The Future Lambeth County Court

Posted on September 15, 2023 by Kennington Runoff

If you’ve ever waltzed down Cleaver Street (the street connecting Cleaver Square to Kennington Cross) you will have stumbled upon the majestic Lambeth County Court building, which served our community loyally for 90 years until it was decommissioned in 2017. Since then it’s been shut to the public, opening its doors only tantalisingly for art exhibits, such as the one we covered in 2019. But change is afoot and we’re here to tell you all about it.

First a potted history. In 2020 owners Duchy of Cornwall appointed property developers to transform our lovely bit of early 20^th century architecture to…you guessed it…. luxury flats. We saw the proposals in 2021 and it involved adding floors to the top, destroying the insides, and adding a huge wing to the back. Thanks to the unceasing exertions of neighbourhood groups and the strongarm of the 20^th century society, listed buildings consent was granted at the end of 2021 which fortunately squashed the overambitious dreams of said developers.

During a recent open day inside the court building, we had conversations with folks from Fathom Architects, Rolfe Judd Planning, and most importantly an advisor on heritage who is ensuring that folks adhere to Grade II listed building guidelines. What is planned is the creation of two offices (non retail) on the ground floor and then nine flats above. This will be achieved by adding an additional floor (not easily visible from street level) and an addition at the back. The courtrooms will retain their original look with one flat built entirely inside one of the courtrooms. Most importantly, the lovely curved stairway will be retained. Full details can be seen here.

Our new neighbours will be living in nine flats that range in size from 500 to 1800 (!) square feet, with the lucky sods on top having roof terraces. When I asked how much these unaffordable flats will cost, the Rolfe Judd guy squirmed in manner which we’ll call ‘contorted’, and replied ‘300 to 400, with the top ones going for a 1.5 million’. So ending up in a courtroom is really lucky for some people. Ground will probably break on the project after planning consent later next year with a 12 to 18 month construction window after that. And please don’t ask us to wade in on planning permission, as we did that in 2021 and still can’t calm the shitstorm that ensued.

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Amici Summer Party

Posted on September 12, 2023 by Kennington Runoff

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.

Cue Point London @ Orbit Brewery

Posted on September 8, 2023 by Kennington Runoff

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.

Feel Good Festival

Posted on August 30, 2023 by Kennington Runoff

Under the guise of us refusing to admit that summer is actually over, we have yet another fun and free festival happening this weekend (2 September) in Embassy Square in Vauxhall, and its called the ‘Feel Good Festival’. Now before your naughty brain gets the wrong idea (we know what you’re like), it is about wellness and not those other things that make us feel good.

While most festivals we promote on the Runoff involve abusing your body in some form, the Feel Good festival is a whole day celebration of wellness including outdoor pilates, fitness classes, live music, well being workshops, healthy food and drink (read…no bar), market stalls, and games. While this event is free some of the courses being offered are more labour intensive and there is a fee, and tickets can be scored here

The Feel Good Festival is in Embassy Gardens this coming Saturday from 10:00 to 17:00 and is free, just turn up. If you’ve never heard of Embassy Gardens you can be forgiven because it only came into existence a few years ago, and is behind the US embassy.

Victorian Vauxhall

Posted on August 23, 2023 by Kennington Runoff

Fun Things to do Over the Bank Holiday #1

In the past we haven’t really covered this annual Greater Kennington event in Spring Gardens in Vauxhall because we thought it looked a bit corny and was geared towards kids. However, it seems more interesting this year by the breadth of activities and the involvement of the great pub Jolly Gardeners and the lovely (but overpriced) beer hall Mother Kellys.

The press release states that Victorian Vauxhall will ‘recreate the magic of the past with captivating performances, vintage displays and fun for all ages’. Also holding fort will be jesters, acrobats, a regency hair salon (!), and someone intriguingly called a ‘Bubbleologist’. And we’re sure many good local food stalls will be available to keep you full. The press release also excitedly mentions the chance to go sky high in a hot air balloon. But to be honest, if you want to see people sky high in Vauxhall all you really need to do is stroll over there on any random Saturday night.

Victorian Vauxhall is this Saturday, the 26^th from 2 to 7 and is totally free. When we were sent the photo below our initial thought was that these men must be promoting some new fetish night at a Vauxhall nightclub. As it turns out, they’re portraying Victorian bodybuilders and they will also be present.

Theo’s in Elephant

Posted on August 19, 2023 by Kennington Runoff

At the Runoff we take our annual top 10 Best Places to Eat © rundown very seriously. So purely under the guise of quality assurance and not as a flimsy excuse wolf down pizza on a weeknight, we return to Theo’s in Elephant to see if it still deserves it’s #2 ranking.

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.

The Railings That Saved Lives

Posted on August 15, 2023 by Kennington Runoff

If you’re the observant or, in our case, intrusive sort you’ve probably noticed some unconventional appearing railings outside some estates in Greater Kennington. These didn’t start their life as estate railings, but rather as devices to save people’s lives.

Our little railings atop an emergency vehicle

At the beginning of World War 2 London was stripped of many of its railings in order to be melted down for use as armaments. Whether they were actually used for this purpose or just an elaborate morale boosting PR stunt remains a point of debate. Ironically, the iron railings were removed at the same time as 600,000 iron stretchers were being mass produced in order to ferry away casualties from bombsites. Fortunately not nearly that many were ever needed or would be in future, so London had a whole lot of beds on her hands….

The WW2 stretchers produced during the war were cast iron and couldn’t be melted down into anything more practical afterwards, so in a rationed post war Britain someone devised the clever idea of sticking the stretchers on their sides, welding them together, and repurposing them for use as railings outside of public buildings. In this very early version of upcycling, they were reborn as fencing and exist to this day. Today our railings attract interest from around the world but sadly, like most of the staff here at the Runoff, are not being cared for properly and are in a sorry state of repair.

Kennings Way, Kennington
Alverstone House, Oval

Stretcher railings are a very unique part of London’s quirky street furniture and we are fortunate to possess the lion’s share right here in our anointed patch. So next time you get a pesky little idea about going to the West End for a bit of culture, just pop over to your nearest estate. There is even a stretcher railing society for those of you who have a fence fetish. But if you do join, we suggest that you keep that one to yourself.

Cable Cafe & Bar

Posted on August 8, 2023 by Kennington Runoff

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.

Louie Louie

Posted on August 3, 2023 by Kennington Runoff

When you think ‘I really fancy a night in a highly acclaimed yet quiet restaurant’ the first thing that pops into your head probably isn’t Walworth Road. But alas, on a rainy Wednesday we find ourselves at the very delightful Louie Louie, nestled comfortably between Poundbusters and one of those dodgy joints where you can get your phone unlocked.

Louie Louie has the unconventional approach of having rotating chefs and menus in the evening, and until 2 September the man of the moment is Daniel Lloyd of Pamela’s Pizza. He was happy to come to our table and told us about his unconventional approach to making pizzas. Firstly, he plans to change the menu on a fortnightly basis (so don’t get your hopes up about ordering the pizzas we’re about to describe) and refreshingly asked for our feedback about how the pizzas could evolve. We love a passionate chef.

Apparently the starters do not change, and to begin we have the fermented orange hazelnut foccacia with allspice butter. This was served in three huge wedges, really too big considering the mains on the menu are all pizzas or calzones. That said it was delicious – dense and, in nice way, perfumed along with a hazelnut crunch. We let Daniel (who at one point we accidentally called ‘Danielle Lloyd’) know that two pieces would have sufficed.

It wasn’t about to fall off the table

On the pizza front, your scribe had a beef and pork ragu pizza which was almost like a pasta dish on a pizza base. Daniel explained that one of his techniques is that he uses very little cheese and tomato sauce in his pizzas and this was very generous on the meat front, with roast tomatoes and a sprinkling of parmesan being dominant. My dining partner had a cauliflower cheese and black pudding calzone. The folded over pizza was heavy on the sauce and dotted with buffalo mozzarella and the black pudding was in small chunks. To quote this secret diner it was this was ‘a bit unrelenting in its richness and creaminess’. All in all is was a delicious, if not experimental meal. But if you go, please do not mix up the chef with a former Page 3 model/Big Brother contestant.

If it is lunch you prefer, Louis Louie does a mean line in toasties. These are also served at their small outlet in Elephant Park, Little Louie, as are cocktails.