Category Archives: Stuffing your face

Kachori, Betty & Joan

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Karchori 

It is now established dogma that a place is in trouble when they start to have bingo nights. And they’re in even more trouble if anything they do involves a drag queen. So when our friends over at Kachori, the newish Indian in Elephant Park that we checked out last year, announced they will be having a drag bingo night, we knew that something very dire was happening and here’s how you can help. 

Drag bingo is hosted by Party with Ginger and for £45 a head you have a two course, drag inspired meal (???!!) with free flowing prosecco. On top of a £10 admission this comes up to £110 a couple. Now we would never tell you how to spend your dosh, but for that kind of money we reckon you could get Ginger herself over to your gaff to rustle up a few curries while shouting out numbers. However,  this for a good cause so please support them if you can by popping in for a poppadum or a drink. Drag Bingo at Karchori is on 30 October and tickets can be grabbed on their website. 

Another reason we can’t allow Kachori to fall by the wayside is that its perhaps the only restaurant in London where you can eat the table wear. We kid you not. 

BETTY AND JOAN

Staying in Elephant Park and remaining on drag, a new bar and comedy club is opening and we couldn’t be more excited. The bar is listed as being gay, with cabaret and drag, but if that’s not your handbag the comedy appears to be more mixed. They’re having an opening party on 11 December and if you want to join the waiting list then enter your details over on their website. They fling open their majestic doors later this year, so stick that in the little sparkly diary we’ve been telling you to buy for ages. 

Chocolate Dino Company

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Chocolate Dino Company is an independent bakery/sandwich joint/cocktail bar (whew) in Kennington Road. Owned by two local guys who live behind the place, we last visited Dino for a sweet treat during their embryonic opening days. Now that they’re established we’re revisiting for their savoury options….and of course to enjoy another giant cookie.

When entering their very stylish premises, what you initially encounter are voluminous offerings of croissants with various fillings, brownies, muffins, cookies, and things made to look vaguely healthy by the inclusion of a piece of fruit. But we were here for savoury fare, and Karen from Finance chose the bacon and egg bagel with cheese, which she excitedly chose to have toasted. It was presented with two omelette style eggs and the bacon was proper and crispy. The sauce was in a Dino manner properly inventive and involved sweet onion jam and Sriracha mayonnaise. 

Your scribe enjoyed a pastrami bagel with caramelised onion, pickles, and a mustard/mayo sauce. It was generously stuffed and kept us going through the endless stream of faxes received later in the day. These particular bagels might not be available when you visit, but they will doubtless have other offerings and the boys can talk you through the options. And as we have the discipline  of an unneutered cat, we of course had a white chocolate cookie with an strange looking yet delicious smear. Heated to perfection. 

We tried to upload images of our bagels but they rather looked like snaps from a prison canteen. Please enjoy these stock photos from their Insta feed.

Dino is an independent bakery/restaurant/bar and they’re throwing everything they can to exist in a very crowded and increasingly uncompetitive market. Their price point for baked goods (£5 for an eat in cookie) puts them very much at the ‘gourmet’ end of the market, but you can easily pop over for a coffee or something at the lower end of their price spectrum. And in a way a trip to Dino can be quite efficient, as where else can you knock out two sins by eating a cookie and drinking a glass of wine at the same time?

Chocolate Dino Company is open Thursday to Sunday. Check out their socials for the precise timings. 

Is Taro Still Tops?

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Taro has been in Kennington for four years now and has established itself as a local favourite, and this was certainly in evidence when we visited on a busy Thursday night.  We’re currently revisiting our ‘Top Ten List of Best Places to Eat in Greater Kennington 2024’ winners to see what has fallen out of favour or improved,  and Taro nabbed the #10 spot.  We love Taro for consistently  serving up authentic ‘Izakaya’ fare, roughly meaning, ‘pub food’, but are they still worthy of their noble accolade? We can imagine they’re shaking in their sushi right now awaiting our answer.

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 and feel overwhelmed with choice. 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. 

We would definitely advise venturing into the vegetable-focused side dish areas of the menu. The agedashi tofu in soy sauce wass silky and delicate. The seaweed salad was a mix of different seaweeds with a dressing forward in wasabi. 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. 

Getting Fishy at the Prince of Wales

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One of the joys of going to the Prince of Wales in Cleaver Square is that it gives one the otherworldly feeling of being transported to a rural pub in the Cotswolds. A place populated by people wearing cords in the summer and saying things like ‘well, daddy’s having a bugger of a time housing that second pony’. But when a meal deal is in the offing we don’t mind sticking out a bit   

We came to the PoW to enjoy their Fishy Friday meal deal, which entitles diners to two fish and chips for £20, and this great value was definitely the default option for most of the diners we saw. You might think this keen pricing would mean some skimping on portion size but this was not the case. Our fish was beautifully fresh, large and in a crisp batter that had been made in house, and possibly so was the tartare sauce it came with. The chips were serviceable, of the “chunky McCain’s” variety. We do wish more places would offer homemade chips, but understand they are a hassle. Finally there were some minted mushy peas thrown in the mix. 

When our surreal evening with Tarquin and his floppy haired pals drew to a close we departed, only to encounter outside the pub a group of men MORRIS DANCING! And they were throwing serviettes in the air. In KENNINGTON! This was quiet enough surreal country fun for one evening so we gave them a wide berth but the evidence is below. And you don’t get that at All Bar One. 

Metropolis London

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If you dare venture into other neighbourhoods, you might have detected that big venues full of small eateries are now well established. An example is Market Place in Vauxhall which we reviewed in 2022. With  Railtrack’s mission of gentrifying the gays out of the Vauxhall arches now nearing it’s completion, we felt compelled to visit enormous Metropolis London in Albert Embankment.  While Metropolis itself is far from independent it’s food stalls definitely are, and here is what we found.

We took new intern and overall zippy gal Beth for a working lunch. As Beth is on a health kick, she headed over to the Curry Club  and chose the dahl with spinach and paratha. At £6.99 this has to be one of the bargains of the Metropolis food options (which aren’t exactly cheap). As you can see, it was a small but adequate serving of a luscious dahl with good spice and coconut coming through and it is served with two whole parathas, providing plenty of that flaky, stretchy Indian flatbread to soak everything up. She pronounced it to be very good indeed and a terrific lunch option.

Your scribe headed for the curiously named Uzbeki place ‘Shpaz’, which Beth observed is the sound that a tiny dog makes when it pops out of a posh lady’s handbag and sneezes. For £10 we had the Lag Nam chicken noodles. Served in a rich broth, this healthy option featured hand pulled noodles, carrots, celery, peppers and what tasted like barberries and dried coriander. Very light and satisfying.   Other cuisines at Metropolis include Italian, Thai, burgers, pizza, Japanese and Greek. And of course poke bowls, as it is now illegal to have a food village without one. 

We are aware that these look like dishes that could be served in a prison canteen but….
photographing food is very difficult!

Metropolis occupies two huge arches and there are plenty of tables both outside and in. Outside features a cute coffee/pasty hut which also serves pints. The second arch is dominated by a massive bar and a stage to appeal to an evening crowd. While it is very sad that thanks to Railtrack independent LGBTQI+ assets such as Above the Stag theatre have gone to that giant curtain call in the sky, at least there are some independent shops of a fashion opening up in their place. 

Chocolate Dino Company

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We recently paid a visit to newish cookie/brownie/sandwich/coffee (whew) shop Chocolate Dino Company at the top of Kennington Road to inspect their fares. Dino’s Is owned by local boys Rafal and Marcin who joined the baking bandwagon, as so many Greater Kenningtonians did, during lockdown in 2020 (we interviewed some of them during the great flour/toilet roll crisis of 2020). What started as a mail order cookie business (and still is) evolved into the fellas beginning to sell their wares at pop up food markets and places such as Winter Wonderland and outlets such as KERB. This evolved into a Kickstarter campaign which resulted in the current business.  

In addition to cookies and brownies, the Dino boys also sell cupcakes, brownies, baked goods, sandwiches, coffee and, wait for it, beer and cocktails. At first we thought this a rather barmy concept, and then started thinking that this might rather be a stroke of genius. After all, what could be better than tying all your sins together by cramming a handful of cookies down your gob and then washing them down with a double G&T? 

We indulged in a classic chocolate chip cookie. It was big, dense, and we could smell the butter from the first bite. It had the right amount of sweetness and the chips oozed out onto Kennington Road. We also saw orange brownies, mango cookies, and such unorthodox ingredients as basil and pepper. We chatted to the boys in our notoriously anonymous fashion, and they explained that they’ve have travelled the world to gain inspiration and like to think of their offerings as a synthesis of what they’ve learned. 

Chocolate Dino Company is at 36 Kennington Road, only a few doors down from Gail’s Bakery. As if you needed another reason to not go to Gail’s, now you have one. They’re still in soft launch phase, so check their socials for opening hours (currently Friday to Sunday). And if you still choose Gail’s just remember….we’re watching. 

Panuozzo at Theos

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During a recent lunch break we paid a visit to Theos Pizzeria in Elephant. You may be aware that for two years we’ve crowned Theos as having the best pizza due to their creative toppings and sourdough base. However, with metabolisms not being what they used to be, for lunch we dropped the pizza and opted for their signature sandwich, the panuozzo. 

Described as a wood fired sandwich, Theos use the same delicious slow fermented pizza dough but reformat it into a sandwich-like form. Your scribe had the sausage and gorgonzola panuozzo, which was also rammed with creamy and salty gorgonzola, grilled mushrooms, mozzarella chunks, and rocket. On the side was a red chilli which packed a real punch, so it was used sparingly. 

Matilda from the digital subscriptions team sometimes gets overwhelmed with too many options, but with just four handy panuozzos to chose from she had the broccoli with anchovies, mozzarella and pangranatto. Pangranatto being a sort of crunchy garlicky breadcrumb, that might seem odd in a sandwich but was actually a nice crunch to complement the soft broccoli and mozzarella. There was a good but not overpowering flavour of anchovy to round things out and of course the bread itself was sublime.

The panuozzo is £6.50 which when you think about it, is about as much as a fancy sandwich at Pret nowadays. Matilda wanted a glass of wine but when we reminded her what happened the last time she had wine at lunch we had water and the bill was under £15. And with the mounds of cheese and filling kept us filled until dinner. As no one actually pays for this site, as we were leaving we asked Matilda exactly what she does at the office. She smiled and said coyly, ‘you know, I INVOICE’. OK. 

Ten Best Places to Eat in Greater Kennington – The Roast

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+ One Sunday Roast

24 The Oval – Best Sunday Roast

We’re taking a break from our highly subjective yet profoundly moving top 10 list to announce that the best Sunday roast in Greater Kennington is, for the fourth year in a row, the very cheffy 24 The Oval. It was also once again almost knocked off this spot for crimes against viniculture but we’ll get to that later. 

What immediately strikes you about 24 is that it is truly a temple to good food and quality ingredients. The wait staff know about the food they’re serving, and the open kitchen is a symbol of their honest approach things. During lockdown, 24 transformed itself into a farm shop with a sideline in craft bottled beers. We were very pleased to see that this little tradition continues in 2023 and they sell everything from Cava to carrots. 

As an ‘amuse-bouche’ each table of two is served with four miniature Yorkies served with a delicious gravy probably made with beef drippings (vegan options abound, however). My dining partner and Sunday Roast fanatic had the pork belly which was generous and nicely soft and sticky in all the right places. Your scribe had the lamb and the shoulder was served shredded, with the leg served in pink and fatty strips.  As it is one of their specialities, the Yorkshire puddings were large and just the right side of crispy. Both roasts were served with more hearty gravy served from a saucepan.  Also evidenced was pea puree with a pleasing consistency not unlike that of baby food. 

What strikes you about 24 is that they go in for none of that ‘small sharing plates’ malarkey, the real star of the show being the very well cooked veg. In addition to those served with the roast, we were presented with so many additional veg items that they almost fell off the table. This included cauliflower cheese and roast potatoes which were perfectly crispy but with a soft centre. The carrots possessed an intense roasted flavour and savoy cabbage also popped in for a chin wag. An unexpected mystery guest for us were Jerusalem artichokes. The mains run between £22.50 and £26 which ain’t cheap, but we feel is worth it once in a while and the portions seemed endless.

24, we need to talk about something. You stand guilty of committing a crime pervasive in London restaurants at the moment. Namely, selling hugely overpriced wine. Your cheapest bottle is a not very cheap £30, which is almost 225% above the retail price. Granted, this is unchanged from 2023. We are letting you off the hook as there is a cost of living/wine crisis but we’re watching you *wags finger*! Otherwise you make a mighty fine roast and you know it. 

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Ten Best Places to Eat in Greater Kennington # 9

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+ One Sunday Roast

The Jolly Gardeners

If this looks familiar then you’re correct, as we posted this a month ago. The Gardeners are the second best Sunday Roast and have popped in at number nine. But who’s on top?

For purposes relating to our very scientific yet hugely subjective top ten list of best places to eat in Greater Kennington, we recently paid an overdue visit to Jolly Gardeners pub in Black Prince Road after Karen from Finance kept banging on about their Sunday roast. 

Karen opted for the silverside beef and it was very full flavoured but at the chewier end of roast beef options, so not to all tastes. The real success of her meal was the varied and abundant sides. Had more than one person been having a roast plate then these would have been served family-style for sharing. In Karen’s case, she simply had a very full plate. The accompaniments were totally top notch: mixed colour carrots, parsnips, savoy cabbage, sweet potato mash, and decent roasties. The Yorkshire pudding was plump and homemade (we looked for Aunt Bessie under the table and she was nowhere to be found). We were pleased to see that the Gardeners no longer serve beef from retired cows. While more ethical, we felt bad for those poor bovines who managed to spend their entire lives not being turned into a juicy steak or decorative belt, only for THIS TO HAPPEN. 

Your scribe decided to go vegetarian and have a wild mushroom, sweet potato, and Guinness pie. The Guinness took the sweetness edge off the potatoes, which was desired, and a little nicked gravy from Karen was an added addition. It was served in a little jug that was very appealing. This pleasing portion had notes of thyme and of course the added nuttiness of the mushroom. All told, it was plenty of food and carefully prepared. These are high end roasts, which at £21 – £24 they should be. Sometimes it is worth paying for quality.

The Gardeners also operate the petite upmarket food shop Ginger Provisions next door, in addition to great lunch spot Simply Bread which we reviewed in 2022. When we asked the 25 year old sandwich barista if he was aware that the shop name rhymes with a washed up 80’s pop band, he stared at us with a mix of confusion and pity, but we’ll ignore that.

Ten Best Places to Eat in Greater Kennington # 10

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+ One Sunday Roast

TARO

The number ten spot has been grabbed by the Japanese canteen Taro at the bottom of Kennington Road. Part of the Greater Kennington firmament for over five years now, Taro consistently delivers authentic ‘Izakaya’, (roughly meaning ‘pub food’) very similar to  the food you get in Japan, and is good value for money. They also have a menu more diverse than most Izakaya places (not always a good thing but it is in this case), which caters to varied tastes.  Believe it or not there are a number of Japanese joints in our area, but this is reams above the lot, and militantly avoids fusion cuisine. 

  • `Taro 2022
  • Taro 2024, still consistent!

Some Runoff staff have been to Japan and on a previous Taro visit we took KR freelance journalist Mark, who lived in Japan for years and served as our culinary attaché. We had sushi (both tempura-maki and other maki) which was fresh and generous on the fish side. We also had fried chicken (above), which was crunchy and equally meaty. For a veg angle we also indulged in juicy tofu steak, with a surfeit of ginger and wasabi. For sides we recommend onshinko pickles and gyoza dipped in soy vinegar. Both veg and meat gyozas are great. The salmon teriyaki bento box at the next table also caught our eye.

And if you’re lucky, Taro himself will be on hand to guide you through his dishes and can remind us all that sushi should never be served cold. And yes, Tesco have been tagged in this post.

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