Penny Blood's Black Book - My Independent Guide to London » South

Brixton Village

Penny Blood — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 17:45:03 +0000

Things are changing around here. Not so long ago I would with true devotion avoid going south of the river at all costs. However, slowly but surely I’m beginning to realise that all the good stuff really is cropping up way down…there, south of the river. I like to think that north of the river is like New York, it’s great but it knows it’s great which makes it not so great and south of the river is like London, where it doesn’t really appreciate how great it is, (this all being said it would take a meteor to hit East London to move me.) My good friend Tamsin had been muttering about Brixton Village saying I really should check it out. I just presumed it was South London’s attempt at something like Regents Park Road, a collection of pretty but overpriced and pointless boutiques and shops. Well now I’m kicking myself that I didn’t go sooner. I think I can honestly say that Brixton Village is the most brilliant place I have been…in the world…ever. In an old covered market behind Brixton station all kinds of little eateries, shops, cafes and take-away’s have collaborated to create an overwhelming experience of choice. Every taste is provided for. Plenty of attention has gone into the style and look of each place so it’s impossible to decide where to go, everywhere looks great and everywhere is cheap, this would never happen north of the river, I love Brixton. There are ethnic South American and African restaurants along with Pakistani and trendy Western style cafes all of which are very cool, so not too authentic, along with juice bars, gelato shops and a great wheat and gluten free take away. I mean it everyone will be happy here. I made you a little map below of some of my favourite places.

1. El Rancho de Lalo (Latin American Restaurant)
078778772171
Monday – Friday 9am-5pm (Saturday 6pm)

2. Honest (Hamburger Restaurant)
07739 182 955
Tuesday – Wednesday 12pm -4pm Thursday – Saturday 12pm-4pm, 6pm-10pm Sunday 12pm-4pm
www.honestburgers.co.uk

3. Collectibles (Antique Shop)
07507669921
www.collectible-s.co.uk

4. Relay Tea Room
relay.boutique@gmail.com
Wednesday-Sunday 10am-5pm (Thursday 7pm-10pm)
www.relay-boutique.blogspot.com

5. Wag (Wheat and gluten free take away restaurant)
02072746267
Monday-Tuesday, Friday 10am-6pm Wednesday 10am-4pm Thursday 10am-7pm
Saturday 9.30am-6pm Sunday 11am-4pm
www.wagfreefood.com

6. The Agile Rabbit (Pizza Restaurant and Cafe)
02077387646
Monday-Wednesday 10am-6:15pm Thursday-Saturday 10am-10pm
www.facebook.com/pages/The-Agile-Rabbit/139582972752995

7. Elephant (Pakistani street food)
07590389684
Tuesday-Wednesday 12pm-6pm Thursday-Saturday 12pm-10pm Sunday 12pm-5pm
www.elephantcafe.co.uk

8. Santa Fereno (Colombian Restaurant)
07956555944 / 0795348193 / 02077330864
Monday-Wednesday 8am-5pm Thursday – Saturday 8am – 10pm Sunday 10am – 4.30pm

9. Brixton Cornercopia (Restaurant and Cafe)
07404566663 / 07919542233
Tuesday-Saturday 12pm-3am Thursday-Saturday 6.30pm-10pm Sunday 11am-3pm
www.brixtoncornercopia.ning.com

10. Casa Sibilla (Italian Restaurant)
07756574077 / 07792692112
Wednesday 11am-5pm Thursday-Saturday 11am-10.00pm Sunday 11am-5pm
www.casa-sibilla.com

11. Sweet Tooth (Old fashioned Sweet Shop)
07949289970
www.ilovesweettooth.co.uk

12. Federation Coffee (Cafe)
Monday-Friday 8am-5pm Saturday 10am-5pm Sunday 9.30am-4pm
www.federationcoffee.com

13. Brick Box (African Carribbean Restaurant)
0207 274 2211
Tuesday-Wednesday 10.30am-6pm Thursday-Saturday 10.30am – 10.00pm Sunday 10.30am-5pm
www.brickbox.terapad.com

14. Breads etc.. (Breakfast Restaurant)
07717 642 812
www.breadsetceterabakery.com

Brixton Village, Granville Arcade, Atlantic Road, SW9 8PS

www.spacemakers.org.uk/projects/brixton

Relay Tea Room

Tooting Tram and Social

Penny Blood — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:49:35 +0000

The Tooting Social Club gets full marks for decoration I can tell you that. The location is another story though. On the one hand it’s in such a far-flung and how do I say diplomatically, ‘vibrant’ area (translation hellhole) that it can’t help but have a “we’re not joining the Shoreditch bandwagon” vibe about it, which I have to say I wholly approve of. On the other hand it’s in a far-flung hellhole. Tooting has dedicated it’s presence to fried chicken shops, pound shops and betting shops but fortunately The Tooting Social Club is tucked away up an alley so for a moment you can forget all that. I’m counting it in my top ten though because it just looks so great, you just can’t put into words how stunning it is. As a former Tram Shed it has 75ft ceilings which invoke the impression of a vastly eccentric ballroom with epic chandeliers and sixties lamps. The multitude of worn and comfortable leather couches, odd pictures (I spot a Tretchikoff –yes!) and ornaments give this bar wonderful charisma.

www.antic-ltd.com/tooting

Tooting Tram and Social, 46-48 Mitcham Road, London, SW17 9NA
0208 767 0278
Tuesday – Thursday 5.00pm – 12.00am Friday 4.00pm – 2.00am Saturday 1.00pm – 2.00pm Sunday 1.00pm – 12.00am

Relay Tea Room

Penny Blood — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 13:44:14 +0000

I give Tamsin credit for this one, it was she who told me about Brixton Village, my greatest find to date, an amazing warren of cafes, shops and restaurants all housed in an old covered market. We kept meaning to go along to ‘Pudding Club’ which happens usually every Thursday at the Relay Tea Room but never quite made it as, as soon as we got started on the red wine and were cosily ensconced in her lovely flat it would take more than Apple Trifle (with a touch of calvados) and Red Velvet Bon Bons to get me out the house, I can’t believe I’m saying this, Red Velvet Bon Bons! So on my first visit to Brixton Village I inevitably came across this adorable little place, The Relay Tea Room, a tiny little space with only a few tables, it’s a perfect spot for a cup of tea and a cupcake (made on site), I can’t wait to go back for the pudding though.

www.relay-boutique.blogspot.com

Relay Tea Room, (5th Avenue) 74 Brixton Village, Atlantic Road, London, SW9 8PS
boutique@gmail.com
Wednesday – Sunday 10.00am-5.00pm (Thursday 7.00pm-10.00pm)

Book Mongers

Penny Blood — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 11:32:27 +0000

I found Book Mongers totally by accident when I was looking for Brixton Village. Brixton has many great places, give it time and no doubt it will be what Shoreditch has become, although I think it has a few years in it yet. Book Mongers is the sort of place that anyone who has a passion for books will instantly love. It has a good selection of new and old books all arranged into categories, film, sci-fi, poets, literature, travel, male American writers, female American writers, they are very specific! The shelves are piled high and tight and stacked up on the floor, there just isn’t enough space for all their stock. It’s just a book geeks dream with a little sofa at the back to browse before you buy with every conceivable space covered in pictures or stuffed with books on every subject.

Book Mongers, 439 Coldharbour Lane, London, SW9 8LN
0207 738 4225
Monday – Saturday 10.30am – 6.30pm

Terry’s Cafe

Penny Blood — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 12:50:40 +0000

It’s 10.15pm on Sunday night, my phone rings, a high pitched voice on the other end of the line, “Are you working this week? I need someone to cover, our receptionist has made it through to the final of Britain’s Next Top Model”, uh really, yes I suppose so. The life of a receptionist, I’ve recently discovered is not a bad one. As long as you stick to fancy design or PR firms, the responsibilities are slim to none leaving plenty of time to read fashion blogs. Although I must give myself some credit as from time to time a major task is tossed my way like going to buy fruit for the office. Always a nice opportunity to leave the desk and go for a walk, this particular occasion threw up a spectacular find. Terry’s. Despite having been around for three decades, Terry’s isn’t as old as it looks. I could swear it’s been here since the 19th Century. With waiters festooned in white aprons and nostalgic photographs on the wall, Terry’s emanates what a family business is all about, love, dedication and attention to detail. I merely ordered toast and strawberry jam. What I got was thick white crusty bread with a whole jar of strawberry jam and a jar of marmalade to chose from, it doesn’t get much better than that.

http://www.terryscafe.co.uk/

Terry’s Cafe, 158 Great Suffolk Street, London, SE1 1PE
020 7407 9358
Monday – Friday 7am-2pm; Saturday 7:30am-12pm

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Breads Etcetera

Penny Blood — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 10:56:42 +0000

Take this for a concept, all you can eat toast. It’s a nifty idea and we all like a good gimmick. Each table has it’s own Dualit toaster and there is a selection of lots of different freshly baked bread and a variety of jams and spreads to choose from along with various side dishes. There are all kinds of breakfasts you can order as well if toast isn’t your thing. They’ve nailed the lighting too – red brick walls, wooden floors and framed mirrors on the walls make it all very cosy. I come for the hot chocolate, they make it French-style using liquid chocolate rather than powder. Breads etcetera alone is worth crossing the river for.

Breads Etcetera, 127 Clapham High Street, London, SW4 7SS
07717 642812
Tuesday – Saturday 10.00am-10.00pm Sunday 10.00am-4.00pm

Secondo

Penny Blood — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 15:07:05 +0000

This part of Clapham has fond memories for me. Memories of the time I was sitting in my friend’s living room having a cup of tea and some whacked out junkie kicked the front door down and chased us out of the house with a giant German Shepherd and a heavy roll of recycling bags hitting me over the head with them. Nice place I’m telling you. It’s not all bad though. Secondo will certainly turn first impressions of Clapham North around. The first thing that caught my attention was the enormous cakes. Cakes so huge they look fake. And the food! Huge generous portions of salads, BBQ chicken and giant meat pies. It’s a great setting too. Housed in a railway arch, it’s part vintage shop, part cafe, part bar, with kitsch and retro furniture, an old caravan and colourful customers. It’s one of my favourite places in London despite the locals.

http://www.secondouk.com/

Secondo, 642 Voltaire Road, London, Clapham SW4 6DH
020 7720 7059
Monday – Thursday 10am-10pm; Friday – Saturday 10am-3am; Sunday 10am-8pm

Clapham Picture House

Buenos Aires

Penny Blood — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 16:46:55 +0000

I thought it about time I should pay a visit to the Greenwich Meridian. Well I can tell you there isn’t much to look at. It would have been far more exciting if there was a one hour time difference depending on what side of the line you were standing on, but no, it’s just a big park. Greenwich is an exhaustive tourist trap with nothing much to speak of really, it doesn’t really feel like it’s part of London actually. The good thing about Greenwich though is the Buenos Aires Cafe. A spacious but cosy cafe/restaurant, Buenos Aires Cafe is a great place for lunch or just a great big coffee. Run by an Argentinian/British husband and wife team they serve up the tastiest traditional and authentic food from each country. From Italian hams, French patisseries, British jams and Spanish cheese to authentic Argentinian specialities. It’s a great place to spend a couple of hours I promise you.

http://www.buenosairesltd.com/bac-green.html

Buenos Aires Cafe, 86 Royal Hill, Greenwich, London, SE10 8RT
0208 488 6764

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Balham Bowling Club

Penny Blood — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 14:00:19 +0000

It may be way down south, miles from anywhere but the Balham Bowling Club is a great pub. It’s pouring with rain and I had to cut an epic breakfast at Little Georgia on Broadway Market with N.I.C.N.M* short as the night before I had the stupid idea that Sunday lunch at the B.B.C was a good idea even though it meant trekking down from Bethnal Green in monumentally shit weather. And just as I get there I get a call saying that my friends are all still at home eating gluten free pancakes, that’s bloody great. So out of 8 people I’m the only one here, what a loser! Not to worry though this place is just great, there’s nowhere quite like it. It’s decorated in a theme somewhere between an old school and a sports club, like a set from the History Boys with gaudy furniture and tapestries, basically one giant junk shop neatly arranged. There are billiard tables and Chesterfield couches and big rooms with lots of nooks and crannies to sit in. Only thing is it’s not very cosy but at least it’s not crowded.

*N.I.C.N.M (Name I Can Not Mention) was like my best friend for about 6 months. After knowing him for 2 months I moved into a spare room in his house, this turned out to be a mistake. It came to light that N.I.C.N.M is a hybrid between the character in American Psycho and Julia Roberts’ husband in Sleeping with the Enemy. You get the idea. Freakishly anal he would label all the shelves in the kitchen with a dynamo, things like “small cups” plates and bowls” cereal bowls”, large plates” I always thought at the very least plates and large plates and bowls and cereal bowls should be in the same cupboards, anyway N.I.C.N.M thought otherwise. There was one shelf marked “glasses” which was always empty so I put mugs in there as there wasn’t enough room in the “mugs” shelf. He came up to me one day saying that ‘Adam (our other housemate) was fucking with his head putting things in the wrong places’, when I confessed it was me he (in all seriousness) told me how disappointed he was in me so I pointed out we didn’t own any glasses. The next day he bought one single glass and put it on the shelf. He had turned the garage into his personal gym decorated with pictures of Cindy Crawford in a bathing suit in the early 90′s and listened to Mariah Carey really loud whilst lifting weights and then obsessively recorded his reps on a board on the wall. He had bizarrely neat hand writing. He also used to collect anything with a rainbow pattern this included spending £7 on a rainbow shaped eraser he bought of ebay. He would keep all his shirts in the order of the rainbow on coathangers in various shades, again following the colours of the rainbow. Nothing got N.I.C.N.M more excited than a new shade to add to his collection. He also loved Usher and had a gay pet parrot (which like N.I.C.N.M hated girls) which was the most pointless pet in the world as all it did was shreak and shit everywhere.

Balham Bowling Club, 7 Ramsden Road London, SW12 8QX
020 86734700
Monday – Saturday 9am-6pm

Caffe-in

Radio Days (and What the Butler Wore)

Penny Blood — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:04:34 +0000

When it comes to vintage I think London trumps any other city. (Apart from Tokyo perhaps) Well yes every vintage store sells the same stuff like it’s all sourced from some giant warehouse in the sky but at least it’s all somewhat affordable. LA used to be cheap, not any more, New York is so expensive you’d be better off shopping at Top Shop, to hell with being original, Paris is good but the stores are tiny, full of French people who won’t get out the way and you have to have some seriously strong biceps to root through the clothes crammed in within an inch of their life. Radio days has a great collection of all things vintage, kitchenware, accessories, knick-knacks, shoes, clothes and so on. It’s been here a long time and the owners are seriously dedicated. It has that vibe of somewhere you’ll just know you will find something great, even if it is a pair of mustard brown Chelsea boots a size too small. What the Butler wore is next door and also really good.

http://radiodaysvintage.co.uk/

Radio Days (and What the Butler Wore), 87 Lower Marsh Street, Waterloo, London SE1 7AB
020 7928 0800
Monday – Saturday 10-6pm, Friday closed at 7pm

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