Playing Happy Families

Posted on November 13, 2019 by Kennington Runoff

We don’t really review enough (ok, ever) lunchtime venues in Greater Kennington which is a shame, given the rapid ascendency of the Edinburgh House Workspace, Vox Studios, and Kennington Park Workspace. Yesterday we had a very tight deadline to meet ~~before Loose Women started~~ at 12:30 so we decided to pop along at lunchtime to the Kennington Chinese place ‘Happy Family’.

In spite of it’s name, the ‘maitre de’ of Happy Family is a gruff white guy who doesn’t take kindly to the modern concept of debit/credit cards (but over 8 quid is ok). Cash in hand, we have been a few times and indulged in their Vietnamese duck Banh My Pho (a Vietnamese baguette) which is heavy on the duck and sauce and at £4.80 is a very good alternative to the Tesco Meal Deal, which we have never *coughs* tried.

On this trip we sunk our teeth into Happy Family’s lunchtime special which was sweet and sour chicken with rice. The meat to veg ratio was generous and the service was very quick. The meat was also well cooked and the texture didn’t possess the gelatinous quality of many other sweet and sour dishes.

If you live in Greater Kennington then you probably know Happy Family from it’s takeaways, which they have been doing since the dawn of time. While it is OK, we still prefer to cough up a few more bob for Firecracker, in Windmill Row, which has a more creative menu. Happy eating!

An Apple a Day Doesn’t Keep the Developers Away

Posted on November 8, 2019 by Kennington Runoff

Guess what, Greater Kennington? You’re about to be the proud parents of another high rise! Yep, the Apple Green petrol station (and home to our favourite Greggs) in Kennington Lane has been sold to developers. Tonight we went along to their consultation to find out more.

First of all, the developers want us to know they want to ‘make maximum use of the site’, which is developer’s parlance for ‘lets build loads of luxury flats’. Apparently the building was going to be 62 metres but ‘we decided to be sympathetic to the scale of the local area’. That’s developer’s parlance of ‘Lambeth wouldn’t let us make it that big’. The building will have 15 floors and contain 116 units, and of these units 35% will be for affordable rents. That developer’s parlance for ‘Lambeth told us they couldn’t all cost two million quid’.

To their credit, they have stated that they will be using light green terracotta tiles and draw influence from Royal Doulton Ceramics, respecting local history. However, they also said that they will ‘be influenced by the Berkeley Homes development across the street (say what!). They’ve also said that the want to emphasize cycling, and this is how that conversation went:

DEVELOPERS – “Yes, we’re thinking that the retail until on the ground floor could be an independent cycle café concept shop”

RUNOFF – Yeah, or it could be a Poundland.

How they manage to contort 116 flats into a what is essentially a petrol station forecourt is certainly a daunting task. And if you want to behold the daunting task yourself, or if you want to lose your collective sh*t then you are in luck as they are having another consultation tomorrow (Saturday) from 12 – 4 at the Foundry, 17 Oval Way. The website for the development can be found here. Apparently they have a few more hurdles to pass with Lambeth, but construction could start by autumn of 2020.

In other matters, we just had wind of more high rises that just passed the planning stages that will be located on that no mans land of a vacant lot next to the Beafeater Gin distillery. When we go to the consultation we’ll fill you in.

Kuma in Kennington Cross

Posted on October 21, 2019 by Kennington Runoff

If you follow our inane ramblings on social media you might have noticed that we’ve been sniffing around and discovered that the site formerly known as ‘Doost’ is about be transformed into ‘Kuma’ and the cuisine will be Korean/Japanese (yeay). Works are moving apace, and if we ever succeed in our mission of becoming ‘Kennington Influencers’ we’ll be invited to the soft launch, showered with sushi, and tell you all about it.

Merano Cafe and the Looming Towers at Albert Embankment

Posted on October 17, 2019 by Kennington Runoff

Believe it or not, the new towers on Albert Embankment, those looming sentinels over the western reaches of greater Kennington, are actually within the KR catchment area. The other morning we decided to pop over and check out a curious new café as ~~oligarchs have to eat somewhere~~ it seems to be developing a bit of a buzz. It’s located on the ground floor of one of the new buildings: We don’t recall the name of the specific building, but they all seem to be named after luxury cars from yesteryear so take your pick. Roller? Corniche?

Merano Rose bar café is a buzzy and airy joint that doubles as a cocktail bar/restaurant in the evening. It mostly caters to people who work in Vauxhall, with a small smattering of locals. We had a very flaky and buttery croissant, but could have chosen from a range of other pastries and muffins. We also indulged in a very rich but satisfying eggs benedict on sourdough served with parma ham. If you are a fan of hollandaise sauce you are going to love this place, as half of the menu items seem to feature it in copious volumes. If you are of a healthier bent, they also serve granola and porridge…

On the drinks front, Merano serves fresh squeezed orange juice, espresso, and a range of coffees and teas. When we were there some people had just popped in for a quick bite and others were working assiduously (they have wifi). They are open throughout the day from 8, including weekends, and also have a lunch and dinner trade.

Merano is a good little, moderately priced outpost on the periphery of our society so worth checking out. And at the end of the day, where else could you wash down your 8:30am scrambled eggs with a G&T?

Merano is at 31 Albert Embankment, SE1 7GR. It is just beyond the arches at Vauxhall and is more or less at the back of Spring Gardens. Happy eating!

Taro Time

Posted on August 21, 2019 by Kennington Runoff

As most of you are aware we’ve had a lovely, much overdue Japanese joint on our doorstep for nine months now and we recently checked it out (ok, we’ve actually been about eight times). We have to confess to a slight bias as we’ve been going to Taro’s Soho outlet for about 16 years and it’s great to see a Soho venue in our area, but without the rickshaws, sick and stag ‘dos. This was one of our predecessors’ top 10 earlier this year, but will it make the cut again?

We were in Japan earlier this year and went to Taro with our friend Mark, who actually lived in Japan for years and acted as our cultural attaché. We had sushi (both tempura-maki and other maki) which was fresh and generous on the fish side. We also had fried chicken (below), which was crunchy and equally meaty. For a veg angle we also indulged in juicy tofu steak, with a surfeit of ginger and wasabi. For sides we recommend onshinko pickles and gyoza dipped in soy vinegar.

Taro is honest, authentic ‘Izakaya’, (roughly meaning ‘pub food’) very similar to the food you get in Japan and is good value for money. While this is the best Japanese in the Runoff catchment area and it’s environs, we have to concede that *dodges brick* if you want the real deal there are more authentic Japanese places in London. So, if you like your sushi made in right in front of you by grumpy chefs, you might try venturing to Eat Tokyo. However, if you want to keep it local Taro is a firm choice, but do reserve as a few weeks ago we couldn’t get our hands on a table!

For the curious, apparently Taro roughly means ‘dude’ in Japanese and on most nights Taro himself is on the premises (his round face is the logo). He likes to talk about his lovely farming family who’s picture graces the back wall, so pick his brain.

Daebak – A Korean Worth Visiting

Posted on July 26, 2019 by Kennington Runoff

A few days ago we popped our sweaty selves to Vauxhall to revisit a delightful Korean friend called ‘Daebak’. It is a small, delightful restaurant not to be confused with the not so charming ‘Jihwaja’ across the road. Well, unless your idea of charming involves hen do’s, stale kimchee and blaring K-Pop. And if it does then this website might not be for you…..

For our meal the three of us ordered soy garlic chicken (a speciality, below), spicy bibimbap, Katsu curry, crispy tofu, and gyoza. Let me tell you, reader, we were rolling out of there by the end of it. We could have easily dropped one of the main courses as they were huge. We highly recommend the various kinds of fried chicken on order (crunchy, subtle) and the Bibimbap is delicious and comes with two veg. options. I would also experiment with a starter like octopus balls. Great food, and pretty kind on the pocket. If you are going on a weekend it might be a good idea to book, as last time we couldn’t get in we had to go across the street and it wasn’t pretty.

Daebak is at 316-318 Kennington Lane

Pros – It has wide open doors overlooking Vauxhall

Cons – It has wide open doors overlooking Vauxhall

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Adulis – A Mighty Fine Eritrean Joint

Posted on July 10, 2019 by Kennington Runoff

We are spoilt for choice when is comes to Eritrean/Ethiopian food in greater Kennington, and there a number just on our outskirts. We have tried them all as we ~~have a problem with binge eating~~ care about or readers. The best of the lot is called Adulis and is at the top of Brixton Road. It grabbed the #7 spot in Jamie’s pick of ‘best of Kennington’ earlier this year on the Runoff and is certainly on our long list and has been for a while.

As with any cuisine that might be new, if you’re not familiar with the cuisine the best launching point is a sampler plate. At Adulis it is the ‘Kirchat’ (and there is a vegetarian version). It is fundamentally a selection of their best meat and veg dishes served on a platter usually including Kifto, which is tender meet in Ghee and to die for. All of the dishes haver 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 my bad photo below put you off, as not all Eritrean dishes look like cat food.

This dish 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. One speciality of the house is their Adulis honey wine. We’ve had this previously and lets just place it in the category of ‘experimental’. Since then we’ve stuck to the Kenyan beer ‘Tusker’ or South African whites.

Adulis 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. Tsibuk E’dl!!!

Theo’s Pizzeria

Posted on June 28, 2019 by Kennington Runoff

As we love all things related to cheese, carbohydrates and comfort food, we recently checked out a newish Italian place called ‘Theos’ in Elephant and Castle. Trust us reader, this was one of the best pieces of dough we’ve stuck in our gobs into for a long time.

As with most good restaurants, the menu at Theos is very small and focusses squarely on the thing they do best. I had the Napoli Salami pizza, which was spicy, full of cheese, and presented with a crust so fine that it had be eaten with a fork.

My dining partner had the Nduja and Ricotta pizza. It featured sun dried tomatoes and huge mounds of ricotta. As you can see, both pizzas are deliberately charred and blistered, giving them a very earthy and almost smokey taste.

The vibe at Theo’s is youngish, but not so young that they shy away from playing 80’s music. The venue is bright, airy and staff very friendly. They explained that the venue is the ‘little cousin’ of their original branch in Camberwell. It therefore represents the good side of gentrification in Elephant. Given that the previous occupant was a dreary mattress store with the sinister name ‘Beddie Buyz’, anything would have been an improvement.

As you can see from the bill below, the price point is very reasonable, with pizzas coming in at £10 or less. As you can also see from the bill below our bar tab was more than the food bill, but don’t judge us. Theo’s also does a brisk takeway trade, as evidenced by the many men in helmets who came and went, so you can enjoy your pizza at home. We don’t recommend this manouver, however, as an ethos of KR is getting people on their feet and exploring….Plus Deliveroo is evil.

Seveni Bar and Grill – The Real Chinese Deal

Posted on May 15, 2019 by Kennington Runoff

An underlooked gem on the gastronomic landscape of greater Kennington is a newish place called Seveni Bar and Grill, at the top of Kennington Road across from the Imperial War Museum. Kennington Runoff has recently been to central China (not for this specific review, mind you, as the budget usually ends at tea bags) and we can assure you that this joint is the real deal, organs and all.

What first strikes the patron is the presence of Chinese pop music (tick) and actual Chinese diners (triple tick). As a starter I had the lamb intestine. I’ve never actually eaten an intestine before, and I can only describe it as kind of like squid. It was heavily seasoned with cumin (as a lot of dishes are), sesame, and a great deal of pepper. I thought about ordering the pig brain, aorta, or tongue but then thought that my table would end up looking more like a post mortem dissection, so I gave them a miss.

For the main course I decided to go a bit more mainstream and order the stir fry sliced beef with sour pepper. I got the mild version (you can choose the hotness) but it was so hot that I had to order an extra 5 Tsingtao beers (oops). The peppers can be avoided to make it less hot, but it was excellent. Slightly fatty beef and a great combination of sour and slightly sweet and the portion was huge….And you ain’t gonna get that in Gerrard St, mister.

All of the tables are set up with BBQs for on table grilling and on the night I visited there was a mix of couples and larger groups. So great for a date, work ‘do, or just ‘we don’t feel like cooking;’ night.

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Abraham – the Friendliest Man in Kennington

Posted on May 6, 2019 by Kennington Runoff

While passing through Kennington central of a morning you might have passed a marquee selling coffee and other items. It is ‘Bouquets and Beans’ and is the brawns and brains of creator Abraham (below), who is on hand to deliver coffee, tea, hot chocolate, cake and a friendly chat to passing Kenningtonians from Tuesday to Saturday, 7:30 to 4:00.

The core element of Bouquet and Beans is floral services, and they provide the flowers to Winkworth and the Doghouse, in addition to services offered online. However, B&B is increasingly servicing the coffee and cake addiction of Kennington by selling 100-150 cups from 7:30-10. Abraham describes himself as a ‘people’s person’ and the best part of his job is talking to people as they buy their cuppa enroute to destinations beyond our cherished area. He also loves the ‘community feel’ of Kennington and tries to be here as often as possible, including the Kennington Fete.

If you’ve ever wondered why there is a kind of ‘Scandi noir’ feel in front of St. Anselm’s in December that’s because Bouquets and Beans also sell Christmas trees, and KR has bought several of them. They are of very high quality and if you ask the right questions Abraham’s burly assistants can even deliver them to your door for free.

The Kennington Observer (formerly Kennington Runoff)

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

Category Archives: cafes and restaurants