Category Archives: cafes and restaurants

The Firecracker Lunch Special

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When your scribe made a request to review the lunch options at Kennington Cross Chinese eatery Firecracker, the Observer finance director Adam said ‘you need to bring your own lunch’. When it was pointed out that a selection of rice or noodle dishes is just £8.50 or £10.00 if you add a soft drink or side dish he jumped out of seat and said ‘I’m your man’, and out of our secret office bunker we emerged.

On arrival at Firecracker we were greeted by a young waiter who had a ‘my parents own this gaff’ attitude to service. And to complement this swagger he had an amazing head of hair, reminding us somewhat of a Vileda mop. Adam was feeling spicy and chose belly pork and French bean with chilli bean sauce. He pronounced this properly spicy with plenty of beans and pork along with slightly sticky but lovely jasmine rice. Adam also decided, using his own words, to ‘splash out’ by ordering a side dish of prawn toast which was crunchy and abundant with sesame seeds.

Your scribe went old school and had sweet and sour chicken. The flavour profile was tangy and sweet, with the chicken very slightly battered and well combined with the tender vegetables. Between the rice bowls, noodle bowls and salads there were about 15 dishes to choose from, all at the same price. We didn’t tell Adam at the time, but given that the portions are perfectly decent you don’t need a side dish, even if some prawn toast did sound tempting. Not that offered us any, mind you.

Firecracker should be packed out but it was quiet on our visit on a Thursday lunchtime. Service was laid back in style, even a little sparse, but the food came quickly and was well presented. Let’s make this great Kennington lunch special more of a big deal and give the staff something to get excited about other than having great hair.

Pullens Yard Open Studios 2025

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Last week we wrote about this coming weekend as our favourite of the year, and here’s another reason. As frequent readers are all too aware, we here at the Observer love nothing more than anonymously sticking our noses where they don’t belong. And you too can take part in our passion/dysfunction by attending the great Pullens Yard Open Studios weekend taking place on 6-8 June in Walworth.

Pullens Yards (Clements, Peacock and the large Iliffe Yard) are an amazing collection of 1880’s workhouses which were originally designed for the people who lived in the nearby Pullens Estate. We wrote about the fascinating squatting history of the estate a few years ago. Instead of being converted into luxury flats, the Yards serve the same purpose as they did 140 years go, and the cabinet makers and blacksmiths have been replaced by potters, jewellery makers, card makers and folks who make things that smell nice. We once bought moth balls disguised as little knitted mice. And as we know crystals are just rocks, the stall holders might just convince you that they have the power to heal.

The studios at Pullens Yards are usually not open to the public, but twice a year they fling their doors open to give us a glimpse into their creative universe. The artists are more than happy to show you what and how they create, and of course you can buy what’s on show. And buying is by no means compulsory, as at the end the day these folks just want to show off how creative they are and it’s totally free. Have we mentioned how much we love free?

A visit to the Yards is a fun way to spend a morning or a late afternoon searching for quirky and unnecessary things. In the past we’ve encountered live music, food for sale, a bar provided by Orbit Brewery(!) and bumped into neighbours. In 2022 we went on a wet Friday night which proved particularly evocative. And who knows, you just might discover a previously unrealised desire to own a necklace made out of forks or a room deodoriser fashioned as a piece of cheese.

And if you’re hungry or want some tea, check out the great and very quirky Electric Elephant Café. And no, its not a charity shop. It just looks like one.

Beza Vegan Ethiopian

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Beza Vegan Ethiopian is the Observer’s favourite vegan joint and has been since it started its local life as a pop up in Elephant and Castle shopping centre in 2016. It now lives on close to the new ‘so hip it hurts’ dining area Sayer Street in Elephant. And the only thing better than the food is the fact that it is female owned and operated.

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’ll 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.

The crowd at Beza are primarily thirty somethings who just left the gym with their water bottles and who probably live in those new flashy towers nearby. This by no means describes us, but they appeared envious of just how quickly we downed our big glasses of wine. 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.

Why Ethopian food isn’t more popular is a great mystery to us, like that giant pong that used to be in Kennnington tube or why you never see any baby pigeons. But this shouldn’t be a mystery to you, and take your friends who dither, as their is really only one option!  አስገራሚ!

Mr. Charcoal – The Real Deal

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Mr. Charcoal is a very authentic Chinese in north Kennington focussing on dishes from northeast China and is by no means Cantonese takeaway fare. You might know it by its previous incarnation, Seveni. We recently paid a visit to see what the barbeque buzz is about. What first strikes the patron is the presence of cheesy Chinese pop music (tick), actual Chinese diners (triple tick), and enormous mutant looking fish in a tank (quadruple tick). In fact, it creates the almost immersive experience of being in a Beijing café.

As a starter new intern Nick and your scribe had chicken hearts. We’d never actually eaten heart before, and it can only be described as kind of like a crispy meatball. It was heavily seasoned with cumin (as a lot of dishes are), sesame, and a great deal of pepper. We contemplated ordering pig brain, aorta, intestines, or duck blood but then thought that the table would end up looking more like a crime scene. So we stuck with more mainstream dishes.

The main event for us was a shared stew pot described as Chinese sauerkraut with pork belly strips. Our server had helpfully advised that this was good to share so we teamed it with some egg fried rice. If you don’t like a lot of spice, this is a good choice: plenty of flavour in the cabbage, not exactly sauerkraut, a little more soup-like and the most delicious thin slices of pork belly somewhat of the fashion you might find floating in a bowl of Japanese ramen. This was sufficient for two people with the tasty egg fried rice also in a shareable portion. We also indulged on the lamb skewer. Forgetting protocol, Nick tried to split them in half until he realised, after your scribe stabbed him with a skewer, that Observer staff get more than interns. It was juicy, very cuminy, and melted in the mouth.

Half the tables at Mr. Charcoal come with BBQ’s at your table, but we weren’t that adventurous. Mr Charcoal can seem a little intimidating on first impressions, and there is not much of a website and what there is carries only a limited menu, half in Chinese and scant information beyond that, but that’s half the fun. Then, after an evening imagining ourselves to be in a little known café in Beijing with smiling locals eating every organ available, we were mercilessly disgorged onto a bus fumed Kennington Road where we almost got knocked down by a 59 bus. So much for dreaming.

The Bouquet and Beans Breakfast

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We recently escaped from our publishing house hatch to pay a visit to Bouquets and Beans in front of St. Anselms Church in Kennington. And unless you’ve been stuck behind a hatch yourself, you’ll be aware that it is run by the hardest working man in Kennington, Abraham.

For this breakfast excursion your scribe was accompanied by office ‘fun guy’ Phil from accounts. We both ordered the savoury stuffed croissant. It was delivered to us grilled, as requested, and this explains why the croissant in the photo looks like Phil sat on it (and not for the first time). To add to the order Phil said ‘can I get a pint with that’. Your scribe tactfully pointed out to Phil that this a breakfast venue, in addition to it being 9:30 in the morning. He then ordered a coffee and your scribe had a tea.

Our croissants were filled with a generous heap of high quality mozzarella cut from a ball, sun dried tomatoes, and a big dollop of pesto. It was almost a shame to see it melted and grilled, but the grilling brought out the buttery feel in the mouth. Plus, it gives us a flimsy excuse to go again and get the non grilled version. At £4.50 we can recommend this. Other options on the day were a pain au chocolate, almond croissant, and pistachio pain au chocolate.

And as you’re devouring your calorific croissant, why not buy some flowers! B&B’s also has a fine selection of blooms and Abraham or one of his perky Gez Z assistants can aid you in making a bouquet.

In the end Phil stared despairingly at his coffee which wasn’t a pint, and confirmed  the quality to be rich, rounded, and right up there with another Observer fave, Urban Botanica around the corner. Another reason to go is the great community feeling it has, with many of your fellow Kenningtonians chatting and sipping.

Community Space, a Fine Place to Get the Job Done

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  • You might recall that Walworth Town Hall sadly burned down several years ago and has had hoarding over it for aeons. Well, like a Phoenix or anything else that comes out of ashes it’s been reborn as Community Space, with rooms for hire for community and charity groups. As we at the Observer have no morals when it comes to free WiFi, and we just checked out their very swishy café which is to be used by mere mortals like us. 

The café look looks less like a coffee joint and more like a private members club. Mind you, we’re just speculating here as our experience of private members club extends only to  Subway’s ‘Sub Club’. This part of Walworth Town Hall was purchased by Community Space in order to provide flexible office areas upstairs, aimed at non profits. We have a feeling that a condition of purchase was that they had to provide services to the community, and they offer a number of free classes, such as yoga.  

In the Café we had an extremely overpriced (£4!) tea but at this price it gave us licence to sit there in quiet serenity for five hours. The coffees (espresso, latte, macchiato, the usual stuff) appeared a bit more reasonable. One half of the café is a casual restaurant offering an all day breakfast. Lunch offerings have a Japanese air and touch on everything that’s ‘on point’ at the moment, such as poke bowls and quinoa. The staff are very friendly. 

Although located at the eastern fringe of Greater Kennington, if you’re looking for a quiet place to work this could be for you. It did make us wonder if this is what it’s like being in Soho House, but without City types taking a ‘toilet break’ every ten minutes and shuttling past Barry from Eastenders to get to the bar. 

Collective Cakes

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The lovely building in the middle of Kennington Park is occupied by a family run pizza/cake establishment called ‘Collective’. Several years ago they decided to open a sandwich shop called ‘Sugar Pot’ in that frankly quite depressing parade of shops in front of Kennington Park It has now been replaced by a bakery and sandwich place called, fittingly, Collective Cakes.  

Reassuringly, the space at Collective has turned entirely into a kitchen, with goods available to consume either on a takeaway basis or on small tables out front. Our peppy server explained that the pastry chef arrives and cooks all of the baked goods (excluding croissants) from 5am. We saw your typical complement of Victoria sponge, muffins, scones, carrot cake, coffee and walnut, and lime and ginger. There are also vegan and gluten free options. 

Karen from Finance loves nothing more than a midday sweet treat to take her mind off numbers and wondering what happened to the fax machine. She had an apricot croissant, which she described as ‘of good quality and not as bouncy as those chain coffee shops’, adding that it possessed good flakiness and was a nice dark bronze, with apricot notes. Your scribe opted for one of the many savoury options and had a mozzarella, pesto and tomato sandwich. Good quality mozzarella, rich pesto, served on a kind of sourdough bread. Other sandwiches ingredients included prosciutto, stilton, and brie. They also sell homemade sourdough bread (I mean, who doesn’t).

In addition to the goodies outlined above, Collective also serves latte, cappuccino, and that old fashioned thing called coffee. Our server was keen to point out that that they also serve turmeric latte with no caffeine. We have no idea what that is but once we find that fax machine we’ll get to it.  

Unique in Black Prince Road.

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We’re blessed with an abundance of independent coffee shops in Greater Kennington, and we  recently paid a TKO (that’s The Kennington Observer) visit to new kid on the block ‘Unique’ in Black Prince Road. Located close to the Beaconsfield Galley, it inhabits that patch of land that calls itself Vauxhall but really isn’t.

Unique is a pleasing place to work for a few hours for those of you (not us as we’re in and underground bunker in Kennington Cross) fortunate enough to work from home a few days a week. In addition to teas and juices, they also have the traditional compliment of flat whites, Americanos, lattes, mochas and cappuchinos. And they even sell the coffee range ‘Curious Roo’. It is a quiet place to work and to listen to ambient music while chilling with middle class white people. They also serve croissants, cookies and brownies and have some bonkers art the walls.

And while we never objectify people at TKO based on looks alone, the staff are not bad to look at. 

Top Ten Best Places to Eat in Greater Kennington

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+ One Sunday Roast

Best Roast – 24 The Oval

As 24 The Oval has maintained the Observer crown for Best Sunday Roast in our highly-scientific-yet-wholly-subjective top 10 Best Places to Eat Locally list for four years, in Summer 2024 we found it incumbent to pop over to see if they’re still deserving of this noble accolade.

As the office staff visited on a nice August Sunday,  we chose to dine on the outside terrace. Off the bat Phil from Accounts insisted on a round of Bloody Annas, which was really just a Bloody Mary spelled differently. It was high on the lemon and spice: Delicious as such but they will adjust to your taste. To get us ready for the main event of the roasts, we shared some Belted Galloway beef croquettes, which were a hit with all: Spanish-style with their crisp outer casing and unctuous middle. When the Bloody Annas started kicking in Karen from Finance even stuck two croquettes in her mouth and said, garbling, ‘well these are just ace’. Moving on.

Mini Yorkes
Extra Veg
Croquettes

Next up was the first delightful idiosyncrasy of 24 The Oval: the sharing plate of mini Yorkshire puddings with pot of gravy, just to get you going. When the roasts arrived, your scribe indulged in the roast herb fed chicken breast with bread sauce. The chicken was grilled in a kind of upmarket Nando’s style and came with a roastie and salad. The second idiosyncrasy of 24 is that extra vegetables and gravy are provided French family style to share, including a cauliflower cheese made with pungent Ogleshield.

Karen opted for the lamb roast and was served as slices of leg meat plus a small confit of shoulder. Both very tasty even if we did think at first the confit was a brownie, and were presented with a homemade mint sauce. This dish was also already supplied with most of the vegetables: roast potatoes, roast mixed colour carrots, Jerusalem artichokes, a smear of spinach puree and some gravy. 

It wasn’t a brownie

Overall, this is Sunday roast prepared with care and dedication by proper chefs: Top quality ingredients, attention to detail and the delight of abundant proper, homemade Yorkshire puddings and gravy with no sight of Aunt Bessie. We found particularly exciting (we don’t have much of a life here at the Runoff) that the 24 Oval kitchen exists entirely within the restaurant. So if you’re curious about how your Yorkies are being made, or if you just like getting burned, you can inspect how your food is being made. But maybe not after three Bloody Annas. 

Roasts are between £22-£26. Food of this quality doesn’t come cheap, but is excellent.  But will it top our list in 2026 for a fourth crown? There is a lot of competition out there, after all. 

By the way 24, if you’re reading this then you might want to ‘Glow Up’ the front of your shop as it looks rather like that branch of WH Smith in Elephant & Castle shopping centre before it closed

The Best Places to Eat in Greater Kennington #1

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(+ One Sunday Roast)

ADULIS

For the past fortnight Observer staff have been fainting in the corridors in anticipation of the top spot. Or it could be the small amount of air available in our underground offices. We can announce that the best restaurant in Greater Kennington for the sixth year is Adulis in Oval (and no, in 2025 we’re not being lazy they just still deserve it). For over 28 years Adulis has served up tender and well cooked meats, huge kirchat platters, zingy stews, great service, and all the wait staff have great hair. And they were serving tasty vegetarian fare long before it was cool.

If Eritrean food is new to you, or even if it isn’t, the best launching point at Adulis is the sampler plate  called ‘Kirchat’ (there is a vegetarian version as well). It is fundamentally a selection of their best meat and veg dishes served on a platter usually featuring Kifto, which is tender meat in Ghee and to die for. All of the dishes have have a sweet and sour, almost vinegary tinge to them. They gladly pimped our 2 person serving up to 3 as we had a third diner, and the pic is below.  Please don’t let our bad photo below put you off, as not all Eritrean dishes look like cat food.

The dish above is served on a platter with a base of bread called ‘injera’, which is a leavened pancake made with sourdough (and if you run out you can get more for free). Almost all meals here are served with it and the whole shebang is to be eaten with your good hands (or cutlery for the timid). We also recommend the chicken stew ‘dorho’ with loads of herbs and further recommend the prawns. They also have some fine looking vegan options.

On the drinks front, we usually have the Kenyan beer ‘Tusker’ or a South African white. Having said that, the speciality of the house is their Adulis honey wine. We’ve had this previously and let’s just place it in the category of ‘experimental’. The place has a slightly retro Eritrean feel to it with memetoes both current and from the past. The staff are very friendly and a good chunk of the punters are (tick!) Eritrean themselves. The place also wafts with the aroma of their coffee and popcorn ceremony.

ርሑስ መመገቢ!