The top ten restaurants in Kennington – those that didn’t quite make it

Mamuśka slipped out of our top ten this year as we have had occasional stodgy dishes there, but those dishes may well have been authentically Polish, and if you’ve never been, you really should go for the experience and the atmosphere.

Mamuska - kenningtonrunoff.com

Emanuel also has a great atmosphere and feels authentically Peruvian – maybe a a bit too authentic at times.

We’re reasonably regular visitors to Amici, at the junction of Windmill Row and Kennington Lane, which is a decent, friendly Italian. They have outdoor seating in the courtyard which is great when the weather’s good. To us Amici represents the old Kennington where the likes of the Duchy Arms, Brunswick House and Doost (from the same owners as Amici) represent the new, but long may it last.

We have a soft spot for Brasserie Toulouse Lautrec and we’re grateful there is live music (mostly jazz) in Kennington every night, but we’re bigger fans of their brunch than their bistro evening menu.

The food at Kennington Tandoori is a cut above your average curry house, and probably marginally better than Gandhi’s (who are also very good and do a great value vegetable thali). KT have nice bright premises with a front that opens onto the street – pleasant in the summer months. But we’ve talked before about their “customer is always wrong” attitude. We had another run in with them this year where we complained, they rather aggressively told us we were wrong, so we provided proof to back up our complaint, which was met with silence. We don’t want to give any more details for fear of being banned. And it’s not just us – see their Tripadvisor page for some real pearls.

Kennington Tandoori - kenningtonrunoff.com

Anyway, we’d love to see all these restaurants burst into the top ten next year, and would welcome suggestions of any we’ve missed.

Kennington Bakery

Butcher, baker, candlestick maker? Kennington has them all, and now we have a baker of organic sourdough breads as well – Kennington Bakery.

Kennington Bakery contact details

John will bake your choice of loaf to order then leave it for collection in the afternoons from various locations around Kennington. They’re also stocked by Italo Deli, Sally White and the Kennington Coffee Shop.

His full range of breads is here, and will expand over time. As you can tell from his descriptions, John really knows his bread, and if you can describe it, the chances are he’ll be able to bake it for you flawlessly.

Our favourites so far are the Saratoga, a “San Francisco-style” sourdough:

Kennington Bakery Saratoga - kenningtonrunoff.com

The Agincourt, “An open crumb white loaf similar to a French Pain au Levain. But better.”:

Kennington Bakery Agincourt with organic stoneground flours, wheat leaven and Cornish sea salt - kenningtonrunoff.com

The Blenheim is great too for fans of caraway, and for those avoiding wheat, some of his breads are 100% rye.

John is primarily a baker of bread but he also did some mean hot cross buns earlier in the year:

hot cross bun from Kennington Bakery - kenningtonrunoff.com

Oh, and we like their flier, clearly inspired by Peter Saville’s work for Factory Records:

Kennington Bakery image of bread

This morning (Saturday) you can meet John and sample his wears on a stall outside Sally White. This was his stall at the Kennington Village Fete:

Kennington Bakery at the Kennington Village Fete - kenningtonrunoff.com

 

The Top Ten Best Restaurants in Kennington – no. 2 – The Duchy Arms

Positives: Some of the best pub food around, cooked by Prince Charles’s former chef. Great, hand cut chips. Get in quick before the hordes discover it.

Negatives: If you’re looking for a light bite, you’ve come to the wrong place. This is their fish pie for two:

Duchy Arms fish pie for two, with handcut chips and spinach - kenningtonrunoff.com

Hygiene rating: TBC

Address: 63 Sancroft Street, London SE11 5UG

Duchy Arms - kenningtonrunoff.com

Come back next Sunday to find out the number 1.

Fête-mageddon

Fête season is upon us.

Today from noon till 4pm is the mother of all fêtes, the Kennington Village Fête. This takes place in Cleaver Square, or St Anselm’s Church if it’s raining, which it won’t be – the sun always shines on the Kennington Village Fête – the Friends of Durning Library see to that.

Kennington Village Fete flier

We will be there, doing a supermarket sweep past the local honey stand, staring in fascination at the human fruit machine, and keeping a low profile around Kennington Tandoori.

Kennington Village Fete reverse side

Then on Saturday June 27th, the North Lambeth Parish Fête takes place from 12.30pm to 5pm at Lambeth Palace – another opportunity to visit their grounds. We are fully expecting The Archbishop of Canterbury to set up his own human fruit machine.

North Kennington’s beautiful West Square has a fête, AKA a summer afternoon, on July 4th:

A summer afternoon in West Square

If there are any other fêtes we’ve missed (perhaps something in Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens?), please leave a comment below or email kenningtonrunoff@gmail.com

The Top Ten Best Restaurants in Kennington – no. 8 – Doost Persian Grill & Vodka Bar

Positives: Persian food is really nice and distinct from other cuisines. Doost do it well, with a menu that offers a lot of explanation of the dishes. It’s also a vodka bar (these were widespread in Iran before the revolution). And they have a very cheery sign outside:

Doost sign - kenningtonrunoff.com

Negatives: It’s fairly pricey for Kennington, with mains ranging from £10 to £19.90. And, while the restaurant is classy, the website is not.

Hygiene rating: 5 out of 5

Address: 305 Kennington Road, London SE11 4QE

Doost Persian Grill & Vodka Bar

Come back next Sunday to find out the number seven.

poll: what would you like to replace Kennington Bookshop?

Welcome to the first ever Kennington Runoff poll.

what would you like to replace Kennington Bookshop?

View Results

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The question is a simple one and, being realistic, there may be only two possible outcomes. Which would you prefer?

Vote now by clicking above and we’ll pass the results on to Daunt Books and any estate agents we spot eyeing up the site.

Daunt Books

versus

Survey+Reveals+Young+People+Given+Up+Dream+afMVIf_K0qJl

Here’s the new single from Kennington’s own Florence & The Machine


The song is about the time Florence Welch got drunk and had a water fight outside, then inside, her Kennington home so it only seems fair to recall the time Florence got drunk and performed at South London Pacific. Long may Flo continue to get drunk and do interesting things in Kennington.

Her album is is released on June 1st. It’s called How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, which is almost certainly a reference to Ovalhouse Theatre’s banner:

Ovalhouse Theatre - kenningtonrunoff.com

KENNINGTON NEEDS YOU to save Kennington Bookshop

It’s official – the “NEW SHOP LEASE” sign is up – Kennington Bookshop will be no more from Sunday May 31st 2015.

Kennington Bookshop with new shop lease sign up - kenningtonrunoff.com

Although it’s been a successful venture for eight years, the couple who run it have come to the end of their lease and are moving on, with talk of setting up a new bookshop somewhere out of London. They are winding down the new stock and plan to take the second hand stuff with them.

Whoever takes on the site will have big boots to fill, as the Guardian notes: “it quickly became a fixture in the local community, famed for its customer service and bright, peaceful feel. The range is eclectic and individual; carefully chosen books are laid out on antique tables, with Georgian-style bookcases holding all the major categories of fiction and non-fiction.”

The landlords will be looking for new, experienced tenants, with a strong business plan. How about Daunt Books? With sites in Marylebone, Chelsea, Holland Park, Hampstead, Belsize Park and the City of London, Kennington would be the ideal location for their first venture south of the river.

In many ways Kennington Bookshop felt like a branch of Daunt Books – they have a similarly well thought-through book edit, and even created their own version of that bookshop bag (the Kennington one is just as ubiquitous in Kennington as the Daunt one is elsewhere):

The bookshop occupies a large site across two floors on Kennington Road with plenty of passing trade. Regular customers include Will Self, Sarah Waters, and indeed us (we buy most of our gifts there and order books for next day delivery instead of using Amazon).

Central Kennington, AKA Kennington Village, is just starting to become a real destination thanks to recent arrivals like The Boule-In, Brocket Gallery and Sally White joining stalwarts like Windmill Flowers and Space Station Sixty Five. Now would be a great time for Daunt Books to join them.

If you’d like to see Daunt Books come to Kennington, please email them here or tweet them here. We’ll be giving them our full support.

Windmill Flowers

We’ve been raving about The Boule-In effect set to transform the Windmill Row area of Kennington, but long before The Boule-In or Sally White, there was already a lovely shop on Windmill Row – Windmill Flowers.

Windmill Flowers flowers - kenningtonrunoff.com

They do all the usual things flower shops do, plus some plants and a small but tasteful range of other gifts:

Windmill Flowers gifts - kenningtonrunoff.com

They’re open Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm and Saturday 9am to 5pm.

Windmill Flowers - kenningtonrunoff.com

Brocket Gallery

Brocket Gallery, a contemporary art gallery formerly located above The Three Stags, is now open in its new permanent location in the basement beneath The Boule-In on Windmill Row (see our Boule-In piece for more about how it came to be there).

Brocket’s first show in the new location is ‘Selected Artists’, featuring highlights from their roster. Both the founders – exhibition maker and art dealer Lizzie Glendinning and artist Jack Bullen – studied at Kennington’s own City & Guilds, as did many of the artists they represent.

This is the space:

Brocket Gallery interior - kenningtonrunoff.com

They have made nice use of the skylight under the pavement. This piece is called Cavity by Samuele Sinibaldi and costs £860 (skylight not included):

Samuele Sinibaldi, Cavity. Brocket Gallery - kenningtonrunoff.com

This is an untitled piece, made of jesmonite, by Roshna Qorbanee, for £1350 which is as expensive as anything in the show (the cheapest item is £295):

Roshna Qorbanee, Untitled, Brocket Gallery - kenningtonrunoff.com

This is Precipice No. 1 by Alex N Stewart, and could be the prettiest and most expensive piece of OSB board you’ll ever buy at £1350:

Alex N Stewart, Precipice No. 1, Brocket Gallery - kenningtonrunoff.com

And finally, another piece by Samuele Sinibaldi – A Childish Game, or as we like to call it, Pot With Handlebars, £1200:

Samuele Sinibaldi, Cavity, Brocket Gallery - kenningtonrunoff.com

There were also some etchings and watercolours that didn’t photograph so well. We enjoyed the exhibition and really like the space, plus it’s more accessible than some of Kennington’s other art galleries, so we’ll be regular visitors.