Lenos & Carbon

We recently paid a long overdue visit to Colombian staple Lenos and Carbon in Elephant Street in Elephant and Castle. If you’ve never been to Elephant Street, it’s a delightful little strip of earth full of northern South American restaurants, shops and cafes which nourishes us with the diversity of our anointed patch.

Hidden behind a tiny door next to the entrance to the station, the first impressions of L&C is that it’s beguilingly large. The walls are adorned with handicrafts that can be purchased, and on our visit the majority of the punters were speaking Spanish – two big ticks from the very outset. We started by trying their empanada, which had a pastry thicker and softer than what we are accustomed to from Argentine restaurants, and was overall more corn based. A tasty and filling bargain at £1.70. We also indulged on a shredded beef arepa. It left us feeling a bit bland but was rescued by some very zingy salsas.

For the mains, Phil from accounts had the Bandeja Paisa, which rather resembled a greatest hits mixed grill meets breakfast buffet dish. The Colombian style chorizo was less paprika flavoured than its Spanish cousin, but still tasty. Around these were an assortment of shredded beef, cereal, corn bread and beans. And both of our plates extended two second plates containing fried plantain, rice and salad. Whew.

Your scribe had the Mojarra Marinera with plantains and rice. Mojarra is a tropical fish and this one was served as a whole, head and all. This mind bogglingly large dish was accompanied by mussels, tiny calamari, prawns, and baby octopus. It was sprinkled with parsley to accompany the very creamy and succulent sauce. Both of these dishes were washed down with Corona on tap, but wine and cocktails are also available.

Colombian food will probably never rise to the dizzying heights of Colombia’s other great export*, but what we love about L&C is the overall experience and vibe. With the Colombian staff and punters it transported us to a place much further south, far removed from train strikes and melting snow.

*We’re talking about Shakira, so please get your mind out of the gutter.

Leños & Carbón is a Colombian tapas restaurant and bar, serving “Latin international cuisine”. It recently relocated from north of New Kent Road to Elephant Road, right next to the Elephant & Castle train station entrance, and it could now claim to be the best Latin restaurant in London’s Latin Quarter.

It’s large and generally busy, with a great atmosphere, especially on the weekends (we last went on a Thursday night and were rather surprised to be asked to leave at 10pm – seemingly the Latin American reputation for late dining doesn’t apply on weekdays):

This is the best part of the restaurant, underneath the railway arch, not least because of the dramatic noise when a train goes overhead:

There’s also a large terrace that is partially outside. You may have noticed it on your left if you enter the train station through the shopping centre:

On to the food, not always our favourite aspect of Latin restaurants, but some of it is actually very good at Leños & Carbón, like this starter on the left of patacón con queso – deliciously ripe deep fried green plantain served with Colombian country cheese:

This cazuela de pescado (fish soup) was also good, if very rich:

This main course was typically Colombian (we know because we went along with an actual Colombian person), but not to the taste of these Londoners – Tilapia Frita – red fried tilapia fish served with rice, deep fried green plantain, and salad. When they say “fried”, they don’t mean gently pan fried, they mean deep fried to a rock-like consistency:

As for the drinks, if you ask nicely (preferably in Spanish), they might serve you your Club Colombia beer michelada-style, with lime, salt and tabasco smeared around the rim of the glass:

Leños & Carbón is exactly the kind of place that makes the shopping centre so vibrant. Whatever happens in the future, let’s make sure places like this live on.

Address: 113 Elephant Road, London SE17 1LB.

Kennington Runoff

Surreptitiously exploring Kennington, including the suburbs Vauxhall, Oval, Walworth, and Elephant, since 2012

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Leños & Carbón Colombian tapas restaurant and bar