Frequent Runoff readers are aware that we have our own micro independent brewery right here in Greater Kennington (Walworth) and we’re fans (Read our review here). Mind you, we could be bigger fans of their tadziki flavoured beer but you can’t have everything in life and we respect that culinary endeavour. Orbit has rotating guest chefs and for quite some time the kitchen has been home to Cue Point London, an acclaimed and delicious street food brand specialising in Afghan BBQ and brisket.
Under the sobriquet of ‘gorgeous and very hungry members of the public’, KR staff got chatting with chef and Cue Point founder Mursal Saiq and she informed us that she was born in Afghanistan, lived in India, and is now based in the UK. Her menus embrace these backgrounds with huge inspiration from recipes passed down from her mother. Everything is made either on site or in a nearby kitchen (including the to die for naan bread), and Mursal added with enthusiasm that one objective of Cue Point is to help refugees and immigrants in the hospitality sector. We’re hooked already, so let’s eat….
Cedric, our office junior who needs to work on his timekeeping, went for the headline item on the menu: 14 hr Oak Smoked Beef Brisket Steak served with Afghan naan, jalapeño jam and Chef’s pickles. Cedric claims to have travelled extensively in the southern US and noted that the four large slabs of brisket, showing good bark (burned edges), resembled closely what he had seen in the BBQ joints there. The meat was very moist from a long, slow cooking. The Afghan twist was in being served on flat naan and with a spicier sauce than you’ll find in Texas.
Your scribe had the naan taco mix featuring thee tacos presented in naan bread. The vegan taco was based on a smoky aubergine and pickle and Mursal informed us that she even makes her own vegan mayo. The other was generously crammed with the brisket that Cedric ordered, and a surprisingly smoky and almost sweet chicken was the main feature of the third. Thoroughly yummy, including the little pickles to cut through some of the richness. At £15 these mains were good value: higher quality than, say, Bodean’s yet at a lower price.
To add to our carnivorous evening we had cheese and herb croquettes and cheesy potato skins, which weren’t skins as much as they were giant potatoes anointed with gooey cheese. Cue Point make all their sauces in house, and they’re all great. Double down on the Afghan chutney, jalapeno jam, and aioli for dipping everything in. And in the unlikely event that there’s any left over, take the sauce home but you’ll probably be drinking it by the time you get to Kennington Lane. But don’t take our work for it, as even foodie god Jay Rayner is in on the act.
