Adulis – A Mighty Fine Eritrean Joint

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.

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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!!!

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The top ten best restaurants in Kennington – no. 7 – Adulis

Positives: Kennington and surrounding areas are blessed with an extraordinary number of Eritrean and Ethiopean restaurants – Red Sea on Walworth Road, the ever-popular Zeret Kitchen on Camberwell Road, St Gabriel Cafe on that sketchy little alley between Kennington Park Road and Kennington Lane, Harar on South Lambeth Road, Beza in Artworks (Artworks has now closed permanently), plus Bar 48 on Brixton Road only recently closed… we even bought some Eritrean food at the Archbishop Sumner school fete once. The pick of the bunch for us is Adulis on Brixton Road – great atmosphere, nice African decorations, Ethiopean lager, and the crazy odour of the coffee ceremony…

Adulis Eritrean Restaurant - kenningtonrunoff.com

Negatives: Every Ethiopean or Eritrean meal we’ve had has basically been the same but that suits us just fine – the food is always delicious and fun if not too photogenic:

Adulis platter - kenningtonrunoff.com

Cable Bakery & Roastery

Cable Bakery & Roastery is a very exciting new arrival from the couple behind the Cable Bar & Cafe and Waterloo’s Scootercaffe. It’s situated at 82 Bolton Crescent, a street that runs along the side of Kennington Park and was previously most notable for an adventure playground and a bondage shop (Fetish Freak – “your fetish is our business”, but not if, like us, your fetish is for four coloured pens, although to be fair, we haven’t enquired so we can’t be sure).

Cable Bakery & Roastery exterior - kenningtonrunoff.com

The decor is every bit as stylish as their other two establishments, with vintage coffee machines scattered around the place.

Cable Bakery & Roastery shelving - kenningtonrunoff.com

As well as these stools, there are a couple of small tables. The establishment is already proving popular so you may not get a seat at busy times, but you can always head around the corner to Cable Bar instead.

Cable Bakery & Roastery seating area - kenningtonrunoff.com

They bake sourdough bread and roast coffee on site, all organic:

Cable Bakery & Roastery bread - kenningtonrunoff.com

As well as the expected hot drinks, they serve smoothies, sandwiches, chicken and beef broth and other lunch options with plans to add more. They also have a good selection of cakes – we had an excellent slice of apple pie.

Cable Bakery & Roastery cakes - kenningtonrunoff.com

They’re open Monday to Friday 9.30am to 7pm and Saturdays from 10am to 3pm, although hours may increase in the future. Let’s hope so – this place is great.

Address: 82 Bolton Crescent, SE5 0SE.

Sugar Pot – NEW CAFE ALERT!

Kennington Park Parade is taking over from the stuttering Windmill Row to become Kennington’s latest hot spot for shopping. First QueArts opened up there, and now, in the former premises of Peter’s Shoe Design Studio, there’s Sugar Pot, a brand new, rather lovely cafe that’s already doing great business, especially when the sun comes out:

Sugar Pot exterior - kenningtonrunoff.com

Sugar Pot is run by a local family and many of the clientèle seem to be their friends – or perhaps they’re just good at befriending their customers. Either way, everyone is very friendly, staff and customers.

Counter at The Sugar Pot - kenningtonrunoff.com

n.b. If you weren’t aware, San Pellegrino is very salty.

Their menu is getting steadily longer. So far it doesn’t include fresh juices or smoothies but watch this space. The bread is by… who else but the wonderful Kennington Baker.

Sugar Pot menu - kenningtonrunoff.com

We had the banana bread (they’re right, it is lovely warmed with butter), and a fresh mint tea served in vintage crockery. The daffodils came with the table:

Daffodils, vintage crockery and warm toasted banana bread - kenningtonrunoff.com

So far they’re not open on Sundays but we hope that will change in the future – it’s the kind of place we’d like to visit on a Sunday.

Address: 248 Kennington Park Road, London SE11 4DA

If you’re thinking of opening a shop in Kennington, it’s not too late to jump on the Kennington Park Parade bandwagon – these premises are to let a few doors down from The Sugar Pot:

premises to rent near Sugar Pot - kenningtonrunoff.com

Bee Urban

Bee Urban is a honeybee-centric social enterprise based in Kennington Park. They also sell the most delicious honey we’ve ever tasted. Beware – it’s so flavoursome that supermarket honey will never taste the same again. You can buy it from local fetes like the Kennington Fete and Pullens Yard Open Studios, or just pop in to Bee Urban and pick some up.

Bee Urban honey - kenningtonrunoff.com

They used to be based in the Old Keeper’s Lodge but since Northern Line extension works began they have moved to a spacious new site behind the cafe in Kennington Park:

Bee Urban sign - kenningtonrunoff.com

There are three great opportunities to visit Bee Urban this weekend as part of Find Your London festival. Tomorrow night, Friday, they’re having a cob oven pizza night from 5pm to 9pm.

Bee Urban new site in Kennington Park - kenningtonrunoff.com

Then on Saturday March 19th there’s an open day from midday to 5pm with bees, habitats and cob oven breads.

Bee Urban gardens - kenningtonrunoff.com

And on Sunday they’re putting on tasters about honey bees and beekeeping from 11am to 1pm, 1pm to 3pm, and 3pm to 5pm.

Bee Urban cabinet - kenningtonrunoff.com

Address: Bee Urban, The Hive, Kennington Park, St Agnes Place, London SE11 4BE.

 

QueArts – NEW SHOP ALERT!

QueArts, Kennington’s first stationers and art supplies shop, opened its doors on Thursday, at 220 Kennington Park Road, London SE11 4DA, where Coversure Insurance used to be.

QueArts shopfront - kenningtonrunoff.com

As you can see from their window, they offer all kinds of art and craft materials, stationery and framing.

QueArts inks and paints - kenningtonrunoff.com

It’s a big shop with lots of beautifully stacked fresh racks of materials for stationery fetishists like us.

QueArts paper - kenningtonrunoff.com

They also sell greetings cards – how could we resist this Kennington-related one?

The Oval card - kenningtonrunoff.com

The very friendly proprietor lived in Kennington for many years, and still plays football in Kennington Park which is how he came to spot the To Let sign.

QueArts boxes - kenningtonrunoff.com

The same row of shops also plays host to Park View, AKA Dino’s Hairdressers, which has one of London’s finest shop signs, renovated relatively recently:

Dino's hairdresser Park view - kenningtonrunoff.com

There are two other shops to let in the same parade, including this former shoe repair shop. May we have an organic grocer and a branch of Rough Trade Records please?

vacant shoe shop - kenningtonrunoff.com (2)

Finally, while we’re writing about this parade, has anyone ever seen Naga Shack open? Or, better still, sampled its cuisine, whether Lebanese or Indian?

Naga Shack - kenningtonrunoff.com (2)

Bar 48 wine bar and Eritrean restaurant

A wine bar seems quite a weird concept in 2015, let alone a wine bar that’s also an art gallery and music venue, serving Eritrean “tapas”, next door to what is probably London’s best Eritrean restaurant, Adulis.

Bar 48 exterior - kenningtonrunoff.com

We thought Bar 48 must be a new opening from Adulis but it turns out it’s neither linked to Adulis nor new – it has been going for years and has been in its present incarnation for around two years – we just hadn’t noticed it till recently. It’s also rather dark so excuse the photography.

Bar 48 interior - kenningtonrunoff.com

Someone on TripAdvisor says “You know how people say that Londoners are unfriendly bastards who never make conversation? Well not here! I don’t know how they do it, but its the kind of place where strangers were striking up conversations with one another all night.” Indeed this was our experience – both the barman and the table next door struck up conversation with us.

And there’s a lot to talk about. They have the kind of events programme that is bound to see Jeremy Corbyn visit sooner or later (unless he heads to i’klectik instead). Plus a grand piano:

Bar 48 grand piano - kenningtonrunoff.com

The owner Fiyori Belay has Eritrean roots and runs the kitchen, while the (bar)man behind the art gallery concept is Joshua Vaughan, who also teaches at City & Guilds. When we visited the art had rather a Dystopian, William Gibson-ish feel.

sculpture at Bar 48 - kenningtonrunoff.com

should have chained the wheels to the bike

art at Bar 48 - kenningtonrunoff.com

If you’re only interested in the food, you should probably go to Adulis instead, which offers pretty much the same dishes (meat and vegetable platters served on injera), at least as well prepared, and many others besides. Bar 48’s wine list is also quite short for a wine bar, but reasonably priced. They do serve an Ethiopian lager, St George Beer (he’s the patron saint of Ethiopia as well as England), which seems more exotic than the Kenyan one they have next door, as well as Brixton beers (should have gone for Kernel, or failing that, Kennington’s own Orbit).

St George Beer at Bar 48 - kenningtonrunoff.com

But really, you should go for the welcoming atmosphere, and because you will never have been anywhere quite like it. Tonight could be the night – they’re open and have a duo playing covers and originals, then, as far as we can ascertain from their reservations tool, they’re not open again till February 1st.

Address: 48 Brixton Road, London SW9 6BT

Gasworks gallery

2015 was a big year for Gasworks gallery – they reopened to the public in September after purchasing the freehold on their Vauxhall Street site (next door to the actual gasworks, hence the name), and getting it redeveloped by architects HAT Projects.

Gasworks gallery exterior - kenningtonrunoff.com

The new look gallery is lovely and now fully accessible, and we loved 50% of the current exhibition by Guatemalan artist Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa.

The first room is called Babylonian Fantasy and features four sculptures like this:

Babylonian Fantasy by Naufus Ramirez-Figueroa at Gasworks - kenningtonrunoff.com

We liked these pieces less once we read that they were inspired by David Icke, but we loved the second and final room, an instillation called God’s Reptilian Finger. Here’s a photo of said finger and other objects, although you really need to be in the room to experience it properly:

God's Reptilian Finger by Naufus Ramirez-Figueroa at Gasworks - kenningtonrunoff.com

Like Newport Street Gallery, Gasworks purports to be in Vauxhall but they are yards from the Oval Cricket Ground and we’d say they’re in South Kennington (AKA Oval). They have been around since 1994 running the gallery and offering studio space to artists, amongst other non-profit making activities.

They reopen on Wednesday after a Christmas break, and they’re open Wednesdays to Sundays midday to 6pm whenever there’s an exhibition on. Yes, this means they’re open Saturdays and Sundays, unlike some of Kennington’s galleries, so there’s no excuse not to get along before this exhibition closes on February 7th.

Address: 155 Vauxhall Street, London SE11 5RH.

Kennington Park and its new Flower Garden

It’s all change in Kennington Park at the moment, and this weekend was a big one thanks to the reopening of the flower garden after a £500k makeover. We bring you photos, with apologies to the woman who we inadvertently followed around:

Kennington Park Flower Garden vista - kenningtonrunoff.com

The flower garden originally opened in 1931 and its layout has remained much the same since, including this water feature:

Kennington Park Flower Garden water feature - kenningtonrunoff.com

This new sundial was made from Welsh slate by Sam Flintham, a student of historic stone carving at Kennington’s own City & Guilds:

Kennington Park Flower Garden sundial - kenningtonrunoff.com

Get down there quick while the roses are still in season:

Kennington Park Flower Garden roses - kenningtonrunoff.com

Kennington Park Flower Garden flowers - kenningtonrunoff.com

Elsewhere in the park, the Kennington Park Centre on Bob Marley’s old hang out, St Agnes Place, is newish and features an arts and community centre, a stay and play club, and an adventure playground. Also newish is the exercise equipment just north of the cafe, which is proving very popular.

Finally, one of the big concerns about Northern Line extension works in the park was that Bee Urban, those harvesters of the world’s tastiest honey, would have to be relocated. Well, they have been, and their new site next to the cafe looks mightily impressive:

Bee Urban new site in Kennington Park - kenningtonrunoff.com

Join the Friends of Kennington Park here – they made all this happen.