Cupcakes & Shhht

The best thing about Cupcakes & Shhht is that they made the brave move to go totally vegan – the first such cafe/restaurant in the area – and they do great brunches and meat alternatives as well as cupcakes, so you won’t miss the meat or dairy.

Cupcakes & Shhht counter - kenningtonrunoff.com

This is their chicken burger – it’s not really chicken but it tastes pretty close:

Cupcakes & Shhht Ficken Burger - kenningtonrunoff.com

These are blueberry pancakes, topped with banana and cinnamon and drenched in syrup and Oatly cream:

Cupcakes & Shhht banana pancakes - kenningtonrunoff.com

You can eat in, but this being Artworks, there isn’t loads of space inside:

Cupcakes & Shhht interior - kenningtonrunoff.com

In better weather you can sit outside:

Cupcakes & Shhht exterior - kenningtonrunoff.com

Or you can take away or get Deliveroo, but bear in mind brunches don’t travel particularly well.

The worst thing about Cupcakes & Shhht is the name. It’s confusing – they are about so much more than cupcakes – and cringeworthy. It won’t stop us going along but it does make it harder to recommend it to people.

They’re open every day 9am to 5pm except Sunday 10am to 5pm.

Address: Unit 10, The Artworks, Elephant Road, Elephant and Castle SE17 1AY.

 

Sugar Pot – NEW CAFE ALERT!

Kennington Park Parade is taking over from the stuttering Windmill Row to become Kennington’s latest hot spot for shopping. First QueArts opened up there, and now, in the former premises of Peter’s Shoe Design Studio, there’s Sugar Pot, a brand new, rather lovely cafe that’s already doing great business, especially when the sun comes out:

Sugar Pot exterior - kenningtonrunoff.com

Sugar Pot is run by a local family and many of the clientèle seem to be their friends – or perhaps they’re just good at befriending their customers. Either way, everyone is very friendly, staff and customers.

Counter at The Sugar Pot - kenningtonrunoff.com

n.b. If you weren’t aware, San Pellegrino is very salty.

Their menu is getting steadily longer. So far it doesn’t include fresh juices or smoothies but watch this space. The bread is by… who else but the wonderful Kennington Baker.

Sugar Pot menu - kenningtonrunoff.com

We had the banana bread (they’re right, it is lovely warmed with butter), and a fresh mint tea served in vintage crockery. The daffodils came with the table:

Daffodils, vintage crockery and warm toasted banana bread - kenningtonrunoff.com

So far they’re not open on Sundays but we hope that will change in the future – it’s the kind of place we’d like to visit on a Sunday.

Address: 248 Kennington Park Road, London SE11 4DA

If you’re thinking of opening a shop in Kennington, it’s not too late to jump on the Kennington Park Parade bandwagon – these premises are to let a few doors down from The Sugar Pot:

premises to rent near Sugar Pot - kenningtonrunoff.com

Pharmacy 2 with Ronnie O’Sullivan

We weren’t overly excited when we heard the restaurant at Newport Street Gallery was going to be Pharmacy 2. Damien Hirst is an artist whose reputation is built on great ideas, so why recycle one from the nineties? (The original Pharmacy opened in Notting Hill in 1998, closing in 2003.)

Medicine cabinets at Pharmacy 2 - kenningtonrunoff.com

Then we heard the food would be by Mark Hix, longstanding friend of the (not young anymore) Young British Artists. We are fans of Mark’s cooking but it tends to be rather meaty, and the two times we went to Hixter Bankside it was almost as quiet as Gordon Ramsey’s place round the corner on Great Suffolk Street.

The bar at Pharmacy 2 - kenningtonrunoff.com

Also, our solicitation came to naught – we did not receive an invite to Pharmacy 2’s opening. But to make it up to us, they arranged for the most talented and compelling sportsman of his generation, Ronnie O’Sullivan, to be dining there with Damien Hirst during our first visit (Ronnie had the steak).

Ronnie O'Sullivan and Damien Hirst at Pharmacy 2 - kenningtonrunoff.com

From the moment we entered and saw Ronnie, we had a great time. The decor may not be a new idea, but it’s fun to look at, and at least it’s not a Polpo rip-off. There are no other restaurants remotely like this in the area, and it seems to be doing well, being close to capacity for both our visits.

As for the food, most of it was great. Struggling to find a vegetarian main course, one of us had two starters instead, although we’ve since seen there is a vegetarian menu on their website (perhaps you have to ask for it). Anyway, these shaved winter squash with trevisano and Graceburn cheese cost £7.50 and went down very well:

Shaved winter squash with trevisano and Graceburn cheese at Pharmacy 2 - kenningtonrunoff.com

As did these heritage beets with walnuts and chickweed, also £7.50:

heritage beets with walnuts and chickweed at Pharmacy 2 - kenningtonrunoff.com

Your other correspondent went for a flawless brunch option of smoked salmon and scrambled eggs for £9.95 (they serve brunch from 10am to 6pm every day except Monday when they’re closed):

Scrambled eggs and smoked salmon at Pharmacy 2 - kenningtonrunoff.com

On our second visit we had some tasty waffles with Yorkshire rhubarb for £7.95, but the brunch portion sizes are not large – more of a mid morning snack than a full meal.

The desserts are also small but cost just £4 so no complaints there. This pineapple upside-down cake was deliciously moist and nostalgic. So nostalgic that we went right back to the days when you just started eating instead of taking a photo first:

Pineapple upside down cake at Pharmacy 2 - kenningtonrunoff.com

The only disappointment was a side of creamed spinach, which tasted like a pie filling without the pie, and was far too salty.

Nonetheless we can wholeheartedly recommend Pharmacy 2 for brunch, lunch, dinner or drinks. It’s great fun.

They’re open Tuesday–Saturday 10am–midnight, and Sundays 10am-6pm.

Address: Newport Street, London SE11 6AJ.

Kennington Tandoori weekend breakfast & brunch

The Kennington brunch revolution continues! As of the weekend just gone, Kennington’s finest Indian restaurant Kennington Tandoori is serving breakfast and brunch from 9am to 4pm every Saturday and Sunday.

Kennington Tandoori breakfast & brunch flier

Naturally we were there on the inaugural day to see where the KT ranks in the league of Kennington brunches, and the answer could be straight in at number one. If we compare it to our previous favourite The Tommyfield, the food is as good – maybe better – and the menu is longer and more adventurous. It’s a “white linen” brunch which feels very civilised, and the room smells nicer than the Tommyfield.

KT offer three items under “fruits, grains and seeds” – granola with yoghurt, passion fruit coulis, plum compote and honey for £7.95, Madagascan vanilla porridge with mixed berries and a side of honey, also for £7.95, and these moist, flawless blueberry pancakes with caramelised bananas and maple syrup for £8.95:

Kennington Tandoori homemade blueberry pancake with caramelised bananas, blueberry, maple syrup - kenningtonrunoff.com

The Indian influence shows through more in the mains, which range in price from a paneer salad for £7.95, up to black truffle folded eggs with wild mushrooms on sour dough for £14.95. More unusual options include The KT Octopus Temptation (we weren’t tempted) and Lamb Shank Nihari (we were very tempted but managed to resist for now). They also offer Eggs Florentine and Royale, a beefburger, and this avocado and sourdough toast with poached egg, feta cheese and KT tomato salsa for £10.95:

Kennington Tandoori avocado and sourdough toast with poached egg, feta cheese and KT tomato salsa - kenningtonunoff.com

Full menu here, which says “We’ve loads of ideas for future brunches. Why not tell us yours?” via their Facebook or Twitter. As KT are renowned for their love of feedback, there is just one thing we’d change – they should serve what is surely the ultimate Indian breakfast drink – mango lassi.

Kennington Tandoori is at 313 Kennington Rd, London SE11 4QE.

brunch at The Ragged Canteen

The Ragged Kitchen - kenningtonrunoff.com

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:

The Ragged Canteen Saturday brunch menu - kenningtonrunoff.com

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.

The Tea House Theatre

On the edge of Spring Gardens, between the Black Dog and Vauxhall City Farm, is a unique kind of tea house. There’s a huge range of loose leaf teas, but be prepared to pay Mayfair prices for the specialty teas, or plump for a mug of Tetley for £1. They’re so militant about their tea that they make a point of not serving coffee, but they do have a big choice of cakes, plus breakfasts and lunches. There are board games. And yes, sometimes there is theatre, not to mention film screenings, a knitting club, chess club, and a debating society (more like a Radio 4 panel game). It’s also exceptionally baby friendly – sometimes it feels like the babies outnumber the adults.

Tea House Theatre - Kenningtonrunoff.com

Tea House Theatre cakes and tea - kenningtonrunoff.com

If you’re wondering why there are stacks of The Dangerous Book for Boys around the place, one of its authors Hal Iggulden is director of the Tea House Theatre.

The Dangerous Books For Boys in the Tea House Theatre - kenningtonrunoff.com