Category Archives: Stuffing your face

An Homage to Oval Farmer’s Market

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Greater Kennington businesses come and go and contribute to the eclectic framework of our anointed patch. However, when some of these places become part of our identity we need to fight to keep them. One of these is Oval Farmers Market, which in our opinion has never really recovered from the pandemic. At one point it stretched around St. Mark’s Church in Oval, and now it has reduced to a much smaller patch in front of the church. Nevertheless, they still have some very unique offerings and are worth your custom. 

If you haven’t been to the Market in a while most of the old standards are still on offer; olives, biltong, a range of gluten free things, cheese stalls, fresh fish, coffees, organic wine, and meats. The large veg stall that used to be there is no more, but a few smaller ones compensate for it. There is also a French/Caribbean food stall that looked pretty delicious and has the buzz. 

After a recent visit we popped across the street to an old favourite,  Mimis Deli, with memories of a delicious sandwich we had there which was the size of a baby’s leg. The former seating area at the back now includes a very tempting Italian food market/gift shop scenario, which is more experimental than Italo Vauxhall. We ate our mighty ciabatta wrapped sandwiches snugly in Kennington Park in the company of runners who had obviously never eaten a bay leg sized meatball marinara sandwich in their lives.

Oval Farmers Market is open on Saturday from 10 – 3 and a few stalls are open later in the week. We’re aware that we are in a cost of living crisis and buying a chunk of cheese for £8 might not be the top of your priority list. But there are more affordable offerings. Sourdough, anyone?

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Ten Best Places to Eat in Greater Kennington

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(+ One Sunday Roast)

#3 PALADAR

The extremely hip restaurant ‘Paladar’ has been on our radar since it opened in 2018 and after the stingy Runoff management team finally agreed to pay for our meal we recently visited. It has shot up and nabbed the number 3 spot in our countdown. It is probably as close to ‘fine dining’ as you can get in our area, so we suggest doing for a special date. Or if you’re trying to make up with your other half.

Paladar is a Latin American fusion restaurant in St. George’s Circus near Elephant & Castle/Lambeth North. The restaurant doubles as an art space, and on our visit featured work by Ecuadorean artist Ulises Valarezo. The crowd is more West End chic than we would expect in these parts, and in fact we sat next to ‘Leave a Light On’ pop star Tom Walker and loads of people laughing while flicking their hair.

  • Pork Belly
  • Lettuce Hearts

The menu is, you guessed it, sharing plates and five items served two people just fine. We were served by a precise, chirpy and professionally drilled service staff who knew quite a bit about what they were serving and actually spoke Spanish to one another.  Highlights were  texture rich tuna tartare tostadas accompanied by a fragrant salsa which  reminded us ever so slightly of a delicious, yet expensive, hand soap. The pork belly tacos had an interesting Chinese crispy duck sticky quality and were wrapped in lettuce leaves as opposed to a tortilla. On the veggie front, we enjoyed compelling, deep fried tapioca croquettes which were savory but just verging on being sweet. We also indulged on chargrilled lettuce hearts with a nut based topping.

Croquettes and Tuna

With a bottle of wine the total bill came to £84 which is by no means cheap but it will teach the management team a thing or two before they tell us that we’re not worth the dosh. Money well spent even if you don’t get the chance to sit next to a minor pop star in a bobble hat. 

Paladar also sell South American wines in their adjacent wine shop.  We enjoyed a divine £26 Montes Colchagua Valley Merlot which was less than a tenner more than was going in the shop. 

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Ten Best Places to Eat in Greater Kennington

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+ One Sunday Roast

#6 Daebak

Since opening a few years ago Daebak in Vauxhall has been delivering consistent and hearty Korean fare in a very cool street Seoul setting. Word has now spread and it’s more popular than ever, with so many Korean patrons that you’d think a minor member of BTS was inside.   The folks are  probably enticed by their Korean down home treats such as kimchi pancakes and…wait for it….. potato chips with cream cheese powder, best consumed with the Korean beer Cass. 

For our meal the three of us ordered soy garlic Korean Fried Chicken (or KFC, a speciality, above), spicy bibimbap,  Katsu curry, crispy tofu, and gyoza. Let me tell you, reader, we were rolling out of there by the end of it. We could have easily dropped one of the main courses as they were huge. We highly recommend the various kinds of fried chicken on order (crunchy, subtle) and the Bibimbap is delicious and comes with two veg. options. I would also experiment with a starter like octopus balls. Overall it is great food, and pretty kind on the pocket. 

Daebak is small and charming, but if you are going on a weekend it might be a good idea to book, as last time we couldn’t get in we had to go across the street to ‘Jihwaja’ which was the opposite of charming. Well, unless your idea of charm involves hen do’s, stale kimchee and blaring K-Pop. And if it does then this blog might not be for you…..

Pros – It has wide open doors overlooking Vauxhall

Cons – It has wide open doors overlooking Vauxhall

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Ten Best Places to Eat in Greater Kennington

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+ One Sunday Roast

#8 The Jolly Gardeners

The number eight spot goes to the only pub in our countdown, The Jolly Gardeners in Vauxhall. The Gardeners sprang to life in 2021 and now occupies the same kitchens formerly used by a German themed pub, which we once correctly described as ‘food best enjoyed when you’re not entirely sober’. But fear not, the Gardeners boys and their sustainable and well sourced kitchen know what they’re doing. And it’s 50% vegan. 

The menu at the Gardeners changes periodically, but at the time of writing (March 2023) we’ve enjoyed a cauliflower wings (a bit of a staple), lightly grilled leek with almonds, and the breaded cod filet swimming in spinach cream sauce with kale. The format in this huge pub is that it is 50% is set out as a dining room with the other half as a pub, but food can be consumed in both. The pub also features an outside dining/drinking area that rather reminds us of a ski lodge or sauna. 

While it might have missed out on the top spot in terms of Sunday roasts, we can definitely recommend the Gardener roasts. As the food keeps coming it almost has an ‘all you can eat’ element to it. In the past we’ve enjoyed the silverside beef and Dorset lamb. Also keep your eagle eye out for their spicy peri peri fries and mustard green salad. On the drinks front, they work hard to source from local breweries such as Coalition or even closer ones from Brixton. 

The Gardeners guys also operate a zippy little sandwich place two doors down called Simply Bread. When asked if one of the sandwich makers is none other than Mick Hucknall himself, the 20 something employee replied with a perplexed stare. 

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Ililli Lebanese Restaurant

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Merry ‘Twixmas’ and we hope you’re enjoying this rather odd period where you should be working but probably aren’t. Unfortunately the top brass here at the Runoff didn’t provide us with a Christmas bonus this year. Well, unless you count the time when the CFO threw a handful of Celebrations into our cubicles and said ‘here’s your bonus’. So we’re back at work. 

Since it’s opening several months ago we’ve had on our radar an interesting looking Lebanese place in Vauxhall called ‘Ilili’. Given that kebabs joints are about as pervasive as estate agents in Greater Kennington, our mission was to see how the Ilili matched up to its numerous neighbours. It has a large charcoal grill at the front, for shish and kofte type grills. There are also two shawarma rotating skewers – chicken and lamb, no doner. The large seating area upstairs to the rear gives it more of a Middle Eastern grill restaurant vibe as opposed to a strict kebab shop. Unlike other places similar to Ilili, they also serve seafood and a small selection of Egyptian dishes. Tick

My dining partner, Karen from Finance, had the lamb shawarma, with well caramelised lamb pieces, served in generous quantity on a flat Lebanese style wrap. Your scribe had the chicken shawarma, with massive slices of marinated chicken, well seasoned with a hit of cumin. The usual salad fillings can be added to order, as can spicy sauce or a garlic sauce. Ours were solidly good wraps and excellent value (£6.95) given their taste quality and large size. The large option must be the size of a baby’s leg. The service was friendly as well. 

  • Chicken
  • Lamb

The illustrations above are for you to see the contents of our kebabs. We’re fully aware that they rather resemble something that you might have stepped on after leaving Vauxhall station. A reminder to us all that photographing food is no mean feat.

Illil Restaurant is at 351 Kennington Lane

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Always Be Comedy – Tommyfield

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Did you know that we have a top flight comedy night  right here in Greater Kennington? It’s called Always be Comedy, and is a favourite here at Runoff Towers after a stressful day of faxing and stapling . It takes place upstairs at the Tommyfield pub and is MC’ed by the effervescent James Gill. In addition to the comedy, James lays on fun games such as ‘who has the posher name’ (no mean feat with that lot)

On previous outings we’ve seen the likes of Mo Gilligan, Harry Hill, Joe Lycett, Katherine Ryan, Russell Howard, Romesh Ranganathan, Josh Widdecombe (whoops – better pick up those names we just dropped!), all for  £12. And some before they became famous.  The only trick is you need to be quick off the mark, and also some are billed as ‘secret’ so it is probably a good idea to be on their mailing list. And if you’ve never heard of the comedian, you might discover somebody new and only exerted a walk over and stumble back from Kennington Cross in the process. 

The crowd at ABC makes you feel a bit like you’ve stumbled across an audition for the next season of ‘The Apprentice’, but if you can move beyond that (and the pricey pints) then it’s a fun night. If you plan to make a night of it, for food we would give the Tommyfield a miss and suggest the excellent Korean/Japanese joint ‘Kuma’ a few doors down. ABC also do a night in Wandsworth, but that isn’t Greater Kennington so who cares.

There are people with actual full heads of hair at these shows

The Murger Han Experience

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We experienced a small gust of thrill when we saw the sign for new Chinese in Elephant called ‘Murger Han’. As it rhymes with ‘Burger Van’, we envisioned delicacies such hamburger egg rolls. As it turns out, it’s billed as ‘London’s first authentic Xi’ian restaurant ‘, which provided us with another gust, as two of us at KR towers have actually been to Xi’an on the very street where this food is made. The food is a wonderful departure from the Cantonese gloop that we’ve been spoon fed for decades, and comes from an area of China where wheat replaces rice and the food becomes infused with spices such as cumin.

Murger Han promotes itself as Chinese street food, and  murgers themselves are meat filled sandwiches. They looked hearty, but the thing to order here is the speciality of the house, and that is biang biang noodles. These noodles get their name from being stretched and slapped into long slinky bands until they’re thin and chewy. Your scribe  had the noodle with shredded beef and black fungus, with the compulsory Chinese black vinegar sauce and added garlic oil.

  • Believe it or not, this was not taken by a professional food photographer

Alice from Finance had her noodles with spicy pork, tomato, egg and vegetables (the variations being endless). She reported the dish as having ‘quite big flavours and spicy but not overwhelmingly – really rich and flavourful, served in a beautiful big bowl’. The noodles have a long and almost intestinal look to them but don’t let that put you off as they result in a joyous slurp. The mains are between £12-£14 which without booze (rare for us) is pretty reasonable. They also serve noodle and dumpling based soups. 

We visited Murger Han on a rainy Saturday, which proved almost fatal as the floor is totally marble and patrons were sliding all over the place. The marble extends up the wall, giving the place the appearance of a 90’s strip club, softened somewhat by the presence of cute emoji throw cushions, which we found curiously appealing.  But if the atmosphere doesn’t arouse you’ll find the food absurdly satisfying, and is a great, slurpy and slippy way to spend an afternoon or an evening. 

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The Resurrection of Amici

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If you’re a frequent Runoff Reader (and if not you’re really missing out) you’ll be aware that we review places anonymously in order to avoid preferential treatment and to remain unbiased. So we have to put our cards on the table as we kind of know the proprietors of ‘Amici’ in Kennington Cross  so the information is not technically a review but just details.  

After mostly being closed for the past 2 ½ years, Amici is back in soft launch phase. They’re goal is to merge the classics from their (RIP) Persian restaurant Doost with the Mediterranean offerings of Amici. For a split second we had a nightmare vision of pomegranate pizza, but owner Houman explained that it’s just the greatest hits of each place, and as the kitchens get fitted it’s primarily Persian, which suited us just fine. 

Phil from IT had one of the specials, a meatball dish from the northern, Caspian region of Iran. It was markedly tart with a pomegranate and herb-based sauce, so a bit different from what we think of as “standard” Persian. It was served with fluffy basmati rice. Your scribe had a long grain rice dish with fresh prawns and calamari. And of course, served with loads of dill. It was light and had a slightly nutty tone to it. 

  • Fritata
  • Bruscetta

Our party of five weren’t planning to get starters, but co owner Sethi was able to tell us not only from where each dish originated and how it’s made, but even offered insight as how her family members have been making them for years. So we caved in and had a kind of Persian bruschetta topped with aubergine, and a spinach frittata. As this is just info we’re imparting, you’ll need to decide for yourselves if this is for you.  

Sethi also explained that they plan to re open the deli which briefly held sway at the front of the shop, and have themed nights such as Persian dancing and speakers. That sounds great, but Houman if you are reading this (and if not you’re really missing out) please do not again fill your restaurant with used books, clothes, tinned food and jewellery for sale. You might think it looked like a canny business move, but to the rest of us it just resembled aunt Mable’s loft after she’d kicked the bucket.   

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Best Pub Quizzes in Greater Kennington

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After a long day at Runoff Towers, a gaggle of us hopped over to gastro pub The Rose in Albert Embankment to bask in their pub quiz, among other temptations. The quiz is held upstairs and MC’ed by a slightly bumbling but endearing American chap who ironically lays on some very, very tricky questions involving songs, maps, letter games and general trivia (mind bending picture round clues below). There are free drink questions and prizes to be won and on our night the jackpot was at £200. The crowd was very convivial but contained, and there wasn’t a cheating mobile in sight. 

On the food front, it pains us to say that the mains had, well, spent most of their short lives in a freezer. However, some of the starters were very tasty and we can recommend the calamari. And, as if arisen from the ashes, there  was a pop up menu selection from the short lived Kennington Cross burger joint Rare Burger Co. which looked more enticing. The Rose pub quiz is on Monday nights from 19:00 and can be reserved on their website. Time well spent after a day at work. 

If you like a bit of stand up injected into your pub quiz, we highly recommend the quiz at The Old Red Lion pub in Kennington Park Road. Hosted by the deadpan and pseudo legendary ‘Paul Partridge Experience’, there is often a theme (music is common) and games such as throwing rings around bottles or dancing. Listen closely and he will manage to insult most celebrities, and even if ask himself existential questions such as ‘how did my life end up like this’. The Old Red Lion pub quiz is on Sunday nights from 20:00 and can be reserved on their website. 

Paul Partridge, Quiz supremo.

And if you’re wondering if team Runoff won the pub quiz then let me be the first to tell you that we didn’t. That honour was bestowed on the young men with great hair who scored our quiz sheet, who then eagerly informed us that they live in north London and are great friends from Uni. We resisted the urge to say ‘oh yeah, well we all work at an imaginary publishing house so TAKE THAT’ and throw our crumpled quiz sheet at them. 

Market Place Vauxhall

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We bear a degree of pragmatic skepticism when it comes to the independent credentials of these food halls which have been popping up recently such as Mercato Metropolitano in Elephant. However, we love the small traders which use them to establish and build their little foodie businesses, which is why we just inspected the spanking new Market Place in Vauxhall. 

Over the years many things both enriching and a bit disturbing have sprung out of the railway arches in Vauxhall, and luckily Market Place next to the station falls into the former category. The collection of stalls includes Thai, Mexican, Mumbai street food, pizza, pasta, Sri Lankan, Argentinean, and Turkish. There are also a few exports from Borough Market including ‘Bread Ahead’ and Caribbean joint ‘Rudi’s’, and we can definitely recommend their chicken wrap. As there is also a bar and is open until 10:00, Market Place can be useful for those ‘I don’t wanna cook and want a drink’ nights. So, most nights for us in the office. 

Marching merrily on to the food, your scribe headed to MoMo Thai and had the Pad Kra Pao stir fry. A Thai staple, it was packed with chicken mince and holy basil with a slightly spicy jasmine rice and topped with a fried egg. Karen from Finance took the low carb route and headed via the Argentinean Grill for her steak salad. It came with a surprisingly large amount of steak which was slightly cut and pink. A bit chewy but pleasant. A proper amount of salad came with it as well as a generous lash of chimichurri sauce. 

  • We”ll say it again…
  • But photographing food is really difficult!

We here at the Runoff are hoping that the folks over at Market Place aren’t charging extortionate rents to these small traders as it will only hobble their chances of growth. When we’ve interviewed some of these folks they’ve expressed gratitude at the platform and exposure it has given them, and long shall it continue. And it also exposes us all to cultures and cuisines that we might otherwise not encounter in our fair manor. Bon appétit!