The Siobhan Davies Centre in North Kennington has won a RIBA Award for architecture and deservedly so. With the addition of a roof of wood and glass, this old brick building has been transformed into a beautifully light and rather magical space for dance, yoga and such like.
Our photo doesn’t really capture the full glory of the building so click here for more.
The Lobster Pot is one of London’s finest seafood restaurants. It’s also arguably London’s funnest restaurant. And it’s a North Kennington institution – it has been here since 1991 and it’s frequently booked up. Really, you should just go there without knowing what to expect, but if you don’t mind a spoiler then read on.
After ringing a buzzer to gain entry (a precaution that dates back to the nineties rather than being necessary today), you will find yourself inside a ship, with port holes looking out into the sea (i.e. an aquarium):
Upstairs you are on the deck on the ship, with a view of a nearby port painted on the walls, and the sound of seagulls piped through the sound system.
Ship memorabilia is scattered throughout the restaurant:
If you order the lobster (and you should – it is excellent), you will be given a special Lobster Pot bib when it arrives:
I don’t have photos of the staff but the chef looks like Poirot, the staff dress as sailors and one of them is six foot four with model good looks. Eating here is an experience.
Next door to Studio 180, under a railway arch, is one of London’s oldest boxing clubs, Fitzroy Lodge Amateur Boxing Club. It’s charitable, non-profit making, run by volunteers, and it was founded in 1908. It also looks rather cool inside.
NME cover stars Palma Violets rehearse at, and played their first ever gig at, Studio 180 on Lambeth Road. This is a house owned by Network Rail that has been converted into artists’ studios by the team behind Make Space Studios. Occasionally it plays host to gigs which are always rammed and atmospheric, not least thanks to the punch that is served. There are also yoga classes and not particularly private parties. It’s cool.
Vauxhall Spring Gardens AKA Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens in West Kennington has the Vauxhall City Farm on its borders, as well as the Black Dog, the Tea House Theatre, and the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, whose customers spill out on to its edges. It is nicknamed Brokeback Mountain locally for its rugged scenery.
It is currently playing host to the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens summer festival – details below (we borrowed the image from the excellent Tradescant Road blog).
The Museum of London have some info about the history of Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens here.
It may be the wrong side of Walworth Road but Wansey Street is becoming one of the most interesting streets in the area. The neighbouring Heygate Estate is due for demolition, but there are a huge number of mature trees on the estate. Campaigners christened these the North Kennington Urban Forest and convinced developers to preserve most of them. Along the way the campaigners also secured a site on Wansey Street for a community garden, called The Mobile Gardeners’ Park. At some stage in the next few years, Wansey Street will be extended through where the park is currently situated, at which point it will move elsewhere, hence the mobile element.
It features an ingenious and rather beautiful use of an old sofa.
Most of the plants are growing in pots so they can easily be relocated:
A volunteer has built a geodesic dome on the site:
The wild flower meadow won’t be relocating unfortunately:
Wansey Street is also home to the pilot project for the North Kennington regeneration masterplan, and if all the planned new buildings come out looking as good as this one then North Kennington and surrounding areas will be transformed.
Relatively new on Walworth Road are two exciting arrivals within the same premises. Aobaba is a top notch and very reasonably priced Vietnamese street food restaurant. The veggie options are particularly good, the Vietnamese beers are cheap, and there’s a multitude of choice about how to flavour your bubble tea.
Lots of choice of garnishes:
Nice food, beautifully presented:
Even if you’re not a big buyer of oriental foods, the Longdan Express Oriental Supermarket is worth a visit for quality Western brands that aren’t otherwise easy to find in the area, like Teapigs tea.
As you can see from all the elements on the flier below, it’s really more than a fete – it’s a hyper-fete.
Although the alarmingly popular Bat the Rat stall has sadly departed for pastures new, the Amazing Human Fruit Machine still remains – and it really is amazing, or at least highly amusing the first time you see it.
Several Kennington restaurants will be serving food including The Lobster Pot which is one of London’s finest seafood restaurants, and definitely the most fun.
There will be live music, and who will the surprise special guests be? Morrissey? Florence? The Machine? Dot Allison? Giles Fraser performing A Change Is Gonna Come?
Finally, be sure to buy some Walworth Honey as harvested in East Kennington – previous years’ batches have been deliciously lemon-y like nothing you can buy in the shops, and eating local honey is supposed to be good for hay fever.
See you there.
Kennington Bookshop is now closed but the site became Vanilla Black Coffee & Books.
The Kennington Bookshop is an excellent independent book store in the heart of Kennington. It’s great for last minute gift shopping (they also sell cards and wrapping paper), and they have a second hand section in the basement. Local author Will Self has been spotted in there, so it may be the bookshop referred to in this article.
Also if you want a less common, more Kennington twist on the ultimate smug middle class London accessory, the Daunt Books bag, get a Kennington Bookshop bag instead:
Tamesis Dock, formerly known as The English Maid, is one of the best bars on the Thames. It’s a converted 1930s Dutch barge permanently docked off Albert Embankment in West Kennington. They sometimes play host to cool gigs, sometimes private parties, and the atmosphere is always good. This Thursday, Friday and Saturday night it hosts a dinner where fifteen different street food vendors all prepare a course (five each night). We recommend going along on Friday when London’s premier waffle makers Waffle On will be preparing one of the courses. Time Out has more info.
