Old Paradise Yard

Posted on April 15, 2015 by Kennington Runoff

We finally visited Old Paradise Yard for the first time after a tip off from the Earl of Bedlam. What an interesting hive of activity!

It used to be a school for the children of the families of Lower Marsh traders, then became a Tibetan Buddhist centre. Now it’s a community of artists and creatives such as these:

From cycling clothing to sewing lessons to 3D printing to an Academy of Electronic Music, plus two places we’re planning to write more about soon: i’klectik – a vegetarian cafe and live music venue – and Gabriel Fine Art gallery.

Whoever is based in this building, we are jealous:

There will also be a church-affiliated community farm soon, for at least five years until the extension of a children’s hospital is built on the site:

Old Paradise Yard is located along the north side of Archbishop’s Park, at 20 Carlisle Lane, SE1 7LG, the other side of Lambeth Palace Road from St Thomas’s Hospital.

The Top Ten Best Restaurants in Kennington – no. 8 – Doost Persian Grill & Vodka Bar

Posted on April 12, 2015 by Kennington Runoff

Positives: Persian food is really nice and distinct from other cuisines. Doost do it well, with a menu that offers a lot of explanation of the dishes. It’s also a vodka bar (these were widespread in Iran before the revolution). And they have a very cheery sign outside:

Negatives: It’s fairly pricey for Kennington, with mains ranging from £10 to £19.90. And, while the restaurant is classy, the website is not.

Hygiene rating: 5 out of 5

Address: 305 Kennington Road, London SE11 4QE

Come back next Sunday to find out the number seven.

poll: what would you like to replace Kennington Bookshop?

Posted on April 9, 2015 by Kennington Runoff

Welcome to the first ever Kennington Runoff poll.

[poll id=”2″]

The question is a simple one and, being realistic, there may be only two possible outcomes. Which would you prefer?

Vote now by clicking above and we’ll pass the results on to Daunt Books and any estate agents we spot eyeing up the site.

versus

Here’s the new single from Kennington’s own Florence & The Machine

Posted on April 8, 2015 by Kennington Runoff

The song is about the time Florence Welch got drunk and had a water fight outside, then inside, her Kennington home so it only seems fair to recall the time Florence got drunk and performed at South London Pacific. Long may Flo continue to get drunk and do interesting things in Kennington.

Her album is is released on June 1st. It’s called How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, which is almost certainly a reference to Ovalhouse Theatre’s banner:

Mazí Mas at the Ovalhouse Theatre

Posted on April 7, 2015 by Kennington Runoff

Over Easter Weekend we went to Mazí Mas, a roaming restaurant that’s currently resident at Ovalhouse Theatre, and we were blown away.

We’d never plucked up the courage to go to Ovalhouse before and, arriving after the performance had finished, we were pleasantly surprised by how vibey the bar is on a Saturday night (it got even busier later). And they serve Effra Ale which is no Kernel but it’s pretty good.

The restaurant’s adjacent to the bar and was also full – they say there’s no need to book but we had to share a table with another couple.

Mazí Mas is a social enterprise whose chefs are female migrants and refugees from Brazil, Iran, Ethiopia, Turkey, Senegal and Peru, cooking recipes from their home countries. When we went, Roberta from Brazil was cooking and the food was delicious.

These are Roberta’s pao de quiejo (Brazilian cheese bread) and they taste as good as they look, plus they only cost £4 for five:

They use local, seasonal, sustainable ingredients and sure enough, everything tastes fresh and home-cooked. This is a main of pumpkin moqueca in coconut milk with lime (£7); they were also doing the same dish with white fish (£8) – both were great:

This is a dessert of passion fruit mousse for £4 (possibly not sourced locally but still):

The menu changes daily depending on who’s in the kitchen, although the cheese bread and passion fruit mousse seem to be permanent fixtures. Check their Twitter to find out what they’re cooking each day.

Their crowdfunding campaign is about to close and one of the offers is a meal for two for £25 which would work at as good value.

They will be at Ovalhouse every Tuesday to Saturday from 6pm to 10pm until May 30th. After that, we’d love to see them find a permanent site in Kennington.

Ovalhouse Theatre is at 52-54 Kennington Oval, SE11 5SW.

KENNINGTON NEEDS YOU to save Kennington Bookshop

Posted on April 6, 2015 by Kennington Runoff

It’s official – the “NEW SHOP LEASE” sign is up – Kennington Bookshop will be no more from Sunday May 31st 2015.

Although it’s been a successful venture for eight years, the couple who run it have come to the end of their lease and are moving on, with talk of setting up a new bookshop somewhere out of London. They are winding down the new stock and plan to take the second hand stuff with them.

Whoever takes on the site will have big boots to fill, as the Guardian notes: “it quickly became a fixture in the local community, famed for its customer service and bright, peaceful feel. The range is eclectic and individual; carefully chosen books are laid out on antique tables, with Georgian-style bookcases holding all the major categories of fiction and non-fiction.”

The landlords will be looking for new, experienced tenants, with a strong business plan. How about Daunt Books? With sites in Marylebone, Chelsea, Holland Park, Hampstead, Belsize Park and the City of London, Kennington would be the ideal location for their first venture south of the river.

In many ways Kennington Bookshop felt like a branch of Daunt Books – they have a similarly well thought-through book edit, and even created their own version of that bookshop bag (the Kennington one is just as ubiquitous in Kennington as the Daunt one is elsewhere):

The bookshop occupies a large site across two floors on Kennington Road with plenty of passing trade. Regular customers include Will Self, Sarah Waters, and indeed us (we buy most of our gifts there and order books for next day delivery instead of using Amazon).

Central Kennington, AKA Kennington Village, is just starting to become a real destination thanks to recent arrivals like The Boule-In, Brocket Gallery and Sally White joining stalwarts like Windmill Flowers and Space Station Sixty Five. Now would be a great time for Daunt Books to join them.

If you’d like to see Daunt Books come to Kennington, please email them here or tweet them here. We’ll be giving them our full support.

The Top Ten Best Restaurants in Kennington – no. 9 – Aobaba

Posted on April 5, 2015 by Kennington Runoff

Positives: Great, affordable, fast Vietnamese street food, bánh mì, bubble tea and Vietnamese beers.

Aobaba food - kenningtonrunoff.com

Negatives: It’s a bit of a sterile environment, being one side of an oriental supermarket on Walworth Road. Not recommended for dates.

Hygiene rating: 4 out of 5

Address: 128-132 Walworth Road, London SE17 1JL

Come back next Sunday to find out the number eight.

Requiem for the Subways

Posted on April 2, 2015 by Kennington Runoff

Sadly, the campaign to save the subways under the north roundabout in North Kennington is all over bar the singing. The 104 year old subways will be filled with concrete from April 9th.

Tomorrow, Good Friday, is your chance to say goodbye. Meet in the centre of the roundabout at 7pm. From sunset, there will be a free choral performance of a specially written composition by Danyal Dhondy, with one section being performed in each of the seven subways.

The Top Ten Best Restaurants in Kennington – no. 10 – Dirty Burger

Posted on March 29, 2015 by Kennington Runoff

Positives: One of the best, juiciest beef burgers in London. It lives up to its name, and it tastes better than it looks:

Negatives: The short menu doesn’t have much to offer the mushroom-hating vegetarian. Plus they gave us a discount card when they launched, and now look at it with incomprehension every time we present it. Oh, and it’s in the middle of a gyratory – albeit a gyratory that’s earmarked for improvement, and is becoming something of a hotspot for foodies.

Hygiene rating: 5 out of 5

Address: Arch 54, 6 South Lambeth Road, London SW8 1SS

Come back next Sunday to find out the number nine.

The Top Ten Best Restaurants in Kennington: 2015

Posted on March 26, 2015 by Kennington Runoff

By popular demand we are updating our Top Ten Best Restaurants in Kennington list for 2015.

There have been several new arrivals since last year’s list – where will they rank? Will The Lobster Pot retain the top spot? How long will it take The Friends of Kennington Tandoori to file a complaint? Find out from Sunday when we will announce the number ten.

This year we will only be including restaurants that are open in the evening, but don’t despair Sally White and The Ragged Canteen, we are also planning a Top Ten Lunch Spots in Kennington list.

last year’s no. 1

The Kennington Observer (formerly Kennington Runoff)

Surreptitiously observing Kennington, including the suburbs Vauxhall, Oval, Walworth, and Elephant since 2012