Category Archives: top 10 best restaurants in Kennington

The top ten best places to eat in Greater Kennington – no. 7 – Taro

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As habitués to the Runoff are aware, one of our missions is to get people out of the house and live by experience. In our current climate this might not be the best thing to do, but we have chosen to persist with our top ten list nevertheless. With the rest of the list we’ll let you know if they deliver, and we also suggest going for an early or late dinner if possible. And of course, you can always make a note of the venues in your little pocket diary for future reference.

Part of the Greater Kennington firmament for over a year now, Taro has secured the #7 spot by its consistent delivery of 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 acres above the lot.

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We were in Japan before our Taro visit last year and went to Taro with our friend 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.

Taro can be delivered to your door via Deliveroo,  and you can pop in and take it away. They curiously don’t have a website, but are located at 414 Kennington Road, close to the park.

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The top ten best places to eat in Greater Kennington – no. 8 – The Tommyfield

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The number eight position goes to central Kennington stalwart The Tommyfield.* The Tommyfield is the Kennington outpost of swish, small south London chain ‘Three Cheers Pubs’. Most of their other pubs are in Clapham and Battersea and have a similar cohort of punters.

The Tommyfield is the pub of choice here at Runoff HQ as it is just down the road and we have therefore tried just about everything on the menu. This isn’t too difficult, mind you, as we wouldn’t exactly call their menu ‘dynamic’. However, what they stick to they manage to do very well. We like the pies (steak and ale/chicken and leek) which are very rich, heavy on the meat, and the puff pastry flaky and buttery with pureed potatoes. The fish and chips are also to be lauded, and they have a reliable number of veggie options (but not vegan).

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The place is usually pretty full at weekends and they do a mean trade in Sunday lunch. The roasts are huge (we’re talking car tyre huge) and you can see the chefs undertaking their handiwork in the open kitchen (and yes, they make their own Yorkies). The ribeye steak is also something that we’ve had on a Sunday and it’s up there in Michelin star category and seasoned to perfection.

The Tommyfield is one of the few places in our area the accepts Tastecard (but not on Sunday) and they provide two for one mains if you have one. Perfect for those ‘I don’t feel like cooking’ nights or if, at this rate, there is soon to be nothing left on supermaket shelves but cat food.

For dessert we almost always plump for the banoffee pie, which is delicious.

*If you’ve been knocking around SE11 long enough to remember its previous incarnation as ‘La Finca’ you get a prize. Or something.

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

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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.

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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.

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

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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.
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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..

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Seveni Bar and Grill – The Real Chinese Deal

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An underlooked gem on the gastronomic  landscape of greater Kennington is a newish place called Seveni Bar and Grill, at the top of Kennington Road across from the Imperial War Museum. Kennington Runoff has recently been to central China (not for this specific review, mind you, as the budget usually ends at tea bags) and we can assure you that this joint is the real deal, organs and all.

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What first strikes the patron is the presence of Chinese pop music (tick) and actual Chinese diners (triple tick). As a starter I had the lamb intestine. I’ve never actually eaten an intestine before, and I can only describe it as kind of like squid. It was heavily seasoned with cumin (as a lot of dishes are),  sesame, and a great deal of pepper. I thought about ordering the pig brain, aorta, or tongue but then thought that my table would end up looking more like a post mortem dissection, so I gave them a miss.

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For the main course I decided to go a bit more mainstream and order the stir fry sliced beef with sour pepper. I got the mild version (you can choose the hotness) but it was so hot that I had to order an extra 5 Tsingtao beers (oops). The peppers can be avoided to make it less hot, but it was excellent. Slightly fatty beef and a great combination of sour and slightly sweet and the portion was huge….And you ain’t gonna get that in Gerrard St, mister.

All of the tables are set up with BBQs for on table grilling and on the night I visited there was a  mix of couples and larger groups. So great for a date, work ‘do, or just ‘we don’t feel like cooking;’ night.

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The top ten best restaurants in Kennington – no. 1 – The Garden Café at the Garden Museum

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Positives: This is simply one of our favourite ever London restaurants. The seasonal menu changes every day and has never let us down. Hearty, flavoursome, unfussy food, just brilliantly executed.

The Garden Museum cafe interior - kenningtonrunoff.com

Negatives: Their only evening openings are Tuesdays and Fridays. They’re not particularly flexible with substitutions and such like, but only because they take such pride in their plates. The food is expensive but totally worth it. As for the building, we can’t still can’t believe the Garden Museum destroyed their beautiful, tranquil knot garden as part of the development that led to the new Garden Café. If this restaurant had been able to serve diners in the old knot garden on a summer evening, it would have been unbeatable.

Pappardelle, courgettes and parmesan at The Garden Cafe Museum - kenningtonrunoff.com

The top ten best restaurants in Kennington – no. 2 – Louie Louie

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Positives: Most well-off residents of East Kennington have probably experienced Louie Louie by now, as a daytime brunch spot or nighttime bar or party venue. But have you eaten there in the evenings? They host residencies from up-and-coming chefs and they must choose well because we’ve never had a meal there that was anything but great. They serve real ale from the nearby Orbit brewery, and the co-owner Chris is lovely.

Louie Louie - kenningtonrunoff.com

Negatives: The gentrification of Walworth and Elephant & Castle has rightly been controversial and Louie Louie could be seen as a symbol of that, but it’s a genuine local business. Let’s hope Louie Louie can continue to thrive alongside the likes of the Red Lion (the massive old Irish pub) and Oli Food Centre (the Turkish 24 hour food shop opposite with the insanely delicious and cheap pide bread and dozens of different kinds of feta).

Louie Louie bar - kenningtonrunoff.com

The top ten best restaurants in Kennington – no. 3 – Brunswick House

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Positives: Brunswick House has an utterly unique and magical interior, courtesy of LASSCO the architectural reclaim shop, and the building it takes its name from, a Georgian mansion with a colourful history. The atmosphere is always good, the food is inventive and seasonal, and the clientele is cultured – when Florence Welch wants to meet Lena Dunham for dinner, this is where they go.

Brunswick House restaurant - kenningtonrunoff.com

Negatives: Since founder Jackson Boxer, a Kennington resident, started opening hot new restaurants outside of Kennington and became a cover star (and what a dashing one too), we have to say the food is not quite as great as it was, and still expensive. So we’re not the regular visitors we once were – but if you’ve never been, you really should…

Salsify, cauliflower and olive at Brunswick House - kenningtonrunoff.com

Salsify, cauliflower and olive at Brunswick House – kenningtonrunoff.com

The top ten best restaurants in Kennington – no. 4 – Bonnington Café

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Positives: We were recently asked to recommend places for a group of Spanish art students to go when visiting London and Bonnington Café was the only place on our list. It’s off Bonnington Square, a magical, unique place which is surely the crowning achievement of the squatting movement in London (the café was originally a communal kitchen for the squatters, many of whom didn’t have functioning kitchens of their own). The food is crazy cheap and it’s BYOB. It has always been vegetarian and nowadays seems to be vegan as well. Best of all is the atmosphere – never not joyous.

Bonnington Square Cafe - kenningtonrunoff.com

Negatives: The chefs and waiters are keen amateurs on a rota so don’t expect fine dining, but do expect wholesome, tasty vegan food, generally served very quickly if rather eccentrically at times. The café was briefly “threatened with closure” but like 6 Music, this only served to make it stronger. Viva Bonnington Café!

The fifth best restaurant in Kennington – you decided it’s 24 The Oval!

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Marcel & Sons was our fifth favourite restaurant in Kennington but then it closed along with the rest of Artworks. We are gutted, but hopefully they’ll be back before long.

So we made a list of all the restaurants we didn’t include in our top ten and let you vote for your favourite. 24 The Oval was the winnner, narrowly beating Theo’s Pizzeria. A fair result as both restaurants might have made it into our top ten if we were meat and dairy eaters. Amici and Kennington Tandoori – two other restaurants we frequent – tied for third place.

24 The Oval exterior - kenningtonrunoff.com

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