The top ten best places to eat in Greater Kennington – no. 9 – The Hercules

Posted on March 10, 2020 by Kennington Observer

The number nine slot goes to new kid on the block ‘The Hercules’ located across from Lambeth North tube. The first of three gastropubs on our list, it’s made the list mostly due to it having the best selection of beers for a gastropub in Greater Kennington, with no fewer than 24 to choose from , and an impressive selection of spirits and wines. And a curious LED sign telling you about the rotating selection of beers on offer.

We thought it appropriate to go The Hercules with some tourist friends, as the crowd is a mix of thirty somethings with a melange of visitors wondering how the hell they ended up in Lambeth North when their hotel across the street is called ‘Waterloo’. We went for Sunday roast, and one of us had beef and the other two pork belly. The portions were generous and the meat well cooked. The roast potatoes were also browned and just the right side of charred. The cauliflower cheese was commendable and the Yorkshire pud was huge and crispy.

Aside from roasts, The Hercules offer other dishes that are more varied than most local gastropubs, and commendable bar snacks. On another visit we snacked on spicy squid and Vietnamese chicken wings, and had some very juicy burgers and hake with chorizo. The place also opens at 8am if you fancy a fry up or a quick Merlot on the way to work. The atmosphere is the upmarket ‘old school meets new school’ of the White Bear and is relatively good value for money.

Finally, *expects egg throwing* we are conscious that The Hercules is part of the Fuller’s pub chain, but even soulless chains can sometimes get things right. If it is just beer you fancy without the food, we recommend Mother Kelly’s under the arches in Vauxhall.

The top ten best places to eat in Greater Kennington – no. 10 – Cafe Van Gogh

Posted on March 7, 2020 by Kennington Observer

PERMANENTLY CLOSED. SADFACE!

Welcome to our almost annual run down of the best places to eat in Greater Kennington. Let us start with a few caveats. You might notice that we generally give good reviews to eating places here. This not due to lack of scrutiny as we eat out in Kennington all the time. Rather, we choose to promote the places we enjoy and feel passionate about, as opposed to the places which aren’t up to standard (and you know who you are..we can hear your microwave humming). Also, there are many places which we know are wonderful (such as Bonnington Cafe) but we just haven’t been able to make it there recently, so we apologise if your favourite hasn’t made the cut.

Number 10 is Cafe Van Gogh. a glorious vegan cafe on cusp of the KR catchment area in Brixton Road. Not afraid of being lauded, it was recently anointed as one one of the Guardian’s best vegan friendly restaurants in London . We visited on a weekday during half term, and the place was full of people working on laptops and folks with kiddos. We chose the vegan mac-n-cheese partially as a challenge, as it is pretty hard to pull off in a vegan joint. Our server explained that the cheese is achieved by a mixture of mustard, garlic and onion powders. We were very sceptical about this but the result was delicious. Those around us had a butternut squash pasta dish and a plant based based burger with chips. On the other table a mum told us that she just had an aubergine stuffed chapatti with dhal. It should be noted that the menu is concise and well curated.

Cafe Van Gogh is a not for profit social enterprise who work in conjunction with a range of local Kennington/Oval/Brixton charities. They provide paid employment for people who have faced challenges in life and who want to get back into the realm of employment. We are not vegan ourselves, but having lunch here was a truly delicious eye opener and even more valued with the knowledge that we’re giving something back to the more vulnerable in our shire.

Vincent himself was not present for this dining experience, but if you want to experience his work without even seeing anything he actually painted, then you might want to check out the totally bonkers Vincent Van Gogh experience just up the road at the Southbank..

Collective in Kennington Park

Posted on February 21, 2020 by Kennington Observer

The café in Kennington Park has experienced a number of permutations over the years, almost to the point of us assigning the designation of it being a ‘jinxed property’. It was resurrected in July of last year as a lunchtime pizza place called ‘Collective’. We went for the pizza, but as they open at 10am they also have croissants, coffees, muffins and teas. If the mood takes you, you can even have, umm, a morning ice cream.

Pizza seems to be the current vogue in Greater Kennington (with barbershops a close second), supplanting estate agents, which is a good thing. We’ve been meaning to visit Collective since last summer but gave it a miss as it interferes with ~~Loose Women~~ our healthy daytime regime. It bats above it’s weight from the outset by having a large, wood fired pizza oven.

A good pizza is all about the base, and we had a basic marinara to maximize the experience. The dough is definitely sourdough, and thin almost to the point of being transparent. True to Neopolitain pizzas, it is blistered and slightly charred, but not to the finger blackening gorgeousness of Theo’s in Elephant. The marinara was good but we encourage you to branch out to the ‘spicy boy’ or the several veggie options. Vegan cheese is also available.

The place is especially good for kids as it is spacious and the kiddos can even run outside without the fear of the number 3 bus mowing them down. If you’ve been in a coma for the past 5 months and you’re presently reading this in July, the outside space is great and even BYOB. In our estimation the only downside is that many people do not want to devour an entire pizza in the middle of the day so it might be bountiful to invite your colleagues or take some home, which is an option. They are also open at weekends. Very good, but will it be in our top 10?*

*The final plug, honestly.

Lunch Box – Kennington Tandoori

Posted on February 17, 2020 by Kennington Observer

The street food project at the Dog House has yet to materialise, but as we had our sights set on Kennington Cross today we decided to tick off tick another institution off our list, Kennington Tandoori.

KT has been entertaining the taste buds of local folk and Westminster glitterati since 1985 and we’ve been going for years. You might be aware that they had a foray into breakfast food a few years ago which didn’t go so well, and they are now trying their hand at the very competitive Kennington lunchtime trade with their £7.95 ‘lunch box’. Their dinners are so successful that they might even make our top 10 in a few weeks (last shameless plug alert), so we decided to check it out at noon.

First off, the reason why KT is undertaking a ‘lunch box’ is pretty apparent when you collect your meal; the place is a ghost town mid day. There are four options (one veg) for the lunch box and we opted for the tamarind chicken. It had a very good balance of sweet and tangy with a bit of spice offset with caramelised onion in a rich tomato sauce. The onion bhaji was very big and tasted more like cauliflower, which was also good. There good have been a bit more rice but that is a small matter.

KT is a very solid and filling lunch option in central Kennington if you are looking for an alternative to sandwiches and quiche. If you find the excessive packaging an issue (and we did) then you can always achieve maximum confidentiality by having a seat with and being the only punters in the room.

Italo Delicatessen Vauxhall

Posted on February 12, 2020 by Kennington Observer

This is the first in a series of waistband expanding, tedious and delirious posts about local places to stuff yourself silly. This presages the annual Kennington Runoff ‘Ten Best Places to Eat’ which we will reveal in March. *

Italo Delicatessen is a locally owned, pint sized breakfast and lunch joint nestled in Bonnington Square and has been an institution since 2008. They serve fresh pasta, salads, and even beer and gelato. They also sell more random products like Italian cheese, wine, and even local honey.

The breakfast options looked very tasty indeed and primarily involve egg dishes (sorry, vegans) such as fried egg with cheese, with relish, and with ham. We however came for a lunchtime sandwich. As with all of their sandwiches, it was made on the spot and involved artichoke and tomatoes on bread from Kennington Bakery. Ham is a big feature with these hearty offerings, but as the menu changes often you’ll need to leave it to fate as to what’s being sold. The only downside about Italo is the seating situation, which can get a bit cramped inside.

If you’re a regular reader then you know our unhealthy obsession with ‘ghost signs’. Italo is very lucky to have one on the back of it’s building, below.

By the way, if you are wondering why the Dog House Pub is closed and looking even more ragged than usual, that’s because they are having a major refit. The kitchen is being converted to accommodate a series of pop up menus, and apparently the first on offer is Mexican. We will be of course on tap with a full review (unless it’s crap, in which you’ll receive no review).

*Shameless plug

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Didi and Franc

Posted on January 31, 2020 by Kennington Observer

We were frankly devastated when Oddbins Kennington closed last year. Lord knows we tried our best to keep them open, morning, noon and night. Our loss is what’s commonly referred to as a ‘first world problem’.

Courtesy of our friends at Vanilla Black, the site is about to be reborn Phoenix like as a wine and cheese shop called ‘Didi and Franc’, also billing itself as a ‘deli/wine/bistro’. This information was garnered from Instagram, where they have established a presence.

We contacted Didi and Franc about their opening date and they conservatively replied ‘spring’. We will have a full, in-depth and extremely positive review after we receive an invitation to their launch party*

*This never works

The Elephant in the (Colombian) Room

Posted on January 19, 2020 by Kennington Observer

Last night we navigated our way through Elephant and Castle shopping centre to have dinner at Colombian diner ‘La Bodeguita’. Latin and South American fare have come in waves in recent years (Mexican then Peruvian then Chilean) and we predict that Colombian will be the next. In fact it is already one of Colombia’s best known exports after Shakira and, well…that other thing.

You might have never heard of La Bodeguita but you’ve certainly seen it looming sentinel like over a corner of the shopping centre. From the outside it looks like a nightclub (which it becomes later), but at other times it is a friendly diner with mostly Colombian customers (tick) and is apparently an epicenter of the Colombian community (tick again).

We found that the best items on the menu were the starters. One of our party had the meaty chicken croquettes with chipotle mayo. Another the Chorizo con Arepa (arepa is a kind of tortilla). The highlights of the mains were ‘Bandeja Paisa’ and ‘Arroz Especial a La Bodeguita’. Your writer had the Arroz and it was a seasoned rice based seafood dish with prawns, calamari and plantain. It was delicious, with plenty of fish and a good rice to prawn ratio.

The Bandeja is the national dish of Colombia and is best described as a ‘Colombian mixed grill’ consisting of chorizo, black pudding, beef, egg, plantain (LOTS of dishes have plantain) and beans. The combination worked well but was at times a bit stodgy. The chorizo was definitely unique and the portion could feed a Colombian family.

Keep in mind that a trip to La Bodeguita is more of an experience than an undertaking in ‘haute cuisine’. One of the glories of our community is that you can experience areas and feel that you’re in a different culture entirely, such as Elephant street behind the station which is heavily Colombian (ok, and a bit sketchy). A trip to the shopping centre itself is also a nod to a part of our community which, sadly, won’t exist in a few years.

A meal for four with a few beers came in at £135.

Longdan Supermarket…Our Local Asian Superstore

Posted on January 3, 2020 by Kennington Observer

If it isn’t on your gerbil trail then you’ve probably missed a very unique place at the top of Walworth Road called ‘Longdan’. Longdan is a pan Asian supermarket with a very tasty Vietnamese street food restaurant attached called ‘Aobaba’.

We know that some of you sit up at night wondering just where you can source dried lotus seeds and 50 kilo sacks of jasmine rice. Well, now you’re in luck. Longdan specialises in hard to find products from Japan, Vietnam, China, Thailand and Malaysia, among other places. The hard to find products are perfect if you are feeling inventive, want a bit of culinary inspiration, or just want a browse. For the cautious sorts much of their fresh exotic goods are sold frozen and can be kept for the long haul.

One thing Longdan does very well is condiments (and who among us doesn’t favour a nice condiment?) and you can bag a range of soy and chili sauces, bean curd, stir fry mixes, and good old fashioned Siriracha. Recently we bought banana leaves to remind us of the time we were in Kolkata (oops, better pick up that name we just dropped!) in a sad effort to resurrect our curry meal there. Having said that, our favourite bit is at the back, where they sell a variety of Asian kitchen products which are largely impractical for western chefs but a great way to make you feel like a cooking pro.

As for Aobaba, it offers cheap and delicious Vietnamese fare to eat in or take away. In the past we’ve enjoyed summer rolls, Banh Mi (baguettes), grilled pork and beef noodles. At the time of writing they didn’t do Pho, but our capital certainly isn’t lacking in those joints…

So, if your gerbil trail leads inexorably to our depressing ‘Shipping Container Tesco’ then try moving in another direction for a bit of a culinary challenge. Cabbage roots, anyone?

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I Due Amici for a Change

Posted on December 26, 2019 by Kennington Observer

On Christmas Eve we experienced an existential crisis as Loose Women wasn’t on, so we decided to fill the gaping Northern Line Extentsion sized hole in our lives by exploring the lunch items at local institution I Due Amici. We’re also aware that our annual ‘top ten restaurants of Kennington’ posts are coming up* and we need to make up for lost time by stuffing our faces.

I Due Amici is owned by the unflappable Houman Meskati, who also owns ‘Amici’ and the gone but not forgotten Persian/Vodka joint ‘Doost’. As Houman is himself Persian we decided to get our chops into Due Amici’s Persian stews, which are definitely the best things on the menu. Your intrepid writer had the khoresh ghormeh (number 1) which consisted of lamb, kidney beans, and fresh coriander. Served with basmati rice, the lamb was very slow cooked and virtually fell off my fork. The seasoning was a bit off but a good balance of other herbs were present, including fenugreek.

My dining partner noshed on the khoresh gheymeh (number 3) which was also less slow cooked lamb but also with potatoes `and split peas. It had a nice thick, split pea yellow consistently with some interesting herbs in the mix.

While not quite up to the Persian standards of Doost, the stews offer a real variety in central Kennington that is needed in terms of lunches. Due Amici also has your standard fare of sandwiches, salads, vegan food and even, bizarrely, burritos. It is at 310 Kennington Road.

*shameless plug.

Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Free Pastis

Posted on December 1, 2019 by Kennington Observer

Two upcoming free, fun events in Vauxhall and Walworth to sink our little SE11 (and 17 and 1) teeth into to get us into the Christmas spirits, folks! Tomorrow night (Monday) London’s Night Czar and all around good egg Amy Lame will be switching on the lights of the Vauxhall Christmas tree at around 6pm with a little help from a serenading London Gay Men’s Chorus. And you know how we get about freebies, there will be free (no way) pastel de nada (Portugese custard tarts..stick with us) and hot chocolate provided by our friends at Maderia Cafe in Vauxhall… Don’t be late!

We often have ‘London Guilt’ about not finding time for the great bi annual events at Pullen’s Yard over in Walworth, but this year we’ll be all over it like a Berkeley Homes bulldozer with planning permission. Pullens Yard is an artistic enclave of 60 artist studios set in a Victorian cobbled mews. Over the next week they will be flinging their doors open to show what they do and will have a variety of art and objects to sell. But will there be free tarts, I ask you? If not, our friends at cool The Electric Elephant will feed ya. Details below….

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The Kennington Observer

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

Category Archives: Stuffing your face