Category Archives: cafes and restaurants

The Return of Firecracker

Posted on by
Reply

We have expended an inordinate amount of emotional energy worrying about the former ‘Firecracker’ site in Windmill Row in Kennington Cross. But now, like a phoenix rising from our underground bunker, its back! For those not in the know, Firecracker Chinese restaurant and takeaway in Windmill Row was closed during Covid, opened briefly, and then closed for over three years owing to a pesky flooding issue. We can  officially report that the Runoff loves the new Firecracker. This time around the menu is shorter and cheaper and all main dishes come complete with rice or noodles. Just what one needs for a neighbourhood restaurant or a mid-week takeaway. 

Your scribe went to Firecracker with Bunty from HR.  As Bunty purports to be posh, he resisted sharing a starter. However, after being stabbed with a chopstick and a quick reminder as to who was paying, Bunty relented and we shared a prawn and chive dumpling. These were good quality with plenty of filling inside the glutinous dough and there was range of dipping sauces available. Bunty then went for a char sui roast pork and upgraded the steamed rice for chicken rice (but of course). This dish also came with some pak choi as standard. The pork was delicious and the chicken rice a revelation. Rebecca, our server, explained that this is rice cooked in chicken stock. 

Your scribe had a black bean sauce stir-fry with chicken served with steamed jasmine rice. The intense bean flavour set of the jasmine in the rice very well, with loads of juicy peppers and onions swimming in the mix. For those familiar, inside Firecracker it’s the same vibe as before. There are half a dozen or so tables with comfy seating and it is pleasantly, if a little brightly, lit for people of a certain age. Overall a comfortable place for a casual meal. There is a short wine list and prices are all in the £20-30 range.

We are glad to have Firecracker back and we think the simple and value-for-money menu will be a hit with former and new fans alike. Make sure you give heartly hello to manager/server Rebecca, who owns Firecracker with her family and who lives around the corner. 

Kennington Tandoori and Their Discount

Posted on by
Reply

For reasons relating purely to our highly scientific yet wholly subjective Top Ten Best Places to Eat in Greater Kennington (+ one Sunday Roast) countdown,  your scribe and Karen from Finance made an exploratory revisit to Kennington Cross institution Kennington Tandoori. And to cash in on their 40% discount, but more on that later.  

We love the dark woods, slinky banquettes and high staff to diner ratio at KT, which lives in stark contrast to the kitsch appeal of nearby Ghandis, with their wonderful melange of celebs from a bygone era (Richard! Judy!) in the window. We started with two onions bhajis, which got Karen so excited that she ate both of them. While chewing, she waxed philosophical that this is a dish that demands a balance of crispness and softness, should be made with gram (chickpea) flour, and the added kick of spice was welcome. Karen stayed vegetarian for the rest of her meal, choosing Amritsari chole (a chickpea curry) and a tarka dahl. These both come as side dish sizes but together made for an adequate main. The chole was a particular revelation, medium to hot spice level and a great winter warmer. Tarka dahl is a reliable favourite, mildly spiced. 

Your scribe had the king prawn bhuna, which were cooked Sylhet style with carmelised onions, tomato, chillis and aromatic kaffir limes leaves. All very well balanced with just the right chilli kick. Your scribe experiences an existential, first world crisis when eating prawns in an Indian place. Do you eat the shells or burn your fingers getting them off? From the specials menu, Karen added an Afghan naan: effectively a naan studded with poppy and sesame seeds and was fresh from the tandoor. Your scribe had white rice. 

Until 30 November you too can also live like your scribe and Karen by taking advantage of the KT 40% discount by adding ‘Year40’ to your online booking. While a 40% is nice, what ends up happening with Runoff staff is that we capitalise on said discount by just ordering more items, which rather diminishes said discount. Please don’t turn into us because if you do, you’ll end up in a very dark place. 

The Tommyfield £20 Roast Deal. But Will It Make the Top Ten?

Posted on by
1

In anticipation of our upcoming highly-scientific-yet-wholly-subjective Top 10 Best Places to Eat (+ one Sunday Roast) countdown in early 2025, we recently paid a visit to Kennington Cross stalwart The Tommyfield to inspect their Sunday Roast. The Tommyfield has had a few ups and downs with its kitchen over the years but here at Runoff Towers we think it’s on an up right now. Our last few weekday evening visits have seen us enjoy consistently good quality of output from the kitchen, whether it is the top notch pies or reliable burgers and fish & chips or some of the more adventurous offerings. 

As getting Phil from Accounts to go to a pub in the daytime is about as easy as getting a cat to drink milk, he joined us for our roast experience. Phil had the pork belly and it was generous and nicely roasted, the carrots and parsnips were a concentration of roasted perfection, cabbage still had some bite (good) and the roast potatoes were crispy and neat. The gravy was of a high standard and served in a little jug which we had to remind Phil was not, in fact, a shot glass.  It was thick and poured over the whole plate.  

Your scribe had the chicken roast which was a huge slab of meat with a skin that was satisfyingly cooked almost to crackling stage. It was also served with carrots cooked just to the point of being sweet, roast potatoes, and cabbage. It was dutifully served with bread sauce and gravy. Note that the chicken roast doesn’t come with a Yorkshire pudding but can be ordered at an extra cost *wags finger and points at Tommyfield*, and this was our only gripe as everyone on planet earth loves a Yorkie. 

We don’t see a Yorkie. Can you see a Yorkie?

The Sunday roasts also come in a beef and lentil format and are priced at £19. However, we took advantage of their special offer and for £20 had a roast and dessert. We had very fresh banoffee pies which we managed to convince ourselves was the healthy option as it had a banana stuck into it. The  Tommyfield Roasts are delicious, but is it enough to dethrone 24 The Oval from its longstanding perch as best Roast in the area? All will be revealed in February. 

The Tommyfield is also home to Always Be Comedy; a stonking comedy night that now runs most nights of the week. Over the years we’ve seen (oops better pick up that names we’re about to drop) Harry Hill, Romesh Ranganthan, Sara Pascoe and Joe Lycett, to name a few. And laughing with the people onstage is only half the fun, as all the punters resemble a giant casting call for the ‘Apprentice’. 

Kachori, Betty & Joan

Posted on by
Reply

Karchori 

It is now established dogma that a place is in trouble when they start to have bingo nights. And they’re in even more trouble if anything they do involves a drag queen. So when our friends over at Kachori, the newish Indian in Elephant Park that we checked out last year, announced they will be having a drag bingo night, we knew that something very dire was happening and here’s how you can help. 

Drag bingo is hosted by Party with Ginger and for £45 a head you have a two course, drag inspired meal (???!!) with free flowing prosecco. On top of a £10 admission this comes up to £110 a couple. Now we would never tell you how to spend your dosh, but for that kind of money we reckon you could get Ginger herself over to your gaff to rustle up a few curries while shouting out numbers. However,  this for a good cause so please support them if you can by popping in for a poppadum or a drink. Drag Bingo at Karchori is on 30 October and tickets can be grabbed on their website. 

Another reason we can’t allow Kachori to fall by the wayside is that its perhaps the only restaurant in London where you can eat the table wear. We kid you not. 

BETTY AND JOAN

Staying in Elephant Park and remaining on drag, a new bar and comedy club is opening and we couldn’t be more excited. The bar is listed as being gay, with cabaret and drag, but if that’s not your handbag the comedy appears to be more mixed. They’re having an opening party on 11 December and if you want to join the waiting list then enter your details over on their website. They fling open their majestic doors later this year, so stick that in the little sparkly diary we’ve been telling you to buy for ages. 

Chocolate Dino Company

Posted on by
Reply

Chocolate Dino Company is an independent bakery/sandwich joint/cocktail bar (whew) in Kennington Road. Owned by two local guys who live behind the place, we last visited Dino for a sweet treat during their embryonic opening days. Now that they’re established we’re revisiting for their savoury options….and of course to enjoy another giant cookie.

When entering their very stylish premises, what you initially encounter are voluminous offerings of croissants with various fillings, brownies, muffins, cookies, and things made to look vaguely healthy by the inclusion of a piece of fruit. But we were here for savoury fare, and Karen from Finance chose the bacon and egg bagel with cheese, which she excitedly chose to have toasted. It was presented with two omelette style eggs and the bacon was proper and crispy. The sauce was in a Dino manner properly inventive and involved sweet onion jam and Sriracha mayonnaise. 

Your scribe enjoyed a pastrami bagel with caramelised onion, pickles, and a mustard/mayo sauce. It was generously stuffed and kept us going through the endless stream of faxes received later in the day. These particular bagels might not be available when you visit, but they will doubtless have other offerings and the boys can talk you through the options. And as we have the discipline  of an unneutered cat, we of course had a white chocolate cookie with an strange looking yet delicious smear. Heated to perfection. 

We tried to upload images of our bagels but they rather looked like snaps from a prison canteen. Please enjoy these stock photos from their Insta feed.

Dino is an independent bakery/restaurant/bar and they’re throwing everything they can to exist in a very crowded and increasingly uncompetitive market. Their price point for baked goods (£5 for an eat in cookie) puts them very much at the ‘gourmet’ end of the market, but you can easily pop over for a coffee or something at the lower end of their price spectrum. And in a way a trip to Dino can be quite efficient, as where else can you knock out two sins by eating a cookie and drinking a glass of wine at the same time?

Chocolate Dino Company is open Thursday to Sunday. Check out their socials for the precise timings. 

Collective in Kennington Park

Posted on by
Reply

With a sense of unencumbered shock we recently realised that it’s been over four years since KR visited the pizza and cake establishment Collective, which occupies the lovely cottage at the back of Kennington Park and owned by three locals. So we recently made another trip in order to see how they size up to the increasingly competitive Greater Kennington pizza market.  

The day in question was ‘stapling day’ for Karen from Finance, so we asked her to join us to break up the tedium and avoid RSI. . She chose the Tuxford Tommi blue, perhaps the most indulgent pizza on the menu featuring tomato sauce, quality mozzarella, Napoli salami, Tuxford Tommi blue cheese, garlic and Bee Urban (which is behind Collective) rosemary. Organic, sustainable and free range are all buzzy words for Collective so you can tell the focus is in ingredients, and we found that to be true with the pizzas that we enjoyed

Your scribe ordered the Napolitana, which was an umami kick of anchovies, capers and black olives, augmented by mozzarella and tomato.  It was a proper, thin Neapolitan crust with raised blistered edges, almost to the level of Theo’s, which KR adore. All ingredients were good quality and this creative combination worked very well, provided you like a pizza with a bit of punch and salt. 

We also ordered a Caprese salad. It was very generously sized and one could be shared. It offered abundant segments of tomato, combined with torn buffalo mozzarella pieces, basil and olive oil. The tomatoes were slightly, lets say ‘Tescoesque’ (even if organic) and the buffalo mozzarella less creamy than some, but overall with the basil and olive oil it hit most of the right notes and was good alongside the top notch pizza. 

Collective if you are reading this (and why wouldn’t you?) we love your, well, collective nature as its nice to see a place where folks can easily work on their laptops, catch up with friends, and where dogs are celebrated. However, what we don’t love is your lack of recycling bins. We were compelled to schlep our recyclables back to Runoff towers, but others were just chucking their cans in the bin. So we’re wagging our oily, pizza engorged finger at you! 

Collective is open daily and until 20:00, so is a viable dinner option. The pizzas are midsized, mostly individual affairs, so Karen and I could have our own. And of course, if you don’t fancy pizza they also have a keen looking selection of pastries. 

SKVP (Shree Krishna Vada Pav)

Posted on by
Reply

Here at the Runoff we pride ourselves on promoting small business, and while new arrival SKVP in Vauxhall may be the most recent outlet of a small chain, we’ve paid them a visit because a) we all need to be eating more vegetarian food and b) it is located in what we call a jinxed property and we feel sorry for them. Plus, anywhere that has a Bollywood movie corner with a VHS machine (kids, ask your parents what this is)  can’t be all bad. 

Considering the petite nature of SKVP, the length of the menu is mind bending. Gwen the intern pondered and then went for the Weekday Deal of vada pav and pav bhaji The pav was a delicious spicy fried potato fritter inside a soft toasted dinner roll, served alongside a bhaji: a traditional Mumbai street food of mashed spiced vegetables again with what looked like school dinner rolls. Research tells us this is actually authentic, but next time Gwen wants to seek out an option with what we understand better to be Indian breads, such as paratha or roti. Please do this in your own time, Gwen. 

Your scribe opted for the mutter paneer with rice an and added soft drink. The mutter paneer was a good example of this rich, spicy pea and Indian cheese favourite and the rice was fluffy, as it should be. And it gave your scribe a flimsy excuse to eat cheese in the middle of the daytime. You might want to research the menu ahead of time so as not to panic when confronted with so much choice. 

We hope SKVP succeeds in spite of its funny name and jinxed location along from the Nandos in Vauxhall. You might recall that location was a Dirty Burger and a sub sandwich place, among other things. And on most Sunday mornings where you can find people crawling out of nightclub ‘Fire’. We call them ‘Fire Damage’. 

24 The Oval…Still on Top?

Posted on by
Reply

As 24 The Oval has maintained the Runoff crown for Best Sunday Roast in our highly-scientific-yet-wholly-subjective top 10 Best Places to Eat Locally list for three years, we recently 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 2025 for a fourth crown? There is a lot of competition out there, after all. 

Metropolis London

Posted on by
Reply

If you dare venture into other neighbourhoods, you might have detected that big venues full of small eateries are now well established. An example is Market Place in Vauxhall which we reviewed in 2022. With  Railtrack’s mission of gentrifying the gays out of the Vauxhall arches now nearing it’s completion, we felt compelled to visit enormous Metropolis London in Albert Embankment.  While Metropolis itself is far from independent it’s food stalls definitely are, and here is what we found.

We took new intern and overall zippy gal Beth for a working lunch. As Beth is on a health kick, she headed over to the Curry Club  and chose the dahl with spinach and paratha. At £6.99 this has to be one of the bargains of the Metropolis food options (which aren’t exactly cheap). As you can see, it was a small but adequate serving of a luscious dahl with good spice and coconut coming through and it is served with two whole parathas, providing plenty of that flaky, stretchy Indian flatbread to soak everything up. She pronounced it to be very good indeed and a terrific lunch option.

Your scribe headed for the curiously named Uzbeki place ‘Shpaz’, which Beth observed is the sound that a tiny dog makes when it pops out of a posh lady’s handbag and sneezes. For £10 we had the Lag Nam chicken noodles. Served in a rich broth, this healthy option featured hand pulled noodles, carrots, celery, peppers and what tasted like barberries and dried coriander. Very light and satisfying.   Other cuisines at Metropolis include Italian, Thai, burgers, pizza, Japanese and Greek. And of course poke bowls, as it is now illegal to have a food village without one. 

We are aware that these look like dishes that could be served in a prison canteen but….
photographing food is very difficult!

Metropolis occupies two huge arches and there are plenty of tables both outside and in. Outside features a cute coffee/pasty hut which also serves pints. The second arch is dominated by a massive bar and a stage to appeal to an evening crowd. While it is very sad that thanks to Railtrack independent LGBTQI+ assets such as Above the Stag theatre have gone to that giant curtain call in the sky, at least there are some independent shops of a fashion opening up in their place. 

Pullens Yard Open Studios

Posted on by
Reply

As frequent readers are all too aware, we here at the Runoff 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 7-9 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 by little knitted mice.

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. 

[jetpack_subscription_form show_only_email_and_button=”true” custom_background_button_color=”undefined” custom_text_button_color=”undefined” submit_button_text=”Subscribe” submit_button_classes=”undefined” show_subscribers_total=”false” ]