It’s the moment that Observer staff have been fainting in the corridor over (or it could just be that we work in an underground bunker). For the best place to eat in Greater Kennington we’ve chosen Theos in Elephant because of its creative toppings, great sourdough base, their delicious Pannuozzo wood fired lunch sandwiches, tiramisu, and good price point. We are aware that recommending the best pizza in Greater Kennington is fraught with opinionated tension and might even cause small dough based riots in Kennington Cross so we’ve sealed the hole to the bunker. The runner up pizza is the 400 Rabbitts, in Elephant Park for their wonderful bases and decor which makes you feel like you’re eating in aisle 7 of Ikea.
GorgonzolaAnchovy
On the pizza front Keith from HR had the aubergine and Gorgonzola. An adventurous choice; the aubergine was very soft and this was offset by the sharp hit of pecorino followed by the blue hit of Gorgonzola. Your scribe had a ‘blood pressure through the roof’ salt kick of an anchovy, capers, olive and mozzarella pizza. All the salty elements were balanced well, and the best element of these pizzas is that they are served on a sourdough bread that is blistered on just the good side of incineration.
Theo’s recently won an award for best Tiramisu in London, and in our opinion it is well deserved. It ticked all the boxes of ‘Italian almost trifle’ with a perfect balance of strong coffee, dark chocolate, creamy mascarpone and served between layers of soft cream.
While writing this article several staff people became rather obsessed with the very notion of Theos’ panuozzo sandwich so we unlocked the door to the bunker and headed over there. Your scribe had an panuozzo with olives and onions and mozzarella dripping out. To create an illusion of health the base was Ortiz tuna. Keith had the sausage and gorgonzola with mushrooms. Mind you, we will need to run to and from Theos 65 times to burn off the calories, but it was delicious nevertheless.
All good things must come to an end, and after six years at the top spot the lovely Adulis Eritrean in Oval has been dethroned. For almost 30 years Adulis has quietly served up tender and well cooked meats, huge kirchat platters, zingy stews, great service, and all the wait staff have great hair. And they were serving tasty vegetarian fare long before it was cool. And we’re loving the slightly kitsch retro design aesthetic.
If Eritrean food is new to you, or even if it isn’t, the best launching point at Adulis is the sampler plate called ‘Kirchat’ (there’s a vegetarian version as well). It is fundamentally a selection of their best meat and veg dishes served on a platter usually featuring Kifto, which is tender meat cooked in ‘we know its bad for you but we cant help it’ ghee and its to die for. All of the dishes have 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 our bad photo below put you off, as Eritrean dishes don’t in reality look like cat food.
The dish above 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 (or cutlery for the timid). We also recommend the chicken stew ‘dorho’ with loads of herbs and further recommend the prawns. They also have some fine looking vegan options.
On the drinks front, we usually have the Kenyan beer ‘Tusker’ or a South African white. Having said that, the speciality of the house is their Adulis honey wine. We’ve had this previously and let’s just place it in the category of ‘experimental’. 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.
For reasons purely relating to research we quality controlled Coriander on New Year’s Eve, 2025 and it still deserves the number three spot.
Greater Kenningtontonians are almost as opinionated about their curry as their Sunday roast (which this years winner will surprise you all), but we find that the best hands down to be The Coriander in Vauxhall. We are aware that such a bold assertion is controversial and might make you want to hurl tarka dahl our way but since you don’t actually know who we are that’s not likely to happen.
Coriander specialises in North Indian, Bengali and Nepalese cuisine. The garlic naan is just right – not too thick and herbs going through it. For side dishes, the baingon motor (aubergine) is a standout treat, and their other starters cover all the bases of North Indian food. For the mains, our favourites are the chicken tikka naga (above) with hints of cloves, cumin and loads of heat. All the good curry house standards are also in evidence, and we particularly like the handi laze, which is spicy chicken with chillies and fragrant cardamon, giving some zing with added lemon. And as with most Indian places, there are a range of vegetarian options. There are also a huge range of rices, and we prefer the good old fashioned pilau. And what would ANY good curry house without some slightly tacky murals?
Honourable mention in for Indian food goes to proper old school curry joint Gandhis in Kennington Cross which just missed our list. As you can see by the celebrity strewn pictures in the window, if it’s good enough for Richard and Judy, Neil and Christine Hamilton, and some lady who’s a dead ringer for Hyacinth Bucket then it has to be good enough for us mere mortals and may return to the list one day.
If you’ve ever seen the crowds at Japanese/Korean joint Kuma in Kennington Cross you’ll know that they hardly need our support, but they’ve earned our coveted and profoundly ssubjective 4 spot for the second year. They’ve earned this due to their spicy, diverse and innovative fare served at reasonable prices.
We started with Kuma’s best known dish, Korean Fried Chicken. The options were – traditional, spicy, or sticky soy garlic and we chose the latter. The medium portion was huge and suitable for two. It had a great crispy crunch and slathered in a sticky soy garlic sauce. For the mains your scribe opted for the chicken bulgogi (say it like a pro…..boo-GOH-gee) which were very thin strips of chicken grilled on a BBQ coated with a hearty sauce called gochujang. Spring onion featured and it was consumed in lettuce wraps. It was billed as ‘hot’ and it certainly was, and so generous that your scribe couldn’t finish it.
Kim the intern had the Kimchi Bokkumbap as a main; a Korean fried rice dish with the national ingredient kimchi (spiced fermented cabbage) topped with barbecued beef strips. A bit like Chinese stir fry rice with a heavy dose of red chilli sauce. It was topped with a fried egg and came with miso soup, and again was a very generous portion. Best washed down with a Cass or Asahi Super Dry beer, but not for Kim as she’s aware that our gratitude ends with a Pepsi Max
We love nothing more than sticking our noses where they don’t belong, and towards the end of the meal we went to the toilets and might have accidentally wandered into the kitchen. We can confirm that sous chef Mike (aka Mike-ro-Wave) was nowhere to be seen and everything is made fresh.
We’re halfway there already, and the #5 spot is nailed nailed by posh deli and restaurant Didi and Franc. You’d be correct in thinking that Didi and Franc never seem to be open, but they seem to be focussing only dinners. The review below is from a gastronomic visit undertaken in November, 2024. But we returned to buy nibbles in 2025 and the same standards apply.
It’s been long overdue but we’ve finally paid visit to the little restaurant at Didi and Franc in Kennington Cross. For those not in the know, D&F is an upmarket deli/cheese/bread/wine shop that generally sells gorgeous foodie things that you have no practical use for but still want. The cheese section being particularly good. Didi and Franc are real people and usually on hand and possess a forensic knowledge of the food they sell and the items on the menu as they’re the ones who ordered and cook the stuff. The short and precisely primed dinner menu is Italian.
(Still serving Feb. 2026) Karen from finance loves a mackerel, so we shared a smoked mackerel mousse which was light in texture but punchy in flavour, served with some of the delicious sourdough bread sold in the deli. Karen chose to follow this with a vegetarian (possibly vegan) option of mushroom and chestnut tortellini with pesto rosso, cavolo nero and chestnuts. Chestnut feels wonderfully autumnal so it’s nice to see this feature. The generously filled homemade tortellini having a rich nutty taste that went beautifully with a red pepper flavoured pesto and a bit of green hit from the cavolo nero. Karen got so excited that while in the midst of chewing she yelled out, to a shocked room, ‘this dish a triumph’! Or words to that effect.
Beef Mackerel
Your scribe consumed beef shin and red wine tortellini with tomato sauce. This was next level cheffy stuff with a very rich, wine based tomato sauce and seven tortellini stuffed with beef shin so delicate that it melted before hitting the back of the palate. The tortellini was perfectly al dente with a touch of parmesan. Pumpkin pie was a surprise dessert not originally on the menu but that had just been rustled up by Franc himself.
More experienced (read, OLD) readers might recall that the premises now held by D&F was formerly an Oddbins and a place of sacred refuge after many a fraught team meeting here at Observer towers. So when it first opened we were disappointed at the pearl clutchingly high price of their wines. Well can we confirm that either Didi, Franc or both got the message as the prices are now a bit more reasonable (but still high). And with a certain gift giving holiday just around the corner, D&F could be the perfect destination for your foodie friends. And they also do ‘make your own’ hampers.
The restaurant at D&F is open during the second half of the week and we strongly advise that you book as the first time we couldn’t get a seat and it royally pissed us off.
Motoring on, and the number #7 Spot is awarded to the very independent Bonnington Cafe, and we recently made a much overdue visit to the Vauxhall institution in Bonnington Square. The Cafe is part of the larger Bonnington Centre, but more on that later.
Bonnington Café was established over forty years ago as a not for profit endeavour and still serves its original purpose of serving affordable (£5 starters £12 mains £5 desserts) vegetarian and vegan fare prepared by a rotating cast of chefs. They also have a BYOB policy to make it even more affordable. At the moment the chefs are creating British comfort food, vegan Polish fare, and locally sourced favourite dishes (UPDATE FEB 2026 – still occurring). Our night was led by Syrian chef Hind Danoun, who passionately cooks her mother’s Syrian vegetarian dishes. She’s in the kitchen on Fridays and some other nights.
The menus at BC are purposefully very small, and showcase what the chef is working on at the moment. Cliff from the HR team chose the grilled aubergine with tahini and paprika sauce topped with nuts for a starter and he called it ‘sublime’. The tahini was described as creamy and smooth, no clagginess: a light dish of splendidly umami flavours. The lentil kebab main didn’t feel remotely like a kebab to Cliff, so an odd name: lentil steak would have been closer. This was lightly spiced, and benefitted from its accompaniment of yoghurt sauce and a great sumac sauce that made the dish.
Your scribe had the fattoush salad with pomegranate molasses, which was bright and sharp: a little too sour for some tongues but a nice contrast of leaf and crunch. Meanwhile, majouka felt rather like a Syrian take on a vegetarian biryani – which was a result that your scribe could get on board with: simple, tasty, hearty.
Overall, both in terms of pocketbook and what we consumed we left feeling healthy. Well, maybe that £7 bottle of Tesco Malbec we knocked back in half an hour wasn’t so healthy, but don’t judge us. If you don’t fancy a meal at the BC then pop over to Bonnington Square itself for a bit of a wonder, as it’s a verdant urban subtropical oases (maybe not in February) with a storied past that we wrote about previously.
The Bonnington Centre has an eclectic sounding programme of activities on the first floor including one called ‘Death Café’, which rather reminded us of the time when Phil brought homemade brownies into the office. They also have yoga and film nights. On our night there were a motley and hungry group of amateur musicians coming downstairs for a bite, while as we left we were serenaded by the lovely tones of other musicians upstairs.
And we find ourselves whizzing forward to eight and its been nabbed by Japanese canteen Taro. It is now a Kennington staple and has established itself as a local favourite, and this was certainly in evidence when we visited on a busy Thursday night. We love Taro for consistently serving up authentic ‘Izakaya’ fare, roughly meaning ‘pub food’ and have rejoined the glamourous Top 10 after missing out for a bit. But are they still worthy of their noble accolade? We can imagine they’re shaking in their sushi right now awaiting our answer.
With half the office on (much needed) weight control drugs, on this visit we focused on the sushi section of the menu. The Taro sushi board offered a great mix of different nigiri and couple of rolls, a great option if you want a variety or if you find it hard to commit to anything. We also ordered a rainbow roll, a visually arresting inside out roll with crab. The mango roll was an accidental order, where mango is around the outside of the roll. That’s great if you are a mango fan, less so if you don’t usually mix savoury and sweet. We branched out most with the tempura roll. This was a sushi roll, and in this case with prawn and avocado, delicately friend in a light sushi batter. That sounds heavier than it is and generally got the thumbs up as something different, even with the Mounjaro faithful.
We would definitely advise venturing into the vegetable-focused side dish areas of the menu. The agedashi tofu in soy sauce was silky and delicate. The seaweed salad was a mix of different seaweeds with a dressing with a wasabi kick. We know this reads like we’re binge eating, and you might have a point.
What makes Taro work is its commitment to quality Japanese food at a moderate price point. If you want a big occasion meal, you’ll probably venture that small distance to the West End, and good luck with that. What Kenningtonians demand is something that’s good quality and reliable that won’t break the bank…..Oh, and serves cocktails….
Taro, if you’re reading this (and if not you’re missing out) our only note of guidance is to find a way around the unedifying presence of balaclava hooded ‘Just Eat’ delivery drivers in the restaurant, as it rather cheapens the experience. And no one wants to be cheap.
Beza Vegan Ethiopian is the Observer’s favourite vegan joint and has been since it started its local life as a pop up in Elephant and Castle shopping centre in 2016. It now lives on close to the new ‘was hip but now has a Gail’s Bakery’ dining area Sayer Street in Elephant. And the only thing better than the food is the fact that it is female owned and operated.
If you don’t know a great deal about Ethiopian food they make it easy for you as there is only one thing on the menu, and the very friendly Ethiopian staff can tell you all about it. The food is served on a giant platter and is intended to be eaten without cutlery by means of a glorious bread called injera, but you can choose rice (but don’t). Injera has a slight tangy flavour to it and they’ll bring you as much as you want. On the platter we had red lentils with garlic, sautéed mushrooms, chickpeas, spinach, beetroot and cabbage cooked in a variety of ways. The heat level was moderate but if want to ramp it up we were given two condiments. One was hot and the other felt like we were chomping down on molten lava, mitigated by free minty water. All extremely pleasing.
The crowd at Beza are primarily thirty somethings who just left the gym with their water bottles and who probably live in those new flashy towers nearby. And LOTS of hair flicking. This by no means describes us, but they appeared envious of just how quickly we downed our big glasses of wine. And at only £39 for two people it was certainly good on the wallet. Or if you’re the hair flicking sort then your Apple. They also serve an even larger (were talking car tyre size) portion for four people, creating a party sharing vibe.
Why Ethopian food isn’t more popular is a great mystery to us, like that giant pong that used to be in Kennnington tube or why you never see any baby pigeons. But this shouldn’t be a mystery to you, and take your friends who dither, as there is really only one option! አስገራሚ!
And we’re off! And this spot was achieved for excellence in smoked meats
We’ve always felt slightly bad for the Duchy Arms as it suffers from BPLS, otherwise known as Bad Pub Location Syndrome. Located in Sancroft Street, you might have never seen the place in spite of its massive beer garden. In our role as ‘random yet glamourous members of the public’, we got talking to manager Josephine (who lives behind Sally White’s, tick!) who acknowledged that previous owners were ploughing through managers and menus faster than Boris Johnson has kids, and part of this was due to the location. So thinking creatively, they’ve turned the place into a barbeque smokehouse, an action of which we thoroughly approve.
Your scribe and ‘office fun guy’ Phil from Accounts first ventured into the small plates section by asking if Jager bombs count as a small plate. After being summarily kicked under the table, Phil ordered a pickles plate and some lamb ribs. The pickles were a mix of gherkin, carrot and radish; substantial rather than sliced and tasting home-prepared. They were sweet and sour and only gently acidic. This balanced quite well against the two fairly large lamb ribs that were as rich, fatty and lamby as you would hope.
As Phil will do anything for free food, he then selected baby back ribs and your scribe grabbed the beef cheek. The ribs were a portion of two racks and had a nice glaze to them and pork meat that slid off the bone. You don’t need a sticky sauce when the meat is this good and the celeriac slaw accompaniment was great. The beef cheek wins the prize for the most surprised reaction when it arrived: as a big black glistening lump not unlike a genetically modified Malteser. The dark smoked roast on the outside yielded to paler, supersoft meat within. If you don’t like fiddling with bones, it’s a good way to go – sticky, unctuous, super rich and smoking (traits that no one in the office possesses). It came incongruously with a healthy cauliflower, smoke-grilled with curry spices and sat on what we assumed was hummus but was in fact a bean puree. The side-order of chilli and garlic corn, slathered in deep smoked butter, pushed us further on the road to diabetes, but was great.
So how does the smokehouse menu stack up? The answer is excellently due to its breadth of barbecue offerings and its execution in a giant smoker in the garden. And believe it or not the Duchy does offer vegetarian items but veggies be warned – you will be seeing your favourite barnyard critters in flames in front of you as they have a giant smoker. We cannot vouch for the other items, but we think a deviation from pub classics is a good development in Kennington and we wish them the best of luck.
Before we commence our mega mix of how you can buy gifts for people you love/put up with this Christmas, let’s think about the Greater Kenningtonians out there who are struggling to put food on the table in these difficult times. This year we’re again supporting the Secret Santa campaign run by our friends over at the Kennington Association. Last year KA raised funds to give shopping vouchers to 140 local households, with the families chosen by local early needs professionals. To find out more and to donate, click here. If you like the more hands on approach, Tesco in Kennington Lane has food and collection boxes located handily next to the exit.
FOOD AND DRINK
Italo Vauxhall and Nosh at Marcellos (formerly Mimi’s Deli) both have a range of Italian foodie gift ideas including wines, beers, spices, panettone (that’s Italian for ‘stale cake’), oils, spirits, cheeses and even posh sauces. Mimi’s and Italo also can concoct a mean Italian lunch if you’re shopping feet get tired. Mimi’s also do custom made hampers. As you can see below, both joints are rammed with goodies.
Oval Farmer’s Market Ever thought about buying an edible Christmas gift from our own beloved country market? They stock many things that won’t perish under the tree such as chorizo, chocolates and wine. We’re also concerned that the Market is kind of dying and we need to prevent this. You have two Saturdays before Christmas!
Beefeater Gin Distillery has a lovely but totally deserted gift shop offering unusual, limited run gins and gin accessories. You can also buy a gift voucher to tour the distillery (we can confirm it’s great fun). Perfect for your loved one who likes a nice holiday tipple or to get your annoying uncle Fred to nod off before the turkey is served. We understand Beefeater’s parent company Pernot Ricard is the opposite of independent, but it’s Christmas so don’t judge us.
Orbit Brewery is our own hidden away little gem of a brewery in Walworth. Online or in person you can buy a range of their lagers, cioders, ales, porters, and even socks. And the rumour is true, they sell tzatziki flavoured beer that we can only describe as, well, ‘adventurous’.
Didi and Franc have gone full tilt in 2025 and are selling custom made hampers to fill with their gorgeous goods. But if, like us, you don’t fit their demographic, you can just buy one of their baskets and fill it with things from the corner shop. And while you’re there you can pick up a panettone at I due Amici next door. Panettone being of course the food that you never actually eat, but just regift at a Christmas party you’ve been invited to.
NON FOOD
The Book Elephant For those of you young enough to never buy anything in an actual shop, new kid the Book Elephant in Sayer Street can probably get a book in quicker than you can buy it online. Its also a fun place to get inspiration. Plus they also sell coffee and wine. Need we say more?
Castle Square When you think of Christmas shopping the first thing that springs to mind probably isn’t ‘ooh, lets go to the place behind Elephant Station where they keep the bins’. But if you venture there you’ll discover a clutch of independent shops that used to exist in the shopping centre. Great for your younger folk looking for baseball caps, hoodies, clothes, or undergarments to make your bum look either smaller or larger. While there pop over to the retro video game emporium 4 Quarters?
SoLo Craft Fair is a collective of online artists and creatives who run a bricks and mortar shop in Elephant Park. Sixty small businesses have their work shown on rotation and in 2025 they are again stocking affordable jewellery, handbags, baskets, cards, scarves, bath salts, prints and T-shirts. And as Elephant is now trendy in a non-ironic way they even sell Elephant and Castle merch.
Hound Hut TRIGGER WARNING. If the dog in your life is vegan or interested in becoming vegan then this not the place for them. Known by us as the ‘Harrods of doggie treats’, here you can treat your pooch to doggie spag bol, camel wraps, cow hooves, snouts, and the deliciously sounding bladder twists. And they also have a lot of leads and things to throw at/to your pooch. And for those who obtained a pooch during lockdown but now find they have to be in an actual dog free office, there is doggy daycare.
Pretty Shiny Shop sits next to the Hound Hut and they swaggeringly claim to be Greater Kennington’s Christmas Shop (steady) and they stock a range or cards, houseware items, and Christmas tree goodies, and small pieces of jewellery. It’s like a giant Christmas explosion in that place. They have loads of fun, subversive Christmas cards.
Windmill Flowers stocks not just flowers but also collectables and houseware accessories and Mary is in charge to show you the way forward. Mary also has some Christmas trees and accessories for those who haven’t got their s*it together quite yet.
Jumping Bean is another gift shop new to the 2025 Greater Kennington scene and a great place to inspect for gift inspiration. They have everything from Christmas baubles to clothes, toys, pencils, games, cards, more toys, hand cream, self heating patches, and cheesecake nail filing sets. Whew.
The Cafe @ Park College is a little known veggie lunch spot that we visited a few months ago. it resides inside Park College next to Kennington Park. The cafe is staffed by young people with additional needs such as autism, and they have an adorbs selection of homemade cards and other crafts on sale. And you only THINK you don’t need a handbag fashioned from Walkers Crisp bags. They’re also having a Winter Fair on Friday (the 12th) and we’re all invited.
Vanilla Black in addition to books also has some nice gift ideas such as cards and stockings and a few food items. We think VB secretly hate us but we’ve moved on with our lives and are plugging them anyway because this is the time for charity. Or something.
QueArts is a sterling little arts and crafts store across from Kennington Park and they also undertake framing. Great for your creative or just bored friends.
Bee Urban is bee based charity in the middle of Kennington Park (behind the cafe) selling all sorts of honey and honey related things such as candles, fragrances, soaps and even cards. An interesting place to check out even if you don’t buy anything. And they sell Kennington honey!
Walworth Garden and Urban Botanica While perhaps not the easiest thing to wrap, have you ever considered the gift of houseplants? The charity and juggernaut of horticulture, Walworth Garden are selling cacti, cards and other things in their geodesic dome. While over in Kennington Cross, UB is one of the few places on earth where you can sip your Minor Figures chai latte while browsing Boston ferns.
Umber Works We’ve never seen an actual human being inside Umber Works in Kennington Park Road, but accordingly to their website they run a range of pottery workshops and offer gift vouchers. Of course, the downside of this is that you might be getting useless ceramic ashtrays for the next five years.
