Winter Interest

It’s a bit unorthodox to be writing about gardens in the bleak midwinter, but we all need a bit of greenery in our lives, especially when the sky matches the grey Kennington pavements.

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Harleyford Road Community Garden in Vauxhall wsd created by the demolition of a terrace of Georgian properties in the 1970’s which featured inordinately large front gardens. In 1984 the progressive residents of nearby Bonnington Square agreed to work in partnership with Lambeth to turn the site into a place of quiet refuge amongst the nearby smog and snarl.

 

 

 

 

The arboreal product of the partnership  created 36 years ago persists to this day, and even in winter offers a great place for the public to stroll, eat a sandwich, reflect, or just experience an element of silence. The garden is divided into several different areas and includes a children’s play area, lawns, benches, picnic areas, and a mossy green pond. It prides itself on being the only accessible wildlife site in the area.

The Garden is still maintained by volunteers from Bonnington Square,  and it without question possesses the quirky,  ‘planty’. and independent aesthetic of the Square. This is evident in the mosaic wall and paving stones implanted with chipped china  and rocks. In reality the entire layout of the Gardens are the masterwork of Bonnington residents, and well done.

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With no small amount of surreal irony our quiet, pastoral refuge is sponsored by the rather notorious nightclub ‘Fire’. As intrepid and responsible local journalists we approached Runoff management about getting to the bottom of this relationship (in a strictly professional capacity of course) by actually going to Fire at 3am last Saturday. We were rapidly rebuked and informed that this would be ‘inappropriate’ and ‘compromise the ethos of the site’. Well lets see about that and watch this space.

The Gardens are very kid friendly and also placid and safe for people on their own who seek solace and serenity. Enjoy!

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

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

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!

amazing old photos of Kennington

from the soon-to-be relaunched Lambeth Archives website

The Old Red Lion in the late 1930s

The Old Red Lion in the late 1930s

Kilner House protest squat, Clayton Street

Kilner House protest squat, Clayton Street – more info here – plus ca change

Methley Street, 1975 - nothing has changed except the cars

Methley Street, 1975 – nothing has changed except the cars

Kennington Road, 1950

Kennington Road, 1950

Cleaver Street, 1975 - bit of a different vibe from today

Cleaver Street, 1975 – bit of a different vibe from today

'Reclining Figure' by James Butler A.R.A. - bring this back to Cleaver Square please!

‘Reclining Figure’ by James Butler A.R.A. – bring this back to Cleaver Square please!

Brook Drive, 1985

Brook Drive, 1985 – looks tranquil right?

Bonnington Square, 1981 - the year the squatters moved in

Bonnington Square, 1981 – the year the squatters moved in

More soon.

 

Mother Kelly’s Taproom Vauxhall

Like Cottons, Mother Kelly’s is another independent retailer-turned-chain who recently arrived in West Kennington (they were already in Bethnal Green, Homerton, Stoke Newington and Portlandia).

Mother Kelly's outdoor seating - kenningtonrunoff.com

In fact the Vauxhall branch is their biggest, with a bottle shop on Albert Embankment, outside seating facing Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens (above), and a massive tap room with 33 different beers on tap under the railway arch in between:

Mother Kelly's interior - kenningtonrunoff.com

Great news for lovers of craft beers like us, but it’s not cheap. The first we heard of Mother Kelly’s coming to Vauxhall was this tweet:

https://twitter.com/fionamacmac/status/898606567871832065

Craft beer for people who live in towerblocks designed by Versace, you might think. But the beers were great and the atmosphere was welcoming so we’ll be back.

Here’s the bottle shop:

Mother Kelly's IPAs and others - kenningtonrunoff.com Mother Kelly's pale ales and others - kenningtonrunoff.com

They also sell Mother Kelly’s merch:

Mother Kelly's merch - kenningtonrunoff.com

When we were there, their food offering was meat boards (£10), veg boards (£7.50), cheese boards (£9.50), chocolate boards (£6.50), olives and bread, and sandwiches, but they also host food trucks.

Mother Kelly’s, 76 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TP

+44 (0) 20 7091 9779

 

Cottons Vauxhall

Cottons started as a long-running and popular Caribbean restaurant in Camden. Now the Cottons chain is in all four corners of London, with branches in Notting Hill, Shoreditch and West Kennington – they’ve taken over the riverside site at St George Wharf that was previously occupied by the Moroccan restaurant Souk River Lounge.

Cottons exterior - kenningtonrunoff.com

It’s hard to imbue St George Wharf with character but Cottons have given it a fair shot with this colourful wall mural:

Cottons wall mural - kenningtonrunoff.com

The centre piece of the restaurant is the bar, with many different rums on offer:

Cottons bar - kenningtonrunoff.com

This seafood platter with rice & peas, plantain and jerk sauce was top notch, as you’d hope for £18.50. In true Kennington Runoff tradition, we enjoyed it so much we tucked in before taking the photo:

Cottons seafood platter - kenningtonrunoff.com

Less successful was this order of vegetable coconut rundown for £12 – basically just some veg in an over-flavoured sauce. They should really add a vegetarian jerk option to the menu.

Cottons Vegetable Coconut Runover - kenningtonrunoff.com

We went along on a Friday night and they were playing the greatest hits of dancehall too loudly for our middle-aged tastes, but the restaurant certainly has a party atmosphere you won’t find elsewhere in the area, except perhaps on Walworth Road late at night.

Cottons interior - kenningtonrunoff.com

They do a daily happy hour on cocktails (£6), wine and beer (Carib for £3.50 a bottle) from 5pm-9pm and a bottomless brunch from 11am-5pm Friday, Saturday and Sunday which we plan to try soon.

Cottons Vauxhall. Unit 12 Flagstaff House, St George Wharf, Vauxhall, London SW8 2LE

T: 0207 091 0793

two of Kennington’s finest institutions are under threat

Read more about the threat to Bonnington Cafe and sign a petition here.

Read more about the threat to the Cinema Museum and sign a petition here.

Both of these institutions are magical, unique and irreplaceable. The area will be much worse off without them.

See our original piece about the Bonnington Cafe here.

Bonnington Square Cafe - kenningtonrunoff.com

See our original piece about the Cinema Museum here.

The bar and shop at the Cinema Museum - kenningtonrunoff.com

Counter Termini – the best pizza in Kennington and beyond

Sadly Counter Termini and Counter both closed down shortly after the opening of Termini.

There’s a bit of a dearth of Italian restaurants in Kennington at the moment. First of all Sirena’s shut down, apparently because the office it was based in wanted something healthier and more modern. Then Amici closed for an extended refurbishment that doesn’t seem to be progressing. Even Pizza Express was briefly closed due to flooding. Well, there’s a new restaurant in town and to say it’s the best Italian in the area really doesn’t do it justice – Counter Termini serve some of the best pizza we’ve had.

Counter Termini interior - kenningtonrunoff.com

The premises used to be Back Counter, on the other side of the railway arch from Counter itself. The interior hasn’t changed much, except for the introduction of a wood-fired pizza oven.

Counter Termini pizza oven - kenningtonrunoff.com

As well as pizza, they serve antipasti, salads and drinks every day from 11.30am to late. We went along to one of their ‘sneak preview’ nights. They’re now in ‘soft launch’ mode, and they’re offering 2-4-1 on all pizzas until June 30th (except when there’s an ICC match at the Oval). If you book, quote ‘Friends & Family’.

This is the Verdura pizza with cherry tomato, aubergine, artichokes, yellow courgette, ricotta, aged balsamic – fresh, flavoursome, and so good we started eating it before taking the photo. Normally it costs £9:

Pizza Verdura with cherry tomato, aubergine, artichokes, yellow courgette, ricotta, aged balsamic at Counter Termini - kenningtonrunoff.com

Equally great was the Tonno pizza with tomato, tuna, red onions, capers, oregano (you can probably guess why part of it isn’t in the photo – yum yum). Normally £11:

Pizza Tonno with tomato, tuna, red onions, capers, oregano at Counter Termini - kenningtonrunoff.com

They’re also rightly proud of Mahrez’ Greek Salad:

Mahrez's Greek salad at Counter Termini - kenningtonrunoff.com

They do takeaway, and they’re about to launch delivery services via Uber Eats and Deliveroo.

Counter Termini is a great addition to West Kennington and indeed to London.

Address: Arch 50, South Lambeth Road, London, SW8 1SR

T – 020 3693 9600

The Kennington Lunch Revolution

It has been all change on the Kennington lunch scene recently.

The Hangout is a new cafe next to Papa John’s. The interior is lovely and the exterior will come into its own once the Northern Line Extension works at Kennington Green are finished. The chef and the proprietor were arguing throughout our visit, perhaps about our burnt toast and uninspired vegetarian brunch. We’ll give it another try once they’ve had a chance to get over their teething problems.

The Hangout exterior - kenningtonrunoff.com

burnt cheese toastie at The Hangout

burnt cheese toastie at The Hangout

vegetarian brunch at The Hangout

vegetarian brunch at The Hangout

Vergies is now Cafe 303 but otherwise seems unchanged. A nice, light cafe, good for unusual sandwiches.

Cafe 303 - kenningtonrunoff.com

Livewire Kitchen is a relatively new arrival in Vox Studios in West Kennington with good fresh lunch options, and generous portions of salads and tortilla.

Livewire Kitchen counter - kenningtonrunoff.com Livewire Kitchen fridge - kenningtonrunoff.com Livewire Kitchen mix of salads and tortino with salad - kenningtonrunoff.com

The only down side is the feeling that you’re eating your lunch in someone else’s work canteen.

Livewire Kitchen tables - kenningtonrunoff.com

Little Lisbon is a greasy spoon with added Portugese options like octopus salad, and very friendly service.

Little Lisbon - kenningtonrunoff.com

Louie Louie is a very exciting addition to the Walworth Road – more of that soon.

All this means that Sally White hasn’t been quite as busy as it used to be since reopening, but the advantage of that is you can often get a seat, and the brownies remain flawless as ever.

Sally White shopfront - kenningtonrunoff.com Sally White cakes and savouries on marble - kenningtonrunoff.com

New year, new Counter

Sadly Counter closed down in June 2017. Let’s hope they reopen.

Counter have stepped up their food game, with the recruitment of a pedigree new chef – Mahrez Loukal, ex of Quaglino’s  and Chez Bruce, has come in as Head Chef and frou-froued up the menu with a touch of Gallic class. The brasserie staples (burger, steak, veal chop) are still there, now rubbing shoulders with wild sea trout & Granny Smith apple tartare  (pictured), tartiflette and pigeon.

Wild sea trout and Granny Smith apple tartar, chives, creme fraiche at Counter - kenningtonrunoff.com

Our other choice of starter was the decidedly un-French duck tacos, which Chef Mahrez has yet to banish from West Kennington:

Pulled Gressingham duck tacos, cucumber, sweet and sour sauce at Counter - kenningtonrunoff.com

The honey glazed wild salmon fillet, grilled artichokes & dandelion leaves (pictured) was the highlight. No clues on the menu as to whether the dandelions were provenance Pleasure Gardens, but we are hoping that’s the translation of its ‘Seasonal’ claim.

Honey glazed wild salmon fillet, grilled artichokes, dandelion leaves at Counter - kenningtonrunoff.com

For those of you who are in the throes of Veganuary, there’s the Quinoa Hot Pot:

Quinoa hot pot at Counter - kenningtonrunoff.com

If you haven’t been back to Counter since the excitement of its opening months, now would be a great time to return for brunch, lunch or dinner.

London SW8 1SP

020 3693 9600

opening hours:
Monday to Thursday    7am-12:30am
Friday    7am-1:30am
Saturday    9am-1:30am
Sunday    9am-12:30am