Fashion & Gardens at the Garden Museum?

No, us neither, but it’s worth going to visit the Garden Museum while the Fashion & Gardens exhibition is on (until April 27th) to see floral artist Rebecca Louise Law’s installation called ‘The Flower Garden Display’d’. She has hung over 4,600 flowers from the roof of the museum (a former church), and it’s quite something.

The Flower Garden Display'd by Rebecca Louise Law at The Garden Museum - Kenningtonrunoff.com

Join Rebecca Louise Law under ‘The Flower Garden Display’d’ for a discussion with photographer Rachel Warne about The Beauty of Decay, dying flowers and the afterlife of gardens, on Tuesday at 6.30pm (tickets £10).

The museum is open every day and admission costs £7.50 for adults, but it’s free if you just want to go to the cafe, which is good and vegetarian, and you’ll walk under ‘The Flower Garden Display’d’ on your way through.

On your way out, you can check out The Garden Museum’s expansion plans, which involve re-creating part of Tradescant’s Ark. Tradescant’s Ark was Britain’s first museum open to the public, started by John Tradescant and his son John Junior, who are buried in what is now the garden of the Garden Museum. The original Tradescant’s Ark was in North West Kennington and featured a stuffed dodo, drums from Africa, weapons from Java, and a series of complaints from Walworth.

The top ten best restaurants in Kennington – numbers 4 to 2

4. Aobaba
pros: top quality Vietnamese food and loads of choice – who needs Kingsland Road?
cons: it’s a brightly lit cafeteria on the side of an Oriental supermarket so don’t come here for the ambiance
hygiene rating: 4

3. The Ragged Canteen at Beaconsfield
pros: super tasty vegetarian food and organic Monmouth coffee
cons: it’s not open that often (they serve hot food Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays from noon, last orders 2.25pm; at other times it’s drinks and cakes)
hygiene rating: 4

2. Brunswick House
pros: totally unique setting amidst LASSCO’s antiques, plus top quality seasonal food
cons: the staff can be rude, and if you want to buy the chair you’re sitting on, be prepared to remortgage your house first
hygiene rating: 3

the winner will be revealed on Wednesday

Brunswick House

Brunswick House

Kennington Runoff’s top ten restaurants in Kennington

On Sunday we will begin our countdown of the top ten restaurants in Kennington – and we’re looking for your input which we will ignore before compiling the list ourselves.

So don’t hesitate, leave a comment here or email your favourites to kenningtonrunoff@gmail.com

If you’re looking for inspiration, try here.

n.b. Dragon Castle is ineligible for this poll – don’t ask why, but there’s a clue here.

Dragon Castle - kenningtonrunoff.com

what part of Kennington should you live in?

What could you eat forever?

  • A) coconut and tamarind fish curry
  • B) double Ginger Pig-bred cheeseburger in a brioche bun
  • C) ceviche
  • D) lemongrass sesame pork rice vermicelli
  • E) quinoa and camargue red rice salad
  • F) spicy hot beef and okra stew on injera
  • G) McDonald’s happy meal

What is your jam?

  • A) Heaven Is A Place On Earth by Belinda Carlisle
  • B) Slave To The Rhythm by Grace Jones
  • C) Windowlicker by Aphex Twin
  • D) Pass Out by Tinie Tempah
  • E) Vindaloo by Fat Les
  • F) You Got The Love by Florence & The Machine
  • G) Timber by Pitbull feat. Ke$ha

Which is your favourite Kevin Spacey?

  • A) House of Cards Kevin Spacey
  • B) LA Confidential Kevin Spacey
  • C) The Usual Suspects Kevin Spacey
  • D) Seven Kevin Spacey
  • E) Late night dog walking Kevin Spacey
  • F) American Beauty Kevin Spacey
  • G) K-PAX Kevin Spacey

What’s on the top of your Kennington bucket list?

  • A) watching Florence from Florence & The Machine do an impromptu drunken covers set at a tiki bar
  • B) dancing till the sun comes up then comes down again
  • C) going to Radiohead’s Boiler Room takeover at Corsica Studios
  • D) exploring urban forests and soaking up ruin porn before it’s too late
  • E) attending a private view at Damien Hirst’s new gallery
  • F) going to a test match
  • G) watching Millwall play at home

How did you score?

Mostly A’s – you should live in Central Kennington
Mostly B’s – you should live in West Kennington (formerly known as Vauxhall)
Mostly C’s – you should live in North Kennington (formerly known as Elephant & Castle)
Mostly D’s – you should live in East Kennington (formerly known as Walworth)
Mostly E’s – you should live in North West Kennington (formerly known as Lambeth)
Mostly F’s – you should live in South Kennington (formerly known as Oval)
Mostly G’s – you should not live in Kennington; would suggest Fallujah, or Clapham

Kennington vs local postcards, Lassco Maltby Street - kenningtonrunoff.com

Emanuel Peruvian restaurant

Big things are happening with Peruvian cuisine in London – Soho’s Ceviche now has its own cookbook, and Fitzrovia’s very fine Lima restaurant was recently awarded a Michelin star. But fear not – North Kennington, AKA London’s Latin American Quarter, has its own Peruvian restaurant, Emanuel on Amelia Street (in fact it has more than one, but that is for another day). We’ve never been to Peru but based on dining experiences elsewhere in Latin America, we suspect Emanuel is a lot closer to what you’ll find in Peru than Lima is. It’s not much to look at inside or out, but go there for the food and the atmosphere. We went on a Sunday lunchtime when the kitchen is open until 3pm, and it was packed with Latin Americans, including one birthday party.

While you’re waiting for your food – and it could be a while if they’re busy – they will bring you toasted chulpe corn, AKA cancha salada, Peru’s all-time favourite snack, which is like crunchier popcorn:

Cancha salada - toasted chulpe corn - Emanuel Peruvian restaurant - kenningtonrunoff.com

Ceviche (pretty different to what you’ll get in the Soho Ceviche):

ceviche - Emanuel Peruvian restaurant - kenningtonrunoff.com

Paella (pescatarians will do fine at Emanuel; vegetarians less well):

paella - Emanuel Peruvian restaurant - kenningtonrunoff.com

And to drink, how about an Inca Kola, a Peruvian national icon containing lemon verbena, or Cristal, a Peruvian lager (not to to be confused with the Chilean or Cuban beers of the same name):

Inca Kola and Cristal beer - Emanuel Peruvian restaurant - kenningtonrunoff.com

Actually, before you order the Kola, check the nutritional advice:

Inca Kola nutrition advice - Emanuel Peruvian restaurant - kenningtonrunoff.com