Category Archives: Stuffing your face

Cabinet, Beaconsfield and a Spot of Tea

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For a number of years we’ve been trying to ascertain the function of that strange building that popped up at the back of Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens a few years ago. Resembling a posh persons’ house meets North Korean torture centre, it’s actually mostly dedicated to the very intriguing Cabinet Gallery. The current show somehow manages to make a connection between a horse drawn carriage and Oprah so it might be a bit of a stretch for some, but this place is definitely something for that pocket diary that we’ve been telling you get for years now. Check out the website for what’s on. 


As we were up in the lovely upper Vauxhall neck of the woods anyway, we checked out the critically acclaimed but rarely open Beaconsfield Galley. It’s open this Saturday (12th) and the next (19th) showing one large immersive work by Korean/Uk artist JinHan Lee called ‘Extended Realities’. The concept is an exploration of themes of virtual versus material art and how (or if) they complement one another. Very thought provoking and out questions the limits of how much we can take in without actually seeing it.


All that culture was proving exhausting to our lockdown addled  brains, so we popped into the wistfully eccentric Tea House Theatre for some tea and sandwiches. The sandwiches needed a bit of work (and if you’re reading this Tea House we’re wagging a coronation chicken stained finger at you) but the list of teas were endless and the cakes abundant. Check out their eclectic website for things that are going on there such as themed suppers, talks and kids stuff. When we visited they were even offering a course in….wait for it….picking locks! Another for that pocket diary that you’re on the very cusp of purchasing with your newly socially activated fingertips. 

The Jolly Gardeners

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Some of you might remember a curious German themed sports pub called ‘Zeitgeist’ at the top of Black Prince Road. We reviewed it last year and described the fare as ‘food best consumed when you’re not entirely sober’. Shortly afterwards it went under. It has now been resurrected in its original guise –  ‘The Jolly Gardeners’. We had a clandestine and very pleasing meal there a few weeks ago and then caught up with the current proprietors to find out how they plan to please us Greater Kenningtonians. 

The Gardeners was purchased late last year by five mates from Essex, Dan (who now lives next to the Gardeners), Nick, Jonathan, Ryan, and Rob. All come from different professional backgrounds but are rooted in running restaurants and pubs. As the pub is enormous, I asked one of the guys how they plan to use the space. They explained that part of it will be a reservable restaurant in a ‘family sharing vibe’ (think Sunday roasts, bloody Mary’s, scotch eggs, etc.) the other 70% will be more of a traditional pub. They’ve also built an outside area (which rather resembles a ski lodge) which will be useful in the summer, if that ever happens.

On the food and drink front, the boys informed us that over 50% of the food items will be vegan but ‘more interesting than you might think’. They are trying to source things locally and are tapping into local producers. On the subject of tapping they are not tied to a brewer and are trying to use localish brewers such as Coalition. Pub snacks will also be on the menu, featuring items such as confit potatoes and cauliflower wedges. According to the boys, they acknowledge that dining and drinking habits have evolved over the past 18 months, for instance with more people working from home, and they are keen to address this.  

One of the issues with the Gardeners is that it does not have a great deal of footfall and people might forget that it exists. When I asked the guys how they plan to address this niggling issue they replied ‘by serving excellent foot at a reasonable price point so people don’t forget us. 

The menu below might have changed but gives you a sense of what they do. The pub is open now for drinks and food. Even if all the boys aren’t locals, lets embrace them as one of our own! 

Greater Kennington Opens Up – The Duchy Arms

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We’ve always felt a little sorry for the Duchy Arms and have developed a soft spot for the place. Located off the main drag, its never enjoyed the passing trade of other venues and has seemed a bit, well, lost. However, it has benefitted from one quirky trait not enjoyed by other pubs…..it has a car park. The car park has now been transformed into an umbrella strewn beer garden, so it’s moment has arrived. As it is truly outside the area has more space and circulation than the Dog House and you do not feel fork to fork next to your fellow diner. Although more spread out, it still has a lively ‘we’ve just come from football practice’ vibe about it. And great staff. 

Your scribe and a Runoff colleague enjoyed the lamb kofta with couscous, flatbread and little bowl of tzatziki. It was well spiced lamb and they brought more tzatziki when requested. Another colleague had beer battered haddock with mushy peas and hand cut chips. It was described as ‘lovely, nice and fresh with a crisp batter’. As for the chips, they were definitely made fresh and had not visited the north pole. Our French colleague had the pie of the day, which was creamy chicken and leek. When asked to describe the quality, the colleague shrugged his shoulders and continued to eat. We’ll interpret that as ‘pretty good’. 

If you are planning an outing to a Greater Kennington pub in the next week or so if it is within popular hours we strongly suggest that you book first. And after our sub polar dining experience we think it might good to idea to book earlier in the evening.  And please remember to bundle up. Humans can do many great things, but eating dinner in a 7 degree car park requires a degree of forward thinking. 

The Rare Burger Deja Vu Experience

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In late 2018 a restaurant existed in central Kennington called ‘Rare Burger Co’. You’re certainly forgiven if you didn’t notice it as it was only open briefly. We attributed its demise to being off the main road, in addition to being situated next to Papa John’s Pizza, which would put anybody off their food. It was a great concept as they served things like cocktails, prawn burgers and great chips. But unfortunately their great chips tasted a bit like prawn burgers, which might have contributed to their downfall. 

Like a phoenix from the ashes, or something else that rises, Rare Burger has been resurrected. A few weeks ago, in the guise of ‘general members of the public’, we got to chatting with the manager when we were passing. We bypassed the awkward ‘your chips taste like prawns’ convo and he explained that the new venue will be much like the past, but they will rely more on takeaways. There will also be an alfresco element and the front area will be refashioned into a beer garden (whoop!) selling Peroni (whoop again) and a weekend BBQ (whoop 3). Their optimism has been peaked by the reopening of Kennington Green, expected in May. 

It was opening day and your noble scribe once again ventured into the realm of the prawn burger. The prawns were presented in a heafty grilled patty, and was served with dill, cabbage, carrot and onion. Delightful all around if you are a prawn fan. For a side your scribe had coleslaw which my dining partner, a self styled coleslaw snob, described as ‘outstanding in it’s creaminess’ and a hit. Both burgers were served on brioche buns. 

My dining partner had the ‘Django’, which was a new take on the burger. It’s hard to be original in burger world without being ridiculous, but in addition to a standard beef patty it contained chorizo slices and blue cheese, which worked a treat. It was proper meaty chorizo and proper blue cheese, which helped. The beef patty was served a bit pink, as requested. This came as a relief as last time Rare Burger informed us, rather ironically, ‘we don’t do rare burgers’. 

Rare Burger is going to slightly emphasise the takeaway market but they haven’t got their takeaway and website up and running yet. Meanwhile, you can order by pitching up of calling them on 020 7091 4360

If you’re interested in the Northern Line Extension or the upcoming Kennington Green, more information can be found here. 

NLE KEN Green Progress Update – March 2021Download

All Hail Longdan!

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Since the current lockdown began there is barely a facet of our lives that hasn’t been impacted. These include the small things (not being able to go to the pub) and the huge things (not being able to go to the pub). But one thing it hasn’t impacted is our ability to cook. I know you’re thinking ‘but those Runoff people are always getting takeaways’ and, well, you might have a point there. But we also enjoy cooking, and by a mile our favourite food shop is the fascinating and slightly surreal Longdan Supermarket in Walworth Road. 

Longdan is a pan Asian Market specialising in mainstream and, well, less conventional items from Thailand to Korea. They stock everything you need in terms of Asian fare such as sushi making kits, a wide variety of rices, sauces, every Asian noodle imaginable, tinned fruits, beers, sake, dumplings, buns and obscure and mainstream fresh herbs/salads. They also stock a huge volume of frozen fish.  One thing they do exceptionally well is condiments, and you can bag a range of soy and chili sauces, bean curd, stir fry mixes, and good old fashioned Siriracha. 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 and impress your friends – ‘hey Sally, you mean you DON’T have a glutinous rice strainer? Hmmmm’.  

The wonderfully surreal element of Longdan is that they stock some items so specialised that it makes you feel as if you’re in a supermarket in China. These include chicken feet, snouts, nerves, testicles and, on one visit, brains*. Ever have a craving for mud fish or pangasius? Well they can sort you out. More mainstream watery things can be found in the guise of clams, anchovies and prawns. And if you ever feel that what is really missing in your life is a mini Buddhist Chinese shrine, then they’ve got you covered. The Vietnamese street food restaurant that used to be attached to Longdan is  sadly now gone, but the silver lining is that you can now make this at home.

*Vegans might want to give this place a wide berth. Or just order online. 

Amici and Their Popup

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In the approximately 15,000 years that have elapsed in the past 12 months we’ve learned a few things, so let’s have a rundown. We now know what to do in those awkward seconds after you say goodbye on Zoom and actually log off. We’ve learned just how much work you can complete while wearing just a onsie and no bra. And third, that  ‘meal boxes’ are really just posh takeaways.  We recently decided to explore the third when we revisited Kennington Cross fixture ‘Amici’.  

Back in the days when it was purely Italian we became somewhat disillusioned with the quality of the food at Amici. Shortly before the world imploded they had a menu overhaul (and presumably a chef overhaul) and now serve Meditteranean and Persian fare – the Persian coming from their much missed restaurant ‘Doost’. Your scribe started with beef carpaccio. It was a large and very finely sliced piece which came with a slightly sweet blueberry vinigrette, dabs of asparagus and thinly sliced cashews. For the mains I had calamari. It came with pureed and whole peas and had a whole sweet/briney thing going on, with a hit of black olives. The calamari was stuffed with herb encrusted Panko breadcrumbs. Both dishes were mighty fine. 

And with recyclable boxes, to boot

My associate opted for the Persian fare, and for the starter s/he had the smoky, roasted aubergine mixed with tomato. It came with a haltingly generous serving of proper Persian bread. For the mains, said associate had a generous and well cooked duck breast smothered by a silky  pomegrante and walnut sauce. It was as rich as it sounds and a taste sensation as the slight bitterness of the walnut contrasted nicely with the sweet pomegranate. It was served with saffron rice, and Amici/Doost have pretty much always known how to nail a rice. 


The total came to £46, which ain’t cheap for a takeaway but hey, what else are you spending your dosh on at the minute? 

What really put Amici firmly back in our field of vision is their new pop up shop, which covers the whole restaurant. On sale is fresh pasta, cakes, wines, herbs, beers, curry paste (?) and Italian beans, amongst others. 

Kuma Korean and BTS

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It’s Saturday night and time for a takeaway! Astute readers will be cognizant of our love of the Korean/Japanese joint ‘Kuma’ in Kennington Cross, and it even featured in our much lauded but-ain’t-gonna-happen-this-year-for-obvious-reasons top 10 list. We recently had a takeaway from there and, while not achieving the olfactory heights of being in the restaurant, is definitely worth a Saturday nosh. But Kuma, if you’re reading this we need to have a serious conversation about your excessive use of Styrofoam. Moving on..

Your zealous scribe started with the painfully bang on trend Korean Fried Chicken. Kuma has three options; traditional, spicy, and we opted for the sticky soy garlic. 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 very good 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.

My associate 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. 

  • Photographing food is hard
  • The Kimchi

Eating this great Korean food rekindled our late 2018 slight obsession with K-Pop. As it happens, eating your Kuma takeaway while listening to K-Pop is a great escape from the interminable, repetitive drone of our lockdown lives. We chose the greatest K-Pop band of them all, BTS. If you want to get a taste of what BTS are all about, you need only to listen to one BTS song as their music is about as repetitive as your days are at the minute. But very catchy nevertheless. 

After Taste

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Since realising just how poor value for money Firecracker in central Kennington has become, we’ve been looking for a new Chinese takeaway. What’s been on our radar for a while is a Chinese joint in Elephant called ‘After Taste’. We have to childishly admit that what peaked our curiosity was the name, as ‘After Taste’ are usually the words that come after ‘unpleasant’ or  ‘I have to brush my teeth as I’m getting a bad____’. But our new find is pleasantly none of these things. In fact quite the opposite. 

The first thing that strikes you about After Taste is the size of its menu. At 260 items (say what?!) you’d be hard pressed to find anything they can’t throw your way, and there are a few surprises. My dining partner had one such surprise and it was the deep fried smoke chicken  (number 9 on the dizzying menu). A starter of mains sized proportions, it was ladled liberally with Sichuan peppercorns and was both smoky and blow your head off hot. For the mains the dining partner had Szechuan chicken with egg fried rice (153). It was hot but just this side of sweet, with plenty of dried chilis for added kick (and consumption if you’re feeling dangerous). 

  • Smoke chicken
  • Szechuan chicken. Photographing food is hard work

Your more gastronomically cautious scribe started with some very dandy prawn dumplings called ‘Prawn Ha Kow’ (1). A bit on the small side but meaty and steamingly hot. For the mains I had the king prawn chow mein (140). Lots of noodles, sprouts, and so many huge prawns they had to be eaten on their own. For all this Chinese goodness we paid the princely sum of £22.62. We walked up to get it, but it is also available on Ubereats and Just-Eat. On the value versus taste continuum, we think the place punches far about it’s weight.  Its at the top of Newington Butts, near Theos Pizza.

Those prawns were huge

If you are a purist when it comes to your Chinese cuisine and instead of Lo mein your desires veer towards aorta, brain and intestines, then we suggest the almost haltingly authentic Sevini restaurant in Lambeth North, which we reviewed in 2019. 

Black Cowboy Coffee

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The other day we had properly distanced but still aromatic chat with John Otagburuagu, aka the Black Cowboy, in his eponymously named coffee and snacks emporium in Elephant and Castle. Black Cowboy Coffee was one of the many businesses turfed out of E&C shopping centre in October, but the cowboy has landed his booted feet in a more high profile spot in Elephant Arcade, at the base of Perronet House. 

John is true Greater Kenningtonian,  having spent part of his youth between the Cotton Gardens Estate and Brittany Point in Lollard St. His early career took him from accountancy to Pizza Hut to working as a cameraman for the BBC. When John decided he wanted a fresh start and open skies he relocated to Houston, Texas. Looking for a new role that also incorporated his passion for travel, John decided, as you do,  to become a trucker. 

John spent a number of successful years crisscrossing America in his truck which he bought in cash as soon as he could. He also settled in Houston with a partner and had three children. When all was moving swimmingly down the road for John disaster struck….he was deported. Ever the optimist, John returned to the UK in late 2013 and found that he had to more or less start from scratch. He went to the JobCentre with the concept of wanting to start a coffee shop, and with a bit of effort he was able to obtain a business loan and find a mentor. It took a few years to come together, but 2015 saw the dawn of ‘Black Cowboy’. 

Black Cowboy Coffee features six coffees which you can also purchase bagged, either ground or still in the bean. He uses organic Arabica beans sourced from Brazil, Ethiopia, and Indonesia. The most popular brew and which keeps the customers coming is called ‘Boca Chica’. He also features latte, Americanos, cappuccino, hot chocolate, and an array of teas. If it’s food you’re after the specialities of the house are the Belgian waffle ‘liege’ and bagels made to order (selections above). There are also a range of paninis and baked goods. 

Black Cowboy is a perfect destination for your daily get out of the house perambulation. However, if you aren’t able to leave the house they are available on Uber Eats and soon Deliveroo. Keep on truckin! 

Restaurants in your Home

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One silver lining of not being able to eat out much in Greater Kennington in 2020 is that you didn’t miss a great deal. Due to restaurants being closed there haven’t been any ‘breakout’ cuisines such as, for instance, a CBD infused poke bowl doughnut ramen taco with a Korean twist. But as 2021 dawns you may nevertheless be yearning for restaurant food that is a calibre apart from the standard takeaway, and we’re here to help. 

A good place to start is with our ‘Top Ten Best Places to Eat in Greater Kennington’ list from March 2020. A few places from the list are remaining shut for the time being, but others have their kitchens open and they need our business or they’ll close forever. Or worse, become estate agents.  Each of them is open for collection, and most also use those home delivery companies which are evil but paradoxically manage to keep us safe.  We hope you find this useful…..

Adulis – This glorious Eritrean in Oval nabbed the top spot in March and they are now open. Available on Deliveroo.

Theos – The best pizzas in Greater Kennington grabbed our number two in March. Available on Deliveroo – Keep an eye on their Instagram for specials.

Prince of Wales – Open for pre order drinks only on 020 7735 9916. This explains the reemergence of people walking around Kennington Cross with milk containers containing what at first looks like pee.  

The Coriander – The best Indian in Greater Kennington grabbed our number four in March.  Available on Just – Eat 

Daebak  –  The quirky Korean in Vauxhall snatched our number five slot in March.  Available on Deliveroo

Kuma  – The Korean/Japanese in Kennington Cross dropped by to visit number 6 in March. Available on Just – Eat 

Taro – The real deal in Japanese canteen food joint devoured our number seven in March. Available on Ubereats and Deliveroo

The critically acclaimed restaurant ‘Louie Louie’ in Walworth Road has just gone vegan and is available for takeway and delivery. And they even deliver cocktails (we’re not sure how this works exactly, but it sounds fun).  Available on Deliveroo

Local institution Bonnington Café in Vauxhall will be cooking again next week, and are open for collection. 

Ok, we’ll throw one takeaway into the mix. Also in Walworth Road is the delicious and slightly bonkers ‘Shawarma Hut’ (below). Picture multiple swirling doners set to house music. We think it’s the best shawrma/kebabs around by a mile and they make their own bread and falafel on site. Available for takeaway. Mexican kebab, anyone?