London Peckham Restaurant Guide

“Just wow: bags and bags of flavour in every dish” – this “consistently interesting” Peckham two-year-old from chef Patrick Williams and front of house Amy Corbin (daughter of Chris) is hitting an ever-more impressive stride with its “modern and intelligent” South African-influenced cooking, service that’s “gracefully informal and knowledgeable” and an interior that’s “charming and relaxed, with subdued lighting”. It’s “generous, too – bread served with whole frying pans full of flavoured butter, for goodness sake!”. “A real treat and worth the (in my case) 350-mile round trip”, enthused one satisfied reporter.

For “ace food” and “an upbeat local boho vibe” – “Ganapati does it every time”. Chef Claire Fisher opened this small Peckham venue 15 years ago after travelling around South India. “Everything is home-made from the pickles to the parathas and you can even buy jars of pickle to take home” – and there’s a “fantastic choice for veggies and vegans too”. Top Tip – “great lunchtime thali for £8.50”.

For a “cheap ’n’ cheerful” scran-fest, Frank Yeung’s small Peckham café comes highly recommended by reporters as distant as Gloucester! It’s all about the tasty Taiwanese bao – a total wow!

“A must-visit, right by Peckham station” – whose converted Grade II ticket office houses this “excellent” two-year-old: a stand-out even by the area’s lofty standards. “Robust, even macho” dishes, from the smoker and robata grills, are central both to the open kitchen and the menu. Top Tip – “worth a visit for the WC alone” – beautifully restored, old, Victorian bogs.

Spicy scoff “continues to impress at this authentic and very busy Peckham fixture” – a corner site with terrace, which has been a well-known feature of the local food scene since 2012 (and was refurbed in December 2018). It’s not Thai-run: chef and co-owner Jane Alty worked at David Thompson’s much-vaunted Nahm (long RIP) back in the dim and distant past.

“All the dishes deliver bags of flavour and something different to the usual” at this “really interesting Balkan restaurant”, “well off-the-beaten-path (even by Peckham standards)”. Much is cooked on a charcoal grill so “there’s a happy smoky vibe to the place”, although it’s “always busy” and “can feel cramped”.

A “limited seasonal menu knocks it out of the park” at this “star neighbourhood restaurant” in Peckham (named after Pellegrino Artusi, the 19th-century ‘godfather of Italian cuisine’). There’s a “laid-back, hipster” vibe, while the “simple and cheap ingredients are well chosen and delivered at a compelling price”.

“Delicious pizza dough” with top toppings have won a solid following for this “informal” South London group, now reaching as far as Sydenham. Home-made ginger beer and locally brewed craft beer, plus artisan coffee roasted in Shoreditch, complete the deal.

Nunhead ain’t overburdened with super eating options, and this French-owned, converted old Truman pub is one of the best: “its sharing boards are tops for a cheap ’n’ cheerful meal”; and “it never fails to give great customer service”.

“A small but well-executed menu” and “great cocktails” win general applause for this “tasty, cheap ’n’ cheerful local Vietnamese” in Peckham Rye, now with a Brixton spin-off. The Nguyen family use their chef-grandmother’s recipes from 1940s Saigon.