brunch at Counter Brasserie

Posted on March 15, 2015 by Kennington Runoff

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

~~The Kennington brunch revolution continues as new arrival Counter offer all-day brunch until 5pm on Saturdays and Sundays.~~

~~We made it along recently and were impressed by the quality of the food despite a few teething troubles.~~

This is banana stuffed French toast, crispy bacon, and maple syrup. Our waiter told us it couldn’t be served without bacon, although he later conceded it could. Plus the bacon wasn’t really crispy after all. But the French toast was great and definitely New York-style in the sense that it was more of a loaf than a slice:

~~This is buttermilk pancakes, blueberries, creme fraiche and vanilla syrup. Yes we got a bit over-excited and started eating before taking the photos:~~

~~This is habanero scramble, brioche, pumpkin seeds, spring onions and chilli ketchup. Tasty:~~

Another small gripe: they claim to serve fresh mint tea but actually serve peppermint teabags which is very different. Message to Counter: fresh mint tea is just fresh mint and hot water – you can do it.

~~But we’ll forgive them because the food is so tasty and there was live jazz on a Sunday:~~

~~For more info on Counter see our original piece here.~~

~~They serve some of the brunch dishes for breakfast on weekdays. Menus here.~~

Positions by Eva Stenram at Siobhan Davies Studios

Posted on March 5, 2015 by Kennington Runoff

Siobhan Davies Studios on St George’s Road is one of Kennington’s best buildings. It plays host to modern dance, yoga, pilates, therapies, and visual art, and the current art exhibition – Positions by London-based Swedish artist Eva Stenram – is the best one we’ve seen there.

This is Arrangement (after Irving Klaw), featuring reframings of risqué 1950s photos of Bettie Page and other pin up models:

This is part of her Score for a Sequence of Poses, again using pin-up photos as its inspiration:

This print is available to buy, unframed, for £60:

There are also a series of 1960s pin up photographs where Eva has digitally removed everything except one leg – eerie, and worth seeing in person.

Positions is open till March 22nd and admission is free. Eva will be leading a tour of the exhibition a week today, March 12th, from 2pm to 3pm.

Another current exhibition at the Studios addresses the age old question “is it art, or is it mould?”. It’s both! This is Lichen Colony by ceramicists Alison Proctor and Phoebe Cummings:

Photo by Robyn Caberet

Windmill Flowers

Posted on March 1, 2015 by Kennington Runoff

We’ve been raving about The Boule-In effect set to transform the Windmill Row area of Kennington, but long before The Boule-In or Sally White, there was already a lovely shop on Windmill Row – Windmill Flowers.

They do all the usual things flower shops do, plus some plants and a small but tasteful range of other gifts:

They’re open Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm and Saturday 9am to 5pm.

Brocket Gallery

Posted on February 23, 2015 by Kennington Runoff

Brocket Gallery, a contemporary art gallery formerly located above The Three Stags, is now open in its new permanent location in the basement beneath The Boule-In on Windmill Row (see our Boule-In piece for more about how it came to be there).

Brocket’s first show in the new location is ‘Selected Artists’, featuring highlights from their roster. Both the founders – exhibition maker and art dealer Lizzie Glendinning and artist Jack Bullen – studied at Kennington’s own City & Guilds, as did many of the artists they represent.

This is the space:

They have made nice use of the skylight under the pavement. This piece is called Cavity by Samuele Sinibaldi and costs £860 (skylight not included):

This is an untitled piece, made of jesmonite, by Roshna Qorbanee, for £1350 which is as expensive as anything in the show (the cheapest item is £295):

This is Precipice No. 1 by Alex N Stewart, and could be the prettiest and most expensive piece of OSB board you’ll ever buy at £1350:

And finally, another piece by Samuele Sinibaldi – A Childish Game, or as we like to call it, Pot With Handlebars, £1200:

There were also some etchings and watercolours that didn’t photograph so well. We enjoyed the exhibition and really like the space, plus it’s more accessible than some of Kennington’s other art galleries, so we’ll be regular visitors.

Sean Dower at Beaconsfield

Posted on February 15, 2015 by Kennington Runoff

If you’re heading down to The Ragged Canteen at Beaconsfield Gallery for lunch or brunch, the current exhibition under the gallery’s railway arch is worth a look too – visual artist and musician Sean Dower has a bunch of musical instruments apparently playing themselves, in a rather spooky fashion:

It’s open to the public Wednesday–Saturday, 11am–5pm, and runs until February 28th. As for The Ragged Canteen, they serve drinks and cakes whenever the gallery’s open, plus lunch Wednesday, Thursday and Friday lunchtimes, and all-day brunch on Saturdays.

Kennington’s own Florence & The Machine is back with a new song and video

Posted on February 13, 2015 by Kennington Runoff

It’s so brave and high concept. We really like it

Pre-order her album here.

brunch at The Ragged Canteen

Posted on February 12, 2015 by Kennington Runoff

The Ragged Canteen at Beaconsfield Art Gallery featured in our Top Ten Best Restaurants in Kennington list last year for their delicious vegetarian lunches. Now they’ve become the latest Kennington venue to offer all-day brunch on a Saturday, joining The Tea House Theatre, Counter, and Toulouse Lautrec (The Duchy Arms don’t start theirs till 12.30pm, while the Tommyfield and Brunswick House only do breakfast in the mornings).

Here’s the menu from a couple of weeks back:

We had a green goddess pesto and roasted vegetable toastie, and this warm winter vegetable minestrone (actually more of a stew than a soup) with spelt bread, which is a typical Ragged Canteen kind of dish:

The Ragged Canteen - winter vegetable minestrone with spelt bread - kenningtonrunoff.com

If you want Eggs Benedict or buttermilk pancakes, this is not the place for you, but if you’re in the mood for something hearty and vegetarian, you won’t do better than the Ragged Canteen. Plus the service is friendly, you’ll have no problem getting a table, and the building is great.

Counter Brasserie

Posted on February 8, 2015 by Kennington Runoff

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

Counter is the biggest, most exciting restaurant opening in the Kennington area since Brunswick House. The founder Philip Reicherstorfer, a local resident, has been working on this for three years and was initially looking at the site now occupied by Nando’s, before deciding that a different set of railway arches would be better suited. The entrance to the Counter brasserie is on South Lambeth Place, next to the Sainsbury’s Local that is next to Vauxhall station, in what briefly claimed to be VX1 Gallery (we never found it open).

Right now the brasserie is open for soft launch with half price food (you may need to book online to take advantage of this offer, which will last until Tuesday). Their advertising says “Fully open from February 14th” but we went on Friday and it was seamless, with excellent, friendly service and delicious food.

They describe the food as “New York-style French” but it’s more diverse than that – we had a starter of chili blanco, warm tortillas, and avocado salsa (normally £6.50, currently £3.25) – very tasty.

The main course of sole with brown butter, capers, confit potato and spinach (normally £17, currently £8.50) was one of the most flavoursome, succulent fish dishes we’ve ever had – even better than The Lobster Pot’s skate wing equivalent. Thank-you, head chef Dan Blucert, formerly of The Big Easy in Covent Garden.

~~Butternut squash hotpot, tomato and ancho chili (normally £14, currently £7) was also full of flavour, although the cornbread dumplings were rather dry.~~

We had a decent desert of New York cheesecake with blueberry compote, and they do their own dark and sophisticated Counter lager, brewed in the Netherlands, plus a wine list that is exclusively American and French, and plenty of cocktails and mocktails.

The clientele was nicely mixed, from Friday night revellers to middle aged gay couples to a family with a toddler. The restaurant is big (175 capacity) but was already looking pleasantly full. Ask to be seated in a booth for extra privacy and comfort. The decor is “Deco meets Disco” and will not be for everyone, but if it’s not for you then Brunswick House and Bonnington Cafe offer polar opposites just yards away.

For the rest of us, Kennington finally has a quality restaurant that’s open just about any time you’d want to go – Monday to Thursday 7am to midnight, Friday 7am to 1am, Saturday 8am to 1am, and Sunday 8am to midnight. They do all day brunch on Saturdays and Sundays till 5pm – more on that soon. Counter already looks like being a great success and will contribute a lot to the revitalisation of West Kennington.

Also, Counter’s premises will soon stretch a mammoth 60 metres back, all the way to the other side of the arches near Dirty Burger on South Lambeth Road – BackCOUNTER will open on February 12th and will be open Thursdays to Sundays at least, plus private hire. It seems aimed at a gay pre-clubbing crowd but it’s still a building site at present.

~~Here’s an architect’s sketch of the whole premises:~~

The Boule-In

Posted on January 29, 2015 by Kennington Runoff

Brocket Gallery now occupies the whole of The Boule-In’s site and Peter and Cathy are focusing on their original Suffolk business.

We’re starting to think we can make things happen in Kennington just by writing down our wishes and posting them on the internet. When works started at the site of the former ASM Music shop at the junction of Windmill Row and Kennington Road, we asked on Twitter what it was to become and Kennington’s leading celebrity tailor Earl of Bedlam replied “an architect”. We responded “Not a lifestyle boutique then?”. Pure wishful thinking – but here’s how it came true.

Cathy and Peter Bullen are the couple behind Kennington’s most exciting new shop, The Boule-In. Having lived in Provence for a spell, Cathy started selling French antiques and vintage goods from her barn and garden in Bildeston, Suffolk in 2011.

So how did they end up opening their second shop in Kennington? Their artist son Jack studied at Kennington’s own City & Guilds. Cathy and Peter have a flat in South Kennington and were having a coffee in Sally White (where else?) while pondering how to secure permanent premises for Brocket, Jack and his partner Lizzie’s contemporary art gallery which had been temporarily located above The Three Stags. They looked straight in front of them and saw the former music shop being converted, so crossed the road and met the owner who happened to be there supervising the works.

Our friends at Earl of Bedlam were right – it was supposed to be an architect’s office, but that wasn’t permitted under planning regulations, so Peter and Cathy snapped up the ground floor for The Boule-In, and they’re currently converting the basement for Brocket’s gallery (watch this space for more on that once it has opened).

Back to The Boule-In. Cathy and Peter travel to France regularly and source all their stock over there – mostly vintage collectables, homewares and textiles from France, but some from Italy and beyond.

~~The prices are a fraction of what you’d pay at LASSCO, and the Kennington shop has already been so successful that they’ve had to head back to France and restock.~~

~~They’re open Tuesday to Saturday from 10am till 6pm. If you go on a Saturday you’ll probably find Peter and Cathy themselves there and keen to chat – they are very friendly.~~

As our Central Kennington predictions for 2015 stated, we’re anticipating “The Boule-In Effect” taking hold in Windmill Row and its surrounds, with a number of ever-so-tasteful boutiques opening up in the coming months, diluting the high concentration of estate agents that dominate Kennington Cross. We can’t wait.

our North and East Kennington predictions for 2015

Posted on January 27, 2015 by Kennington Runoff

North Kennington (formerly known as Elephant & Castle) will be a messy snarl up from some time very soon for at least a year because of two massive Transport For London projects: the reconfiguration of the North roundabout, and the installation of the new cycle superhighway on St George’s Road. The number of cranes is expected to increase too, and associated construction beneath them, as Lend Lease commence work on the portion at the top of Walworth Road, including a 31 storey tower.

Ministry of Sound will get what they want in terms of planning approval, because they love to fight hard and win.

What will become of the shopping centre? Whatever it is, let’s hope it manages to keep the downtown Bogotá/magical realism vibe that makes it so vibrant at present. Likewise the Coronet and the bowling alley – North Kennington needs these!

The good news is the new Castle Leisure Centre will open in the heart of North Kennington with its two lovely pools (one of them 25m long), sports hall, gym, crèche, café, and a wooden ceiling for those doing back stroke to admire.

The Castle Leisure Centre

There will continue to be havens of green space in the area, including a new Mobile Gardeners event and gardening space opening on New Kent Road called Grow Elephant.

The modernist Perronet House (between St George’s Road and London Road on the North roundabout) will join Metro Central Heights in being listed. See this article about one of the top floor flats.

Like The Duchy Arms, North Kennington’s Marcel & Sons will cease to be a best-kept secret and become a destination eatery.

As for East Kennington, Walworth Road could become a foodie haven if some of the establishments would just sort out their Food Standards ratings.

The Kennington Observer (formerly Kennington Runoff)

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