There’s a lot going on in Brixton. From street food, fashion and lifestyle markets, to iconic street art, cinemas and venues (here’s how you can help save Brixton Academy, btw), you’re not gonna get bored in this neighbourhood.
Just a stone’s throw away from the station is the environmentally friendly, up-cycled shipping container space Pop Brixton. It hosts some of the local community’s most exciting restaurants, bars and businesses like Duck Duck Goose, The New Zealand Cellar, Container Records and Make Do & Mend, and has a 200-capacity event space for gigs, cinema screenings and fitness classes.
Exactly what it says on the tin, this Bowie tribute, painted by Aussie street artist James Cochran in 2013, suddenly became a site of an overwhelming outpouring of public grief following Bowie’s death in January 2016. If you were a fan of the legend that inspired it, it’s definitely worth a look.
Of course, the food in Brixton is great too – particularly when it comes to Caribbean food. Expect all the usual Caribbean grub at Rum Kitchen alongside dishes like the grilled red snapper with mixed pepper escovitch & avocado salsa and a jerk fried chicken burger with spicy lime salt & scotch bonnet mayo. Living up to its name, the bar will also shake up over 40 cocktails and boast over 200 rums.
There are plenty of other stellar spots that celebrate Brixton’s Caribbean heritage and between those and the various, exceptional new concepts, you’ve got a lot to choose from when it comes to picking a restaurant. So we’re here to narrow it down for you: here are the best restaurants in Brixton, in no particular order.
Kricket
Created by Will Bowlby, who previously worked at The Cinnamon Club, the dishes at Kricket are inspired by Southern India but use British ingredients and modern flair to bring them up to date – think goat leg raan, Keralan fried chicken, wood pigeon with garlic pickle, Cornish crab meen moilee, duck leg kathi roll, lotus root yakni with morels & lotus root crisps, and rock oyster pakora with rhubarb chutney.
41-43 Atlantic Road, London SW9 8JL
kricket.co.uk
The Laundry
Melanie Brown, the woman behind The New Zealand Cellar in POP Brixton, also runs all-day bistro and wine bar, The Laundry, just the other side of Brixton Village on Coldharbour Lane. She’s taken over Walton Lodge, which used to be a commercial steam press laundry (hence the name) but has kept the original brickwork, mixing in vintage furniture, antique mirrors, counter and banquette seating, and a wall stacked with wine. The menu is full of comforting classics with an Antipodean twist, like beets with apple aioli, prawn cocktail, and chicken Kyiv with caesar slaw, and there’s an interesting wine list to go with that – it’s also worth asking for recommendations as the staff know their stuff.
374 Coldharbour Lane, London SW9 8PL
thelaundrybrixton.com
Fish, Wings & Tings
Run by Trinidadian chef Brian Danclair, Fish, Wings & Tings has become a Brixton Village institution. He serves up his take on Caribbean classics including reggae wings, cod fish fritters, coconut prawns, curried mutton, stew oxtail, jerk chicken and rum punch. Expect good food and good vibes.
Unit 3, Brixton Village, Granville Arcade, Coldharbour Lane, London SW9 8PR
fishwingsandtings.com
Bottle + Rye
Robin Gill and his wife Sarah’s bistro and wine bar in Brixton called Bottle + Rye is an absolute banger. Located on the edge of Brixton Market and Coldharbour Lane, the pair have carved out a little piece of Paris in south London, with a killer lineup of relaxed bistro dishes and superb natural wines. Lewis Wright has curated the wine list with a selection mostly sourced from France and Europe but also including a couple of bottles from Renegade in London, and head chef Ben Hughes-Gage has created a food menu to match – we’re talking dishes like anchovies on honey toast, raw scallop with watermelon & plum, smoked eel brandade with pink fir crisps, and gooseberry & fig leaf choux eclair.
404-406 Market Row, London, SW9 8LD
bottleandrye.com
Eat of Eden
If you’re after vegan food in Brixton, you wanna head to Eat of Eden, whose menu of Caribbean plant-based dishes has made them so popular that they’ve been able to expand with two more branches in Clapham and Lewisham. They’re known for their platters, which you can build yourself from the selection of curries, stews, rice and salads. Go for a mini platter (£13.95 for five items), an Eden platter (£19.50 for seven items) or a shared platter (£32 for 12 items) and settle into the Brixton Village patio (you might be here for a while). Expect affordable options and big portions – be careful not to fill up on the jerk jackfruit bites.
Unit 4 Brixton Village, Coldharbour Lane SW9 8PR
eatofeden.co.uk
Temaki
Temaki, London’s first authentic hand roll bar, is overseen by restaurateur A.M Dupee and chef Shaulan Steenson, who has gained experience at some of Japan’s most coveted sushi joints as well as at London’s best Japanese restaurants. The rolls are available individually or in sets and are rolled to order before being handed over the counter. If you order a set – we think this is the best and easiest way – they all start with the akami tuna in honour of the first roll Shaulan had when working in Japan. The unagi (BBQ eel), otoro tuna with spring onion and crab with egg yolk & white soy are also excellent. It’s a handroll bar so naturally these are the main attraction but you definitely don’t want to skip the small plates, especially the monkfish karaage. The quality of sushi at Temaki is right up there with the best in the city, with the added bonus of not costing a bomb and the informal and friendly atmosphere make it great for solo dining.
Unit 12 Market Row, London, SW9 8LD
temaki.co.uk
Enish
A branch of the prolific group (they’ve got eight other branches in London, as well as two in Dubai), Enish is a bustling Nigerian restaurant with an extensive menu of authentic dishes. They’ve got all the classics, including the likes of jollof rice, ogbono soup (with or without swallows), fried plantain, yam porridge, a range of suyas as well as various other meats and fish from the grill. Aside from the food, they’ve got a regular programme of live music and DJs – you’re not gonna be bored with a night out at Enish.
330a Coldharbour Lane, London SW9 8QH
enish.co.uk
Maremma
A slice of Tuscany in SW London, Maremma gets its name from the region of the same name – as well as the inspiration behind its simple and seasonal menu. The dishes here centre around a selection of fresh pasta made in-house daily, as well as top-quality meat and fish cooked over a charcoal grill. Maremma’s wine list is brimming with Tuscan gems and a lot of the food (including salumi, cheeses and olive oil) is imported directly from Tuscany, so you can be sure that what you’re getting is properly authentic. Buon appetito!
36 Brixton Water Lane, London SW2 1PE
maremmarestaurant.com
Naughty Piglets
Founded by wine buff Margaux Aubry and chef Joe Sharratt, Naughty Piglets is Brixton’s favourite local bistro. It’s beloved for its extensive list of natural wines and modern European menu of small plates, like ham croquettes, gnocchi with pesto & dried olives, duck Kyiv with wild garlic butter, Cornish turbot with courgettes & butter sauce, and creme caramel. Super intimate (with just 29 covers) and super friendly, this is the place to go if you want to feel like a well-fed, welcomed part of the community.
28 Brixton Water Lane, London SW2 1PE
naughtypiglets.co.uk
Lost in Brixton
Lost In Brixton is the rooftop bar that is hidden on top of Brixton Village from the team behind Pergola Paddington and Pergola Olympia. You will find a Latin American-inspired cocktail menu featuring a 16-strong spritz collection, and fresh beer from neighbours Brixton Brewery. Lost in Brixton also provides food from the traders inside Brixton Village and Market Row, like Franco Manca, Fish Wings & Tings, Jalisco and Thunderbird Fried Chicken. Using the Tablesnapper app you order from the village and have your food delivered to the rooftop terrace, meaning you have all the choice and none of the hassle, and we like that.
Brixton Village, Coldharbour Lane, London, SW9 8PS
lostinbrixton.com