Category Archives: top 10 best restaurants in Kennington

The Ten Best Restaurants in Greater Kennington #4

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(+ One Sunday Roast)

THE CORIANDER

Greater Kenningtontonians are almost as opinionated about their curry as their Sunday roast, but we find that the best hands down to be The Coriander in Vauxhall. We are aware that such a bold assertion is controversial and might make you want to hurl tarka dahl our way but since you don’t actually know who we are that’s not gonna happen.

Coriander specialises in North Indian, Bengali and Nepalese cuisine. The garlic naan is just right – not too thick and herbs going through it. For side dishes, the  baingon motor (aubergine) is  a standout treat, and their other starters cover all the bases of North Indian food. For the mains, our favourites are the chicken tikka naga (above) with hints of cloves, cumin and loads of heat.  All the good curry house standards are also in evidence, and we particularly like the handi laze, which is spicy chicken with chillies and fragrant cardamon, given some zing with added lemon. And as with most Indians, there are a range of veg options. There are also a huge range of rice options, and we prefer the good old fashioned pilau.

Honourable mention in for Indian food goes to proper old school curry joint Gandhis in Kennington Cross which just missed our list. As you can see by celebrity strewn pictures in the window, if it’s good enough for Richard and Judy, Neil and Christine Hamilton, and some lady who’s a dead ringer for Hyacinth Bucket then it has to be good enough for us mere mortals and deserves second Indian place.

The Best Sunday Roast in Greater Kennington

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24 THE OVAL

We would like to take a pause from the nail biting and profoundly moving Top 10 list to announce that the best Sunday Roast in Greater Kennington can be found at the very cheffy ’24 The Oval’. The runner up is new kid on the Vauxhall block ‘Jolly Gardeners’ which almost knocked off ’24’ for reasons petulantly outlined at the end of this post. 

What immediately strikes you about 24 is that it is truly a temple to good food and quality ingredients. The wait staff know about the food they’re serving, and the open kitchen is a symbol of their honest approach to food. During lockdown, 24 transformed itself into a farm shop with a sideline in craft bottled beers. We were very pleased to see that this little tradition continues selling everything from Cava to carrots. 

As an ‘amuse-bouche’ each table of two is served with four miniature Yorkies served with a delicious gravy probably made with beef drippings (vegan options abound, however). My dining partner and Sunday Roast connoisseur had the pork belly which was generous and nicely soft and sticky in all the right places. Your scribe had the lamb and the shoulder was served shredded, with the leg served in pink and fatty strips.  As it is one of their specialities, the Yorkshire puddings were large and just the right side of crispy. Both roasts were served with more hearty gravy served from a saucepan.  Also evidenced was pea puree with a pleasing consistency not unlike that of baby food. 

What strikes you about 24 is that they have none of that ‘small sharing plates’ BS.  The real star of the show here is the very well cooked veg. In addition to those served with the roast, you are presented with so many additional veg items that they almost fall off the table. This included cauliflower cheese and roast potatoes which were perfectly crispy but with a soft centre. The carrots possessed an intense roasted flavour and savoy cabbage also popped in for a visit. An unexpected mystery guest for us were Jerusalem artichokes. The mains run between £19 and £23 which ain’t cheap, but we feel is worth it. 

24, if you are a KR reader (and if not you’re really missing out) we need to talk about something. You stand guilty of committing a crime pervasive in London restaurants at the moment. Namely, selling hugely overpriced wine. Your cheapest bottle is a not very cheap £29, which was almost 300% above the retail price. We are letting you off the hook as times have been tough but we’re watching you *wags finger*! Otherwise you make a mighty fine roast and you know it. 

The Ten Best Restaurants in Greater Kennington #5

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(+ One Sunday Roast)

Kuma

We are back in Kennington Cross and this time at quirky haunt Kuma which makes its third appearance on the list. We were there last night as we are slightly obsessed with the place to ensure standards haven’t slipped. As we know some of you prefer takeaways to physical dining, the review below was made during the last lockdown. However, if you go in the flesh you will be treated to a background of K-pop music and extremely friendly staff. And Kuma, please never do away with your water served in Korean athletic sports bottles.

It’s Saturday night and time for a takeaway! Astute readers will be cognizant of our love of the Korean/Japanese joint ‘Kuma’ in Kennington Cross. We recently had a takeaway from there and, while not achieving the olfactory heights of being in the restaurant, is definitely worth a Saturday nosh. But Kuma, if you’re reading this we need to have a serious conversation about your excessive use of Styrofoam. Moving on..

Naughty styrofoam and delicious fried chicken


Your zealous scribe started with the painfully bang on trend Korean Fried Chicken. Kuma has three options; traditional, spicy, and we opted for the sticky soy garlic. The medium portion was huge and suitable for two. It had a great crispy crunch and slathered in a sticky soy garlic sauce. For the mains your scribe opted for the chicken bulgogi (say it like a pro…..Boo-GOH-gee) which were very thin strips of chicken grilled on a BBQ coated with a very good sauce called gochujang. Spring onion featured and it was consumed in lettuce wraps. It was billed as ‘hot’ and it certainly was, and so generous that your scribe couldn’t finish it.

My associate had the Kimchi Bokkumbap as a main, a Korean fried rice dish with the national ingredient kimchi (spiced fermented cabbage) topped with barbecued beef strips. A bit like Chinese stir fry rice with a heavy dose of red chilli sauce. It was topped with a fried egg and came with miso soup, and again was a very generous portion. 

The Ten Best Restaurants in Greater Kennington #6

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Daebak…..Home of KFC

Since it opened 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. Of note there are a number of Korean patrons, 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 ‘Hite’. The review below is from a couple of years ago but we’ve been many times since to explore its great and deliciously unconventional fare.

A few days ago we popped our sweaty selves to Vauxhall to revisit a delightful Korean friend called ‘Daebak’.  It is a small, delightful restaurant not to be confused with the not so charming ‘Jihwaja’ across the road. Well, unless your idea of charming involves hen do’s, stale kimchee and blaring K-Pop. And if it does then this website might not be for you…..

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. Great food, and pretty kind on the pocket. 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 and it wasn’t pretty.

Daebak is at 316-318 Kennington Lane

Pros – It has wide open doors overlooking Vauxhall

Cons – It has wide open doors overlooking Vauxhall

The Ten Best Restaurants in Greater Kennington #7

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Yard Cafe

The number seven spot has been kidnapped by newbie on the block Yard Cafe. Set in a Buddhist Centre, it’s a blissful way to spend your work from home lunch break. The menus evolve which gives you no reason not to keep coming back. Seating is mostly outside, which might seem a bit surreal in February but its worth it. Review below.

Some of you might remember the vegetarian/vegan café at the Jamyang London Buddhist centre in Renfrew Road. It sadly went under just before we had a chance to review it, which is unusual as most places we review go under just after we review them. Well, it is now back with a vengeance and has just been taken over by the gastronomically acclaimed restaurant Louie Louie, curiously located in the less than gastronomically acclaimed Walworth Road. The new venture is called The Yard, and is open for lunch on weekdays, 10 to 4. 

The emmental and sauerkraut is a fave

The menu continues to be totally vegetarian and vegan and they also sell ice cream sandwiches and a few groceries. They also sell…..wait for it…..ice cream for dogs. Your scribe had a feta, labneh, roast carrot and tomato sandwich with rocket, with a bread that also rocked. My dining partner had a salad of chickpeas and chard with baba ganoush, roast carrot and tomato, green beans and leaves. Bagels and toasties were also available and looked good. 

The building that houses Yard Cafe is an old courthouse dating from 1869, in its latter days used as a maximum security court for special remands, including IRA terrorists, the Kray twins, and members of the gang who seized the Iranian Embassy. It Remains the tranquil home of the Buddhist Centre, so when the sun is shining Kennington has nowhere more peaceful to eat your healthy lunch. 

The Ten Best Restaurants in Greater Kennington #8

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Beza Vegan Ethiopian

The number eight spot has been procured by Ethiopian Vegan hotspot ‘Beza’ in Elephant and Castle. It was recently lauded by the Guardian as one of the best vegetarian restaurants in London, and a few weeks ago by the same publication as one of the best restaurants in the UK run by immigrants. The review below is from last spring but we went again  last week and the standard remains. If you want to make a night of we suggest popping into the fun sports bar ‘Tap Inn’ to experience their complex and well selected range of beers and ciders. And yes, this is probably the first and last time the Runoff will ever recommend a sports bar, so truly something to tell your grandchildren about. 

The jury is still out as to whether the mind bending juggernaut that is Elephant Park is actually in the Kennington Runoff catchment area (if you live there don’t get your hopes up). But for the purpose of this review lets just say it is. Beza Vegan Ethiopian started its local life as a pop up in Elephant and Castle shopping centre in 2016. It was one of the many establishments that were kicked out when it closed and it has certainly landed on its feet. It now has a spiffy new premises very close to the new ‘so hip it hurts’ dining area Sayer Street.

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. 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 some condiments that would set your toenails alight, mitigated by free minty water.  All extremely pleasing.

We went to Beza on a cold Saturday night but we were provided with little blankets to drape over ourselves.  All in all we felt very healthy when we left, other than the bottle of wine that we managed to neck in half an hour. And at only £28 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 for  £44! አስገራሚ!

The Ten Best Restaurants in Greater Kennington #9

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TARO

The number nine spot has been grabbed by the now well established Japanese canteen Taro at the bottom of Kennington Road. Our review below is from 2020, but we’ve been back a number of times since and the food is as reliable as a cocktail party at #10.

Part of the Greater Kennington firmament for over a year now, Taro has consistent delivery of 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 acres above the lot (February 2022 – it still is!).

Some staff were in Japan before our Taro visit last year and went to Taro with 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.

Taro can be delivered to your door via Deliveroo,  and you can pop in and take it away. They curiously don’t have a website, but are located at 414 Kennington Road, close to the park.

The Ten Best Restaurants in Greater Kennington #10

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KAIETEUR KITCHEN

After a taking a pause during that-year-we’d-all like-to-forget-about, our  countdown  of the best places to eat in Greater Kennington (+ one Sunday Roast) has returned!  Our profoundly subjective algorithm balances taste and food quality with value for money. Entrants can be either lunch or dinner establishments, and must have both dine in and eat at home options. And of course, all must be in Kennington, Vauxhall, Oval, Elephant or Walworth. The number 10 spot has been grabbed by Elephant and Castle staple Kaieteur Kitchen which we visited only a few weeks ago. Our review is below

As our exercise calendar is looking almost as barren as the wine aisle of Boris’s local ‘Tesco Metro’, we decided to rededicate ourselves to more achievable tasks, namely eating out. A great place to start is the critically acclaimed Guyanese Caribbean restaurant Kaieteur Kitchen. Formerly a long standing food stall outside  Elephant shopping centre, it now proudly has its own spiffy premises for both eat in and take away in Castle Square, across the street from Elephant and Castle overground. It’s a bit tucked away on the first floor, but well worth the effort. 

Upon arrival at Kaiteur everyone is offered either ginger beer or mango juice, served by the very friendly staff and the grand dame of the kitchen, Faye Gomes. The menu at Kaieuter changes weekly, and sometimes daily, and on this trip your scribe had the beef stew served with okra. The okra was a rice based dish mixed with chili and garlic. The beef had been very slowly cooked and could not wait another second to fall off the bone, made earthier with sinew and connective tissue.  Served with carrots, scotch bonnet chili and what appeared to be cassava sauce. 

If you aren’t familiar with the unique cuisine from Guyana, it is essentially food with its foundation in Africa. However, with the movement of labour around the world, the food was heavily influenced by Chinese, Indian and Portugese fare making it quite unique to its Caribbean neighbours. Ka is good, home-made Guyanese fare served with friendly warmth. And with a background of late 80’s slow jams to accompany your salted cod stew, you’ll be glad you broke that resolution only 18 days after you started it, just like we did…. But will it make our much heralded and upcoming top 10???

 

Back Dog Sunday Roast

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Ahead of our profound and moving, yet highly subjective,  ‘Top Ten Best Restaurants in Greater Kennington’ (plus one Sunday roast) countdown, we recently enjoyed a Sunday roast at local stalwart the Black Dog in Vauxhall and were here to tell you about it. 

Aside from the roast, what the Dog is particularly good at are the starters and bar snacks. With a Spanish/European tilt, what looked good to us were the padron peppers, squid with wasabi mayo, and their signature Scotch eggs. For roast one, your scribe had the sirloin steak roast with a curious spinach and cream mash. The steak was very lean and thinly sliced, with generous vegetables and a not-very-Sunday-roast-but-still-delicious curious creamed spinach mixture. Sides of horseradish and apple sauce were also a treat.

  • Pork
  • Steak

Our Ombudsman Phil had the pork belly roast, which was a thick slice of rolled pork belly topped off with some crackling. The meat was well cooked, with delicious but not overwhelming fat. Yorkshire pudding pulled off the great feat of being soft yet crispy – a triumph. Good veggies alongside, not over cooked. Paul is a gravy man and gave it a big tick. There is also a good selection of Casque Marque accredited ales and beers. And a good value at £17. 

The look at the Dog is one of a fun antiques shop mixed with assorted kitchen tables.  The crowd is an interesting mix of middle class white people under the age of 35. If this describes yourself, then congratulations and you’ll fit right in. if, like us, that does not describe yourself then you’ll still feel at home as the atmosphere is very inviting. But please be warned, that the toilet marked ‘U’ is ‘urinals’ and does NOT stand for ‘unisex’. God knows we’re  not making that mistake again. 

Kaieteur Kitchen, or How we Broke Our Diet

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As our exercise calendar is looking almost as barren as the wine aisle of Boris’s local ‘Tesco Metro’, we decided to rededicate ourselves to more achievable tasks, namely eating out. A great place to start is the critically acclaimed Guyanese Caribbean restaurant Kaieteur Kitchen. Formerly a long standing food stall outside  Elephant shopping centre, it now proudly has its own spiffy premises for both eat in and take away in Castle Square, across the street from Elephant and Castle overground. It’s a bit tucked away on the first floor, but well worth the effort. 

Upon arrival at Kaiteur everyone is offered either ginger beer or mango juice, served by the very friendly staff and the grand dame of the kitchen, Faye Gomes. The menu at Kaieuter changes weekly, and sometimes daily, and on this trip your scribe had the beef stew served with okra. The okra was a rice based dish mixed with chili and garlic. The beef had been very slowly cooked and could not wait another second to fall off the bone, made earthier with sinew and connective tissue.  Served with carrots, scotch bonnet chili and what appeared to be cassava sauce. 

Jan from accounts had the chicken curry. Served on the bone,  it was so slowly cooked that it almost fell off the bone when picked up. It was drier than an Indian curry but just as spicy and rich. Both dishes were served with either roti or spinach rice. We chose the rice, which was reminiscent of Jamaican rice and peas minus the peas with a nice stream of coconut milk. We also shared a side of a midly sweet creamed pumpkin. Meanwhile, the chaps at the table next to us were tucking into deep fried and chunky plantain and meatballs about the dimensions of a baby’s head.  

If you aren’t familiar with the unique cuisine from Guyana, it is essentially food with its foundation in Africa. However, with the movement of labour around the world, the food was heavily influenced by Chinese, Indian and Portugese fare making it quite unique to its Caribbean neighbours. Ka is good, home-made Guyanese fare served with friendly warmth. And with a background of late 80’s slow jams to accompany your salted cod stew, you’ll be glad you broke that resolution only 18 days after you started it, just like we did…. But will it make our much heralded and upcoming top 10???