London Brixton Restaurant Guide

Serving eighties and nineties dishes, this shipping container restaurant from former Shard and Chelsea FC chef Robbie Lorraine has been modelled on "a classic greasy spoon".

Joe and Margaux Sharratt’s “distressed-chic Brixton/Brockwell Park fixture” continues to win “top marks” for its French-inspired “small-plates at reasonable prices” (“if I lived next door I’d get rid of my kitchen!”). The “friendly, chatty and informal staff” and “South London style” also go down well, although the occasional reporter is “not so sure about the natural wines”. The same team has opened a sister venue at Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Other Palace theatre in Victoria (see also).

2017 Review: “A brilliant and totally different, fresh and wonderfully subtle fusion of southern Indian and European food” is “served up with a smile and music in a metal container in Brixton” as part of a “fun” and “funky” community project; a Soho branch is set to open in the autumn of 2016.

2018 Review: Over 50 traders help transform this formerly disused plot in Brixton into a funky community space with numerous street-food options (a partnership with Lambeth Council currently planned to run till August 2018). Survey favourites include Baba G’s Bhangra Burger (“a well thought out Indian take on burgers”, with “phenomenal mango chips and lamb jalfrezi burger”), Duck Duck Goose (“simple but excellent duck, rice and greens”… “if nothing else, come and marvel at how 3 not-small blokes manage in a kitchen that size in a sea container”), Donostia Social Club and Koi Ramen. See also Smoke & Salt.

2017 Review: “Bustling and busy” tapas bar between Clapham and Brixton, now with a Battersea offshoot. Both offer a “jolly” and “fun-packed” destination for “interesting tapas, drawing inspiration from the traditional (patatas bravas and tortilla) and beyond (tuna with almond and soy sauce)”.

“Ambitious modern British cuisine” – an “interesting” menu of “trendy but unfussy dishes that are well-prepared” – plus a good list of natural wines win consistent high praise for Nicholas Balfe’s “buzzy spot in Brixton market”, although “it can get a bit manic”. The team has opened a second venue, Levan in Peckham (see also).

2019 Review: “Different and great flavours” are to be discovered at former MasterChef winner Tim Anderson’s “fun” fixture, where he cooks up his own distinctive and very alternative ‘Japanese Soul Food’ (incorporating eclectic ingredients from nearby Brixton Market).

2018 Review: “There’s a long queue but it’s worth it” insist fans of this Brixton Market BBQ, known for its “gorgeous pulled pork and brisket”. Service can be “brusque” though, and the odd reporter felt very short-changed here: “maybe they’d run out, because we were passed off with rubbish”.

2018 Review: Fun, “friendly” tapas haunt in the atmospheric crypt under Brixton’s St Matthew’s Church, fuelled by cocktails and a decent wine selection; DJs at the weekend.

2019 Review: “Lots of small, tapas-y dishes to share, accompanied by a glass of craft beer” is the formula at this modern Indian café on the northern fringes of Brixton, which delivers “accurate, well-spiced cooking to a higher standard than one might expect”.