Goding Street is the unloved passage that sits between Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens and the railway tracks. One associates the place with visions of wheelie bins, nitrous oxide canisters, and gentlemen who enjoy an outdoor beverage. What one doesn’t associate with the place is a world food fest, but one is about happen on Saturday the 28th! It’s free and we all love free. Details below.
We don’t have a great deal of intel about this event but it’s being sponsored by the Mayor of London and the good folks over at Vauxhall One so it should be quite well organised. The vendors will be from all around London so not necessarily local, but nevertheless small businesses who could use our trade. And hopefully it will be a mild night, allowing all of us to become people who enjoy an outdoor beverage.
If you Google this event it will lead you to an Eventbrite page stating that it is sold out. Ignore that as its free and outdoors.
Fun fact/useless information. A number of years ago we got to talking to some people who lived in the neighbourhood that was bulldozed in the 70’s to create the Vauxhall Gardens. Apparently Goding street is pronounced ‘Godding’ as opposed to ‘Godeing’. You’re welcome.
New recruit Gaz from the tech team chose the biryani for his mains and was pleased to see this arrive with an intact thin pastry top. Keen to impart knowledge in the real world, he noted that the pasty wasn’t really for eating (although can be) but instead for sealing the flavour during a gentle cooking process, giving it a super delicious taste. Gaz opted for the lamb version (chicken or vegetable also available). As his mouth was full of rice and Cobra beer, he proffered a thumbs up to the generous chunks of lamb in amongst the rice, vegetables and spices. When he was able to speak Gaz encouraged folks to add a serving of dahl for that rice-and-lentil magic.
Your scribe opted for the Bombay parsi chicken dansak. It was a spicy and sweet balanced chicken, cooked very slowly and mixed with jaggery (Indian cane sugar), lentils, garlic, roasted cumin and sprinkled with kaffir lime leaves. A good degree of spice warmth came through as did the tang of yoghurt for a soft, fragrant dish. Overall very warming and pleasing for a rainy autumnal evening. And we started the affair with chicken stuffed momos. As they are from Nepal they have nothing to do with Indian but as what KT serves is north Indian food we thought ‘close enough’. And Gaz was in agreement as he was getting a free meal out of the equation.
Kennington Cross has recently been endowed with our area’s second local outlet of micro chain Mexican Fridas. Eagle eyed readers will be aware that there is a second one in Vauxhall at the base of one of those hideous dominant buildings in Albert Embankment and we reviewed it last year. And if you live in one of those buildings we hope you’re very happy.
Your reporter is a particular fan of a meaty burrito, and what was chosen was the free range chicken option. On the plus side, it was stuffed with mounds of fresh chicken and some spicy pico de gallo. One could say that the copious amount of rice could have been replaced with more creative additions or cheese, but that’s just us. A real standout for both the burrito and the tortilla chips was the addition of real, straight from the avocado guacamole with a kick of coriander and lime. We can affirm that it was made fresh as your reporter accidently stuck their neck into the food prep area.
As Phil from accounts is finally meeting his targets, we treated him to the cochinita pork pibil tacos, which he sparingly described as ‘excellent’. They consisted of two yellow corn soft tortillas profusely topped with a modestly spiced slow cooked pork (think pulled pork but spicier), along with a small amount of grated red cabbage and carrot and a dollop of sour cream. The tops were adorned with pink picked onion and coriander, creating a delightfully colourful concoction. It’s £11.50 for two, but they are of a size where that seemed reasonable. The burrito came in at £11.90.
Fridas is owned by the same people who ran Rare Burger Co. on the same site and are evidence that running a restaurant is no mean feat, so they could use our support. They’ve given an admirable stab at transforming a burger joint into a maximalist, slightly bonkers yet endearing Mexican canteen, and on a previous visit we hugely enjoyed their cocktails. We can particularly recommend their cruise ship potency/stumble-down-the-road-afterwards margaritas.
At the Runoff we pride ourselves on making our reviews totally anonymous, sometimes to the frustration of business owners, and don’t ask for freebies. So we lay our cards on the table and admit to kind of knowing Houman and Seti who run Kennington Cross restaurant staple Amici, and we’re here to tell you about their upcoming summer party because it’s fun and good value for money.
Let’s face it, few restaurants in Greater Kennington appear to be flourishing at the minute and Amici is no exception. Amici has survived the dual indignities of a pandemic and a basement flood (three if you count the time they decided to sell clothes and jewellery) resulting in its closure for almost two years, leading to it almost going under. They’re back with a mixture of Mediterranean and Iranian dishes and a few events to get more people through the door.
The Amici summer party is on Thursday, 21 September at the restaurant and costs £10. We think this is good value for money as it gets you two drinks in their cute pop up stalls in the back previously sponsored by Lillet and Beefeater, but apparently now with a rum twist. Houman and Seti will also be walking around with some of their Iranian greatest hits.* Additionally there will be a band and a host of neighbours to talk to. Tickets can be purchased here and the fun kicks off at 7pm. Your ticket also entitles you to 25% off future meals.
*We stand casually yet strategically near the kitchen to grab said delicacies as the platters emerge.
Frequent Runoff readers are aware that we have our own micro independent brewery right here in Greater Kennington (Walworth) and we’re fans (Read our review here). Mind you, we could be bigger fans of their tadziki flavoured beer but you can’t have everything in life and we respect that culinary endeavour. Orbit has rotating guest chefs and for quite some time the kitchen has been home to Cue Point London, an acclaimed and delicious street food brand specialising in Afghan BBQ and brisket.
Under the sobriquet of ‘gorgeous and very hungry members of the public’, KR staff got chatting with chef and Cue Point founder Mursal Saiq and she informed us that she was born in Afghanistan, lived in India, and is now based in the UK. Her menus embrace these backgrounds with huge inspiration from recipes passed down from her mother. Everything is made either on site or in a nearby kitchen (including the to die for naan bread), and Mursal added with enthusiasm that one objective of Cue Point is to help refugees and immigrants in the hospitality sector. We’re hooked already, so let’s eat….
Cedric, our office junior who needs to work on his timekeeping, went for the headline item on the menu: 14 hr Oak Smoked Beef Brisket Steak served with Afghan naan, jalapeño jam and Chef’s pickles. Cedric claims to have travelled extensively in the southern US and noted that the four large slabs of brisket, showing good bark (burned edges), resembled closely what he had seen in the BBQ joints there. The meat was very moist from a long, slow cooking. The Afghan twist was in being served on flat naan and with a spicier sauce than you’ll find in Texas.
Your scribe had the naan taco mix featuring thee tacos presented in naan bread. The vegan taco was based on a smoky aubergine and pickle and Mursal informed us that she even makes her own vegan mayo. The other was generously crammed with the brisket that Cedric ordered, and a surprisingly smoky and almost sweet chicken was the main feature of the third. Thoroughly yummy, including the little pickles to cut through some of the richness. At £15 these mains were good value: higher quality than, say, Bodean’s yet at a lower price.
To add to our carnivorous evening we had cheese and herb croquettes and cheesy potato skins, which weren’t skins as much as they were giant potatoes anointed with gooey cheese. Cue Point make all their sauces in house, and they’re all great. Double down on the Afghan chutney, jalapeno jam, and aioli for dipping everything in. And in the unlikely event that there’s any left over, take the sauce home but you’ll probably be drinking it by the time you get to Kennington Lane. But don’t take our work for it, as even foodie god Jay Rayner is in on the act.
Our marketing intern Millicent ordered one of the specials: the Fugazzeta. It was topped with mozzarella, gorgonzola, onion, olives, garlic and parmesan. Millie is proving to be an intern without a great eye for detail, and had not read that it was in fact a “white” pizza, ie without tomato sauce. Luckily, the well drilled staff at Theo’s heeded her request to throw some sauce on top and probably upset the chef in the process. Moving on, there was no stinting on the gorgonzola, so not for the fainthearted. The result was a super cheesy-oniony topping, complemented by plump olives and subtle garlic. And of course the usual top-notch, chewy, blistered Neapolitan-style base.
The not so white pizza
Sausage and Tropea
Your scribe had another special, the sausage and tropea onion pizza. We had frankly never heard of a tropea onion, but it was delicate, sweet, and quite tender. The yellow tomatoes were a treat as was the inclusion of a cheese not often seen on a pizza, pecorino. But what made this pizza were the sizeable chunks of fennel sausage. And again, the sourdough and slightly scorched base finished it off perfectly. And for £12/13, it seemed pretty fair to us and in our less than humble opinion Theo’s remains the best pizza in Greater Kennington, and that is no mean feat in these parts.
On the drinks front, Theo’s has a good selection of Italian wines and beers at good prices. Millie was a bit alarmed that the carafe of wine ordered was solely for the consumption of your author. But if you’re reading this Millie (and if not you really should be) at the end of a day you’re just an intern so content yourself with that Pepsi Max and a made up pizza.
As many Greater Kenningtonains spend a few days working from home, we thought we would up our lunchtime review game by checking out Oval staple ‘Cable Café’ at the top of Brixton Rd. By all the brick a brac you might think you’ve stumbled into dear Aunt Flo’s house clearance after she refused to let anybody in for 40 years, but what you’re getting is a mighty fine and eclectic café.
The daytime trade consists primarily of people popping in for hot drinks and working on their laptops (menu below), and the atmosphere is laid back and quiet. We stopped in for lunch, and the specialty is the bang on trend sourdough toastie. Your scribe had it with tuna, and Karen from finance had hers with onions. The sourdough was crisp and with sharp and abundant cheese (£6.50) . These were accompanied by two homemade lemonades, one with rhubarb. Very tart and zingy. We also had our eyes on the homemade pastries, sharing boards, and smoothies.
What Cable does ingenuously is transform itself from a lunchtime sandwich/coffee bar to an evening cocktail and beer joint. The transition happens during the 3-5 happy hour when laptops and chargers give way to candles and, on Wednesday and Saturday live jazz. There is a full bar on hand (cocktails £9) in addition to wines both bottled and draft (they’re a thing). A good alternative to the at times chaotic pubs of Greater Kennington.
Cable Café is open from 9:30 to 23:00 (midnight weekends) and is even available to hire out for parties. We need to keep independent places like this or they may go the same way as Cable Bakery, which hs sadly gone to that big flour mill in the sky. More importantly, we need to keep it going to prevent it descending to the hellish netherworld that is the ‘bottomless drag brunch’. Because we’ve been there, dear reader, and it’s a very dark place.
Beza Vegan Ethiopian is the Runoff’s favourite vegan joint and has been bothering our top ten 10 list for a number of years. It started its local life as a pop up in Elephant and Castle shopping centre in 2016 and lives on close to the new ‘so hip it hurts’ dining area Sayer Street in Elephant.
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 will 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.
We went to Beza on a warm July Friday night without a reservation but it filled up quickly. All in all we felt very healthy when we left. Well, maybe not with the bottle of wine that we managed to neck in half an hour, but don’t judge us. And at only £39 for two people it was certainly good on the wallet. They also serve an even larger (were talking car tyre size) portion for four people, creating a party sharing vibe. This is the perfect spot to take your friends who dither over menus, as there is really only one choice. አስገራሚ!
Like most people, on our rare work from home days we love nothing more than getting the grey matter by having a tuna melt while watching ‘Loose Women’. However, we recently decided to revisit a delightful and little known vegetarian café next to Kennington Park.
Park College is an establishment that helps young people with additional needs (primarily autism) enter the world of work. On our previous visit we saw young people gardening, repairing bikes, and working in a design space. The Coffee Shop is for folks interested in the hospitality/catering trade, and the students cook and serve all the food with the assistance of dedicated staff. This includes sandwiches, muffins, cakes, paninis and quiches. And they’re mightily proud of their hot beverages and happy to help with your selection.
My dining partner was once again Karen from Finance, who always enjoys a comp’ed meal. She had the falafel, roast veg and spinach wrap with houmous. This little vegan delight was presented as a wrap, and the abundant Mediterranean peppers were rounded off by chunks of falafel and mounds of creamy houmous. Your scribe had a mozzarella, tomato and spinach panini. The mozzarella was balled, rich and fresh with zingy tomato and mayo.
While it might not reach the thrilling heights of having edible tableware (see previous post), The Coffee Shop at Park College is a relaxed and chilled environment, where you leave knowing that you have helped build a career for vulnerable young people. It’s open Monday to Thursday 9:30am to 3:00pm and Friday 9:30am to 1:45pm, term time only. They also have a very large Instagram presence which showcases their catering business. They also sell a sell a range of merch, from greetings cards to key chains to, um, bird huts. And we all love merch, don’t we?
We sometimes worry about the fate the Duchy Arms pub in Sandcroft street as it suffers from BPL syndrome (Bad Pub Location) and people forget that it exists. It also appears to have had more chefs than Boris Johnson has kids. However, it very much does still exist and has a huge beer garden for us all to enjoy in this warm weather.
When we arrived we were a bit unsettled by the lack of people in the garden (which used to be a car park). That didn’t prevent us from drinking quickly and then ordering food. Your scribe chose from the a la carte menu and had the breast of chicken with roasted potatoes. The substantial chicken was lemony and lightly crusted and served with a rich and creamy wild mushroom sauce. The roasted potatoes were slightly peppery and pleasingly greasy. Our new intern Pam had the creamy mussels marinière which she deemed to be good quality and generously sized, with plenty of garlic.
Phil from accounts chose from the pub menu as he spends most of his life in pubs and it offered pub classics: burgers, fish and chips. The burgers were also substantial and featured bacon and cheddar as standard. The meat patties were thick and homemade, there was a good Mac-style burger sauce, and the fries alongside were decent. However, when we asked the server if the fries had ever been in a VERY cold place she giggled and changed the topic. As the evening continued it appeared that the BPL curse had been lifted as the Duchy began to fill up with people relaxing after working out, dates, and people generally out for a good time.
In addition to the satisfying food and quiet atmosphere, the Duchy also has nice staff and they even brought our drinks to the table. And if that isn’t good enough, all of their meat is sourced from PJ Frankland & Sons in Vauxhall. And you haven’t discovered it yet, then get with the programme as Franklands is a friendly family business run by a sister and brother.
