten lava, mitigated by free minty water.  All extremely pleasing.

We went to Beza on a warm July Friday night without a reservation but it filled up quickly.  All in all we felt very healthy when we left. Well, maybe not with the bottle of wine that we managed to neck in half an hour, but don’t judge us. And at only £39 for two people it was certainly good on the wallet. They also serve an even larger (were talking car tyre size) portion for four people, creating a party sharing vibe. This is the perfect spot to take your friends who dither over menus, as there is really only one choice.  አስገራሚ!

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The Coffee Shop @ Park College

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Like most people, on our rare work from home days we love nothing more than getting the grey matter by having a tuna melt while watching ‘Loose Women’. However, we recently decided to revisit a delightful and little known vegetarian café next to Kennington Park. 

Park College is an establishment that helps young people with additional needs (primarily autism) enter the world of work. On our previous visit we saw young people gardening, repairing bikes, and working in a design space. The Coffee Shop is for folks interested in the hospitality/catering trade, and the students cook and serve all the food with the assistance of dedicated staff. This includes sandwiches, muffins, cakes, paninis and quiches. And they’re mightily proud of their hot beverages and happy to help with your selection. 

My dining partner was once again Karen from Finance, who always enjoys a comp’ed meal. She had the falafel, roast veg and spinach wrap with houmous. This little vegan delight was presented as a wrap, and the abundant Mediterranean peppers were rounded off by chunks of falafel and mounds of creamy houmous. Your scribe had a mozzarella, tomato and spinach panini. The mozzarella was balled, rich and fresh with zingy tomato and mayo. 

While it might not reach the thrilling heights of having edible tableware (see previous post), The Coffee Shop at Park College is a relaxed and chilled environment, where you leave knowing that you have helped build a career for vulnerable young people.  It’s  open Monday to Thursday 9:30am to 3:00pm and Friday 9:30am to 1:45pm, term time only. They also have a very large Instagram presence which showcases their catering business. They also sell a sell a range of merch, from greetings cards to key chains to, um, bird huts. And we all love merch, don’t we? 

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Return of the Duchy Arms

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We sometimes worry about the fate the Duchy Arms pub in Sandcroft street as it suffers from BPL syndrome (Bad Pub Location) and people forget that it exists. It also appears to have had more chefs than Boris Johnson has kids.  However, it very much does still exist and has a huge beer garden for us all to enjoy in this warm weather. 

When we arrived we were a bit unsettled by the lack of people in the garden (which used to be a car park). That didn’t prevent us from drinking quickly and then ordering food. Your scribe chose from the a la carte menu and had the breast of chicken with roasted potatoes. The substantial chicken was lemony and lightly crusted and served with a rich and creamy wild mushroom sauce. The roasted potatoes were slightly peppery and pleasingly greasy. Our new intern Pam had the creamy mussels marinière which she deemed to be good quality and generously sized, with plenty of garlic.

Phil from accounts chose from the pub menu as he spends most of his life in pubs and it offered pub classics: burgers, fish and chips. The burgers were also substantial and featured bacon and cheddar as standard. The meat patties were thick and homemade, there was a good Mac-style burger sauce, and the fries alongside were decent. However, when we asked the server if the fries had ever been in a VERY cold place she giggled and changed the topic. As the evening continued it appeared that the BPL curse had been lifted as the Duchy began to fill up with people relaxing after working out, dates, and people generally out for a good time. 

In addition to the satisfying food and quiet atmosphere, the Duchy also has nice staff and they even brought our drinks to the table. And if that isn’t good enough, all of their meat is sourced from PJ Frankland & Sons in Vauxhall. And you haven’t discovered it yet, then get with the programme as Franklands is a friendly family business run by a sister and brother.

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Pot and Rice

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As a Runoff rule, when we hear the name ‘pan’ added to any restaurant cuisine we run and hide for cover. However, we’ve been hearing favourable things about pan Asian joint Pot and Rice and we recently checked it out for you. Pot and Rice can be found hipster foodie haven Sayer Street (as it turns out sadly not named after the washed up 70’s pop star) in Elephant and Castle. 

We’re big believers in sticking to what a restaurant does best, and in the case of Pot and Rice it has to be their traditional clay pot rice dishes. These bowls of goodness are a staple in south China and adjoining countries such as Laos and Vietnam. If rice isn’t your thing they also offer a selection of Udon dishes, Cheung fun, and Bao buns. But you’re on your own with those. 

Your scribe and dining partner Karen from Finance started with four beef dumplings, which were well grilled and heartily stuffed. I continued by ordering the chicken and shitake mushroom pot, filled with a ginger and soy marianated chicken thigh, and a combination of dry and fresh mushrooms with a topping of spring onion. The pots come with an ample side of soy sauce, which boiled and sizzled when poured into the aforementioned pot.  

For her mains, Karen opted for the Chinese sausage and chicken pot, with the chicken also marinated in soy sauce. The sausage was made from duck, and the deep flavour of the fat bled into the rice mixture. It was topped with some broccoli which pleasingly created the illusion that you were eating something healthy. The pot is actually hot in the very literal sense, resulting in lovely, chewy burned rice at the edges, so a bit like a Chinese paella. Karen so eagerly consumed her clay pot dish that she then had a go at mine. This resulted in an unsightly yet very entertaining sword fight involving chop sticks and flying soy sauce. Wine may or may not have been consumed. 

Pot and Rice has a casual and informal atmosphere with ambient music and well drilled, informed wait staff. There were also a number of patrons speaking Cantonese/Mandarin which is an accolade in itself, with a smattering of East Asian students.  Best of all, it’s a family run business. 

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Ten Best Places to Eat in Greater Kennington

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(+ One Sunday Roast)

#3 PALADAR

The extremely hip restaurant ‘Paladar’ has been on our radar since it opened in 2018 and after the stingy Runoff management team finally agreed to pay for our meal we recently visited. It has shot up and nabbed the number 3 spot in our countdown. It is probably as close to ‘fine dining’ as you can get in our area, so we suggest doing for a special date. Or if you’re trying to make up with your other half.

Paladar is a Latin American fusion restaurant in St. George’s Circus near Elephant & Castle/Lambeth North. The restaurant doubles as an art space, and on our visit featured work by Ecuadorean artist Ulises Valarezo. The crowd is more West End chic than we would expect in these parts, and in fact we sat next to ‘Leave a Light On’ pop star Tom Walker and loads of people laughing while flicking their hair.

  • Pork Belly
  • Lettuce Hearts

The menu is, you guessed it, sharing plates and five items served two people just fine. We were served by a precise, chirpy and professionally drilled service staff who knew quite a bit about what they were serving and actually spoke Spanish to one another.  Highlights were  texture rich tuna tartare tostadas accompanied by a fragrant salsa which  reminded us ever so slightly of a delicious, yet expensive, hand soap. The pork belly tacos had an interesting Chinese crispy duck sticky quality and were wrapped in lettuce leaves as opposed to a tortilla. On the veggie front, we enjoyed compelling, deep fried tapioca croquettes which were savory but just verging on being sweet. We also indulged on chargrilled lettuce hearts with a nut based topping.

Croquettes and Tuna

With a bottle of wine the total bill came to £84 which is by no means cheap but it will teach the management team a thing or two before they tell us that we’re not worth the dosh. Money well spent even if you don’t get the chance to sit next to a minor pop star in a bobble hat. 

Paladar also sell South American wines in their adjacent wine shop.  We enjoyed a divine £26 Montes Colchagua Valley Merlot which was less than a tenner more than was going in the shop. 

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Ten Best Places to Eat in Greater Kennington

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+ One Sunday Roast

#6 Daebak

Since opening a few years ago Daebak in Vauxhall has been delivering consistent and hearty Korean fare in a very cool street Seoul setting. Word has now spread and it’s more popular than ever, with so many Korean patrons that you’d think a minor member of BTS was inside.   The folks are  probably enticed by their Korean down home treats such as kimchi pancakes and…wait for it….. potato chips with cream cheese powder, best consumed with the Korean beer Cass. 

For our meal the three of us ordered soy garlic Korean Fried Chicken (or KFC, a speciality, above), spicy bibimbap,  Katsu curry, crispy tofu, and gyoza. Let me tell you, reader, we were rolling out of there by the end of it. We could have easily dropped one of the main courses as they were huge. We highly recommend the various kinds of fried chicken on order (crunchy, subtle) and the Bibimbap is delicious and comes with two veg. options. I would also experiment with a starter like octopus balls. Overall it is great food, and pretty kind on the pocket. 

Daebak is small and charming, but if you are going on a weekend it might be a good idea to book, as last time we couldn’t get in we had to go across the street to ‘Jihwaja’ which was the opposite of charming. Well, unless your idea of charm involves hen do’s, stale kimchee and blaring K-Pop. And if it does then this blog might not be for you…..

Pros – It has wide open doors overlooking Vauxhall

Cons – It has wide open doors overlooking Vauxhall

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Ten Best Places to Eat in Greater Kennington

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+ One Sunday Roast

#8 The Jolly Gardeners

The number eight spot goes to the only pub in our countdown, The Jolly Gardeners in Vauxhall. The Gardeners sprang to life in 2021 and now occupies the same kitchens formerly used by a German themed pub, which we once correctly described as ‘food best enjoyed when you’re not entirely sober’. But fear not, the Gardeners boys and their sustainable and well sourced kitchen know what they’re doing. And it’s 50% vegan. 

The menu at the Gardeners changes periodically, but at the time of writing (March 2023) we’ve enjoyed a cauliflower wings (a bit of a staple), lightly grilled leek with almonds, and the breaded cod filet swimming in spinach cream sauce with kale. The format in this huge pub is that it is 50% is set out as a dining room with the other half as a pub, but food can be consumed in both. The pub also features an outside dining/drinking area that rather reminds us of a ski lodge or sauna. 

While it might have missed out on the top spot in terms of Sunday roasts, we can definitely recommend the Gardener roasts. As the food keeps coming it almost has an ‘all you can eat’ element to it. In the past we’ve enjoyed the silverside beef and Dorset lamb. Also keep your eagle eye out for their spicy peri peri fries and mustard green salad. On the drinks front, they work hard to source from local breweries such as Coalition or even closer ones from Brixton. 

The Gardeners guys also operate a zippy little sandwich place two doors down called Simply Bread. When asked if one of the sandwich makers is none other than Mick Hucknall himself, the 20 something employee replied with a perplexed stare. 

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Ten Best Places to Eat in Greater Kennington

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+One Sunday Roast

#10 CAFE VAN GOGH

Coming up at the rear of our very best is vegan institution Café Van Gogh in Oval. The Café operates as a not for profit social enterprise and many of the people working there live with challenges which would exclude them from most of the job market. They also aspire to be zero waste and all of their takeaway containers and coffee cups are fully compostable. According to their website ‘our social purpose is more important than making tonnes of cash’. TICK! 

Your noble scribe tucked into the shiitake shawarma served in a bowl with flatbread. The generous portion was augmented by baked butterbeans, yogurt, dukkah and sprinkled with coriander. The flavours worked well and the meaty mushrooms melted in my mouth very quickly. In a sense it was amazing that this was vegan at all, and reflects what must be a great deal of experimentation in the kitchen. This very much had a home cooked feel. 

Mike from our IT team had the Van Gogh burger. This is a house speciality with the burger being based on shiitake mushrooms, with likely some beetroot in the mix for a bit of colour. This was at the softer end of veggie burgers but agreeable and was elevated by an excellent soft domed roll and some spicy vegan mayo. Served with this were some thin cut chips dusted with a kind of fake bacon (fakon?) powder, which was a fun addition. Mike has a very complex, and some would say tortured, relationship with vegan cheese, so it did not make an appearance. 

Overall, Café Van Gogh is a gently Bohemian and effortlessly welcoming space, and the Van Gogh prints on the wall and Starry Night ceiling reminded us of those immersive art installations that are all the rage at the moment. If you don’t take our (meat eating) word for the quality of the food at Café Van Gogh, it was recently recognised as one of the top vegan restaurants be no less than Conde Nast Traveller! They are also very much open in the evening, and sell a rage of vegan wines and beers. 

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Call the Doctor!

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Since the demise of Elephant and Castle shopping centre a few years ago, we’ve been telling you how the small businesses that were there have adapted to other premises. Two sterling examples are the great Black Cowboy Coffee and critically acclaimed Kaieteur Kitchen. As it’s January and we’re now expected *eats doughnut* to lead much more healthy lifestyles, we’re here to tell you about another of these ventures; ‘Dr. Juice’.

Dr. Juice is the brainchild of Colombian born entrepreneur John Parra. In 2015 he was working for M&S and he and his friends noticed a distinct lack of healthy food options around Elephant and Castle. Given that healthy juices are a feature of most Colombian tables, the gap in the market seemed obvious and John tasked himself with addressing the issue. According to John ‘I just wanted to make the community become healthier’.

On our stopover, my juicy companion had the ‘Dirty Passion’ smoothie, comprised of mango, passion fruit, orange and pineapple. Your scribe had the ‘Dr. Classic’ juice drink consisting of carrot, apple, orange and ginger. All of the ingredients worked powerfully when whizzed together. These drinks are made before your very eyes and there are no artificial additives, but you can add items such as chia seeds and protein. Dr. Juice also sells acai bowls and fruit bowls 

We remember John’s petite pop up juice bar in the shopping centre fondly as they were located across from the erotic electric massage chairs. The new location is much more spacious and benefits from being in an area full of students. However, as we know post pandemic, every food establishment is at risk and benefits from our patronage. 

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