This Peckham spot is an elevated take on London’s Italian-run cafes
After working at Bocca Di Lupo, general manager Richard Crampton-Platt and chef Alex Purdie have struck out on their own, opening their version of an Italian restaurant with Café Britaly. They’ve been heavily inspired by the city’s old-school caffs but have thrown plenty of modern touches into the Rye Lane site (formerly home to Supa Ya Ramen). Not much has changed in terms of the layout but the space now bears green lino flooring, pink banquette seating, colourful abstract prints on the walls and Italian liqueur bottles lined up in shelving nooks. The menu is just as cheery as the place looks; as the name suggests, the kitchen is mashing up British and Italian dishes, so prepare for food that isn’t traditional but is a lot of fun.
Eat This
As any cafe worth its salt should, Café Britaly has all-day breakfast options, including the ‘Full Britalian’, which comprises fennel sausages, fried egg, bacon, black pudding, fried pizza dough and beans inspired by the Tuscan dish fagioli all’uccelletto. The other notable dish on the menu is the Britalian carbonara. Made with cream and topped with a fried egg, it’s certainly caused a stir online and people seem to be intrigued IRL too as we saw a fair few plates of this come out of the kitchen during our lunch.
We however swerved the pasta on our visit, a Sunday, because the weekly special that day is a porchetta roast, complete with a lemon-heavy stuffing, crispy crackling, roasties, carrots, broccoli, Yorkshire pudding and a zippy salsa verde. It’s a great Britalian take on a roast, and in fine caff tradition, a hefty serving.
Bookend that with the pizzetta crunch, a remarkably light battered and deep-fried wedge of Margherita pizza with not a drop of grease on it, and the rice pudding arancini, an oozing centre held together by a sugary crust and all kept on the right side of sweet by a sour cherry sauce, and you’ve got yourself a very satisfying meal.
Drink This
There’s a real Italian slant to the drinks offering – coffee, Crodino amongst the softies, Moretti beer, an all-Italian wine list and a concise selection of aperitivi and digestivi. With sbagliati for just £5.50, it’d be a crime not to indulge.
Why Go
Café Britaly is definitely worth a Sunday visit for that porchetta but that aside, it’s playful without being gimmicky, nostalgic yet modern, and relaxed but still thoughtful. You could pop in for a few picky bits, swing by for a coffee or come for lunch with the fam in tow and you’d leave happy.
191 Rye Lane, London SE15 4TP
cafebritaly.com