Category Archives: cafes and restaurants

Ten Best Places to Eat in Greater Kennington

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+ One Sunday Roast

#8 The Jolly Gardeners

The number eight spot goes to the only pub in our countdown, The Jolly Gardeners in Vauxhall. The Gardeners sprang to life in 2021 and now occupies the same kitchens formerly used by a German themed pub, which we once correctly described as ‘food best enjoyed when you’re not entirely sober’. But fear not, the Gardeners boys and their sustainable and well sourced kitchen know what they’re doing. And it’s 50% vegan. 

The menu at the Gardeners changes periodically, but at the time of writing (March 2023) we’ve enjoyed a cauliflower wings (a bit of a staple), lightly grilled leek with almonds, and the breaded cod filet swimming in spinach cream sauce with kale. The format in this huge pub is that it is 50% is set out as a dining room with the other half as a pub, but food can be consumed in both. The pub also features an outside dining/drinking area that rather reminds us of a ski lodge or sauna. 

While it might have missed out on the top spot in terms of Sunday roasts, we can definitely recommend the Gardener roasts. As the food keeps coming it almost has an ‘all you can eat’ element to it. In the past we’ve enjoyed the silverside beef and Dorset lamb. Also keep your eagle eye out for their spicy peri peri fries and mustard green salad. On the drinks front, they work hard to source from local breweries such as Coalition or even closer ones from Brixton. 

The Gardeners guys also operate a zippy little sandwich place two doors down called Simply Bread. When asked if one of the sandwich makers is none other than Mick Hucknall himself, the 20 something employee replied with a perplexed stare. 

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Ten Best Places to Eat in Greater Kennington

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+One Sunday Roast

#10 CAFE VAN GOGH

Coming up at the rear of our very best is vegan institution Café Van Gogh in Oval. The Café operates as a not for profit social enterprise and many of the people working there live with challenges which would exclude them from most of the job market. They also aspire to be zero waste and all of their takeaway containers and coffee cups are fully compostable. According to their website ‘our social purpose is more important than making tonnes of cash’. TICK! 

Your noble scribe tucked into the shiitake shawarma served in a bowl with flatbread. The generous portion was augmented by baked butterbeans, yogurt, dukkah and sprinkled with coriander. The flavours worked well and the meaty mushrooms melted in my mouth very quickly. In a sense it was amazing that this was vegan at all, and reflects what must be a great deal of experimentation in the kitchen. This very much had a home cooked feel. 

Mike from our IT team had the Van Gogh burger. This is a house speciality with the burger being based on shiitake mushrooms, with likely some beetroot in the mix for a bit of colour. This was at the softer end of veggie burgers but agreeable and was elevated by an excellent soft domed roll and some spicy vegan mayo. Served with this were some thin cut chips dusted with a kind of fake bacon (fakon?) powder, which was a fun addition. Mike has a very complex, and some would say tortured, relationship with vegan cheese, so it did not make an appearance. 

Overall, Café Van Gogh is a gently Bohemian and effortlessly welcoming space, and the Van Gogh prints on the wall and Starry Night ceiling reminded us of those immersive art installations that are all the rage at the moment. If you don’t take our (meat eating) word for the quality of the food at Café Van Gogh, it was recently recognised as one of the top vegan restaurants be no less than Conde Nast Traveller! They are also very much open in the evening, and sell a rage of vegan wines and beers. 

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Brunswick House, the great survivor of Vauxhall

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From the archives, the fifth edition of our month of best history posts

Beyond the soon to be demolished Vauxhall bus station and nestled in the midst of the behemoth known as St. George Wharf lies a beautiful Georgian building that has survived encounters with oblivion, in an area that has become unrecognisable in recent years. 

Brunswick House dates from the mid 17th century but was rebuilt in 1758. The back of the house had sweeping views to the Thames and the front overlooked the then booming Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens and market gardens of Oval. Just 32 years after being rebuilt the house suffered the ignominy  of being split into to, and would never be a single home again.  

The destiny of Brunswick House, and indeed Vauxhall, was profoundly affected by the arrival of the railways in the 1840’s in ways both good and bad. The railway was the final nail in the coffin for Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, and poor Brunswick House had its access to the river permanently cut off by a railway goods yard. In the 1850’s the house ended up in the hands of London and South Western Railways and this is when its journey became particularly interesting. 

In 1860 a fire almost destroyed Brunswick House, and after being repaired it was used by the railways as a staff canteen for workers, a library, a concert hall, a scientific institute, a bar, and a caretaker’s cottage. In WW2 an army unit lived in the building and, according to legend, in the 1950’s it was used by MI5 and MI6 for secret meetings as they feared that their own HQ was bugged. It was threatened by the wrecking ball on several occasions but was saved from this fate by being listed in 1973. 



The house remained in railway hands for over 150 years when it was sold as the railways were being privitised and sold again in 2002 to a property developer. Some readers might remember this period as the building quickly declined as a result of vandalism and was in a pretty sorry state. It was purchased in 2005 by architectural salvage firm ‘Lassco’, who carefully restored the building and filled the rooms with its products, many of which are Georgian themselves. 

Next time you are going for your hour of exercise pop over to Brunswick House and marvel at the fact that it’s still there.  Lassco is very much open to the public (well, not right now) and a fascinating place to explore. They also have a critically acclaimed cafe. If you’re willing to sell a kidney, or your name happens to be Elton John, you might even be able to buy a doorknob there! 

Call the Doctor!

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Since the demise of Elephant and Castle shopping centre a few years ago, we’ve been telling you how the small businesses that were there have adapted to other premises. Two sterling examples are the great Black Cowboy Coffee and critically acclaimed Kaieteur Kitchen. As it’s January and we’re now expected *eats doughnut* to lead much more healthy lifestyles, we’re here to tell you about another of these ventures; ‘Dr. Juice’.

Dr. Juice is the brainchild of Colombian born entrepreneur John Parra. In 2015 he was working for M&S and he and his friends noticed a distinct lack of healthy food options around Elephant and Castle. Given that healthy juices are a feature of most Colombian tables, the gap in the market seemed obvious and John tasked himself with addressing the issue. According to John ‘I just wanted to make the community become healthier’.

On our stopover, my juicy companion had the ‘Dirty Passion’ smoothie, comprised of mango, passion fruit, orange and pineapple. Your scribe had the ‘Dr. Classic’ juice drink consisting of carrot, apple, orange and ginger. All of the ingredients worked powerfully when whizzed together. These drinks are made before your very eyes and there are no artificial additives, but you can add items such as chia seeds and protein. Dr. Juice also sells acai bowls and fruit bowls 

We remember John’s petite pop up juice bar in the shopping centre fondly as they were located across from the erotic electric massage chairs. The new location is much more spacious and benefits from being in an area full of students. However, as we know post pandemic, every food establishment is at risk and benefits from our patronage. 

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Ililli Lebanese Restaurant

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Merry ‘Twixmas’ and we hope you’re enjoying this rather odd period where you should be working but probably aren’t. Unfortunately the top brass here at the Runoff didn’t provide us with a Christmas bonus this year. Well, unless you count the time when the CFO threw a handful of Celebrations into our cubicles and said ‘here’s your bonus’. So we’re back at work. 

Since it’s opening several months ago we’ve had on our radar an interesting looking Lebanese place in Vauxhall called ‘Ilili’. Given that kebabs joints are about as pervasive as estate agents in Greater Kennington, our mission was to see how the Ilili matched up to its numerous neighbours. It has a large charcoal grill at the front, for shish and kofte type grills. There are also two shawarma rotating skewers – chicken and lamb, no doner. The large seating area upstairs to the rear gives it more of a Middle Eastern grill restaurant vibe as opposed to a strict kebab shop. Unlike other places similar to Ilili, they also serve seafood and a small selection of Egyptian dishes. Tick

My dining partner, Karen from Finance, had the lamb shawarma, with well caramelised lamb pieces, served in generous quantity on a flat Lebanese style wrap. Your scribe had the chicken shawarma, with massive slices of marinated chicken, well seasoned with a hit of cumin. The usual salad fillings can be added to order, as can spicy sauce or a garlic sauce. Ours were solidly good wraps and excellent value (£6.95) given their taste quality and large size. The large option must be the size of a baby’s leg. The service was friendly as well. 

  • Chicken
  • Lamb

The illustrations above are for you to see the contents of our kebabs. We’re fully aware that they rather resemble something that you might have stepped on after leaving Vauxhall station. A reminder to us all that photographing food is no mean feat.

Illil Restaurant is at 351 Kennington Lane

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Christmas Fun in Bonnington Square

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Yes, dear readers, we are notifying you of two Christmassy happenings in a row. We only have the press release to go by, but we are all invited to ‘Christmas at Italo’, a celebration sponsored by Italo Vauxhall in Bonnington Square. For those not in the know, Italo is a locally owned, pint sized delight of a deli, sandwich and Italian food shop. On Wednesday it will be open until 20:00.

From Italo – 

‘On Wednesday 21st December, Winter Solstice, there is a big local party. Starting at 4pm with country dancing in St Annes Hall, on the corner of Vauxhall Grove and Harleyford Road, 2 minutes walk from the shop. Then there will be the usual solstice pagan carols outside the shop, officiated by our local pagan priest David Spofforth, from 6.30… with mulled wine. Then there is a ‘Bring Food (Vegan and Vegetarian only) and Drinks to share” community party in the Bonnington Centre. Then upstairs at the Bonnington Centre. And everyone is very welcome to come, and bring many family and friends…’

We’re acutely aware of the renegade tendency of Runoff readers, so we implore you to respect the solstice, pagan and vegetarian nature of this event. To put it bluntly,  don’t pitch up in a nun’s habit with a giant gravy double bucket from the new KFC in Vauxhall.   We will certainly plan to abide by this. 

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Lenos & Carbon

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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.  

Christmas Tree Time!

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At Christmas can you guess who the busiest man in greater Kennington might be? Is it Santa Claus? Perhaps the great man Jesus Christ himself? Of course it’s Abraham over at Bouquets and Beans in Kennington Cross who is about to take delivery of a biblical hoard of Christmas trees on Saturday (10 Dec) and more after that.

Abraham’s informed us that his trees are £35 for 3-4 feet, and £75 for 8-10 feet. The latter option being for people with huge homes or those who’ve consumed too much mulled wine. He is also selling wreaths. And he’s confirmed that said trees can be delivered. It helps to order in advance, but he also has trees on hand.   

And if you’re tree shopping why not treat yourself to a tea, coffee, croissant or a bouquet of holiday flowers? 

The Murger Han Experience

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We experienced a small gust of thrill when we saw the sign for new Chinese in Elephant called ‘Murger Han’. As it rhymes with ‘Burger Van’, we envisioned delicacies such hamburger egg rolls. As it turns out, it’s billed as ‘London’s first authentic Xi’ian restaurant ‘, which provided us with another gust, as two of us at KR towers have actually been to Xi’an on the very street where this food is made. The food is a wonderful departure from the Cantonese gloop that we’ve been spoon fed for decades, and comes from an area of China where wheat replaces rice and the food becomes infused with spices such as cumin.

Murger Han promotes itself as Chinese street food, and  murgers themselves are meat filled sandwiches. They looked hearty, but the thing to order here is the speciality of the house, and that is biang biang noodles. These noodles get their name from being stretched and slapped into long slinky bands until they’re thin and chewy. Your scribe  had the noodle with shredded beef and black fungus, with the compulsory Chinese black vinegar sauce and added garlic oil.

  • Believe it or not, this was not taken by a professional food photographer

Alice from Finance had her noodles with spicy pork, tomato, egg and vegetables (the variations being endless). She reported the dish as having ‘quite big flavours and spicy but not overwhelmingly – really rich and flavourful, served in a beautiful big bowl’. The noodles have a long and almost intestinal look to them but don’t let that put you off as they result in a joyous slurp. The mains are between £12-£14 which without booze (rare for us) is pretty reasonable. They also serve noodle and dumpling based soups. 

We visited Murger Han on a rainy Saturday, which proved almost fatal as the floor is totally marble and patrons were sliding all over the place. The marble extends up the wall, giving the place the appearance of a 90’s strip club, softened somewhat by the presence of cute emoji throw cushions, which we found curiously appealing.  But if the atmosphere doesn’t arouse you’ll find the food absurdly satisfying, and is a great, slurpy and slippy way to spend an afternoon or an evening. 

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Simply Bread

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In the guise of overly curious members of the public, we recently paid a visit to brand new sandwich joint Simply Bread in Black Prince Road. Simply Bread is a few doors down and run by the folks who operate the Jolly Gardeners Pub. The manager explained that all of the sandwich fillings are created in the Gardeners kitchen by the same trained chefs who make the meals, and contain the same quality of sourced ingredients that you find in their meals. So, your coronation chicken is the same chicken found in their Sunday roast. And their bread is purchased at Alby Bakery in Vauxhall. Looking good so far…

The sandwiches at Simply Bread are the same day on day but the specials change, and our intern Kate had the aforementioned coronation chicken. It was very generously filed with juicy and moist chicken in an authentic tasting coronation dressing, and appetisingly sunny in colour. Of course it also featured a wealth of raisins, so if they’re not your thing you’ve been warned.  Your scribe had the tuna loin sandwich in a sub roll which was well filled with large pink tuna chunks and a waist expanding amount of mayo just this side of decadent. And the bread was slightly sweet and very fresh. With all sandwiches a range of toppings (onion, salad, tomatoes etc) can be added. 

  • These sandwiches look
  • much more appetising in the flesh

We give Simply Bread our stamp of approval as a solid, independent lunch spot.  In the morning they also serve coffee, tea, pastries and sausage/bacon rolls. (or vegan).  When I pointed out to the manager  that the name of the shop rhymes with a certain washed up band from the 80’s with a lead singer who nowadays resembles Little Orphan Annie, he responded with a puzzled and somewhat worried expression. But don’t fret, he’s much more adept at sandwich making. 

  • Mick Hucknall
  • Annie
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