Brixton is a special part of London. It is full of creativity, whether artists or art, restaurateurs or restaurants. And there is always some happening — a spontaneous party outside Fish Wings & Tings, perhaps, or a band on at the O2 Arena.
And for those who don’t live there, getting to Brixton is easy. The Victoria line stops in the centre, close to the best bars and restaurants SW9 (and surrounds) has to offer. Here are some of the best, including many from the centrepoint of Brixton Village.
Fish Wings & Tings
Fish Wings & Tings is Brian Danclair’s lively, celeb-filled spot in Brixton Village, now more than 10 years old. It’s home to — almost certainly — the best chicken wings in London: all are doused in a sticky guava glaze and the meat jumps happily off the bone. Also crucial are the codfish fritters with ginger sauce, moreish beyond measure, and tall glasses of sweet rum punch. Danclair’s more upmarket restaurant, Danclair’s, is a few doors down and well worth visiting, as is his latest restaurant, Veg & Tings, a vegetarian joint opposite the original and which specialises in Trinidadian doubles: chickpea curry on soft, fluffy roti.
Unit 3, Brixton Village, Coldharbour Lane, SW9 8PR, fishwingsandtings.com
Llewelyn’s
Down the road in Herne Hill is Llewelyn’s, every bit a modern London restaurant serving its locale with aplomb. It is one of those neighbourhood fixtures that might even be worth travelling to thanks to its clever use of seasonal ingredients. The menu changes, but well crafted dishes such as asparagus with brown crab mayonnaise, grilled courgettes and butterbeans, and roast lamb with feta, cucumber, and red onion salad might be on order. The wine list is worth a look too. Those inclined will spend big here.
293-295 Railton Road, SE24 0JP, llewelyns-restaurant.co.uk
The Laundry
The Laundry opened quietly in an old Edwardian laundry house about five years ago. It is perched next to Brixton Village, a slightly more formal place for those in the market. The menu is, in a way, slightly dated, one that might be better suited to a provincial chain restaurant in that leans heavily on burrata, salt and pepper squid and average sourdough. This might be harsh. It is inspired by New Zealand vibes. And the Laundry is much better than your average and comfortably priced. Prawn cocktails are £13, steak frites £21.
374 Coldharbour Lane, SW9 8PL, thelaundrybrixton.com
Temaki
Billed as London’s first genuine handroll bar, the only question over Temaki is why it hasn’t been more grandly lauded. It is an exceptional restaurant in Brixton Village, where fish is positioned snugly inside sushi rice before being rolled in nori (seaweed). The set menus are the way to go: £24, £32, or £39 respectively, rolls range from akami tuna, to prawn tempura, to barbecued eel. These paired with a la carte snacks — monkfish kaarage, slices of wagyu beef, and more — and various pours of sake make for an excellent evening.
12 Market Row, SW9 8LF, temaki.co.uk
Etta’s
Etta Burrell has run Etta’s Seafood Kitchen for almost 15 years, having snapped up a unit long before anyone ever muttered the word “gentrification”. Burrell moved to the UK from Jamaica aged 10 and is every bit a modern Brixton resident. She cooks garlic pepper prawns, hot and fiery, sweet scallops with lime dressing, big seafood curries, and ackee and saltfish, among other dishes, and sources seafood from the market each morning.
Granville Arcade, Unit 85-86 Coldharbour Lane, SW9 8PR, ettaskitchen.com
Mamalan
Ning Ma moved to London from Beijing in 1998 and comes from a family of chefs. Her great-grandfather ran a bao shop on the roadside in Beijing during the 1940s, and her mother and grandfather sold baos, dumplings and other snacks from the back of a bicycle in the decades that followed. Today, Ning serves her own Chinese street food at Mamalan, including dumplings, wings, spring rolls, wonton soups and chicken and rice. It is fun, lively food, enjoyed without too much thought.
Unit 18, Brixton Village, SW9 8PR, mamalan.co.uk
Black Bear
There are quite a few people who say Black Bear is home to London’s best burger. This is an almost impossible qualification. Regardless, it is absolutely at the top table. What is important is the meat: Black Bear gets its beef from a family run farm in Devon, where cows are treated kindly and are allowed to roam on the rolling hills, kicking up their hooves on the luscious pastures. Buns, meanwhile, are made by a London bakery to the restaurant’s spec. And so burgers, topped with cheese and whatever else (no need for anything more really) need only to be fried expertly, which they are, to be good. Have a brisket spring roll on the side, seriously.
13a Market Row, SW9 8LB, blackbearburger.com
Okan
Japanese tapas? Okan helped bring the concept to the fore in London and the brand is growing. It isn’t any wonder when the menu brings miso soup, teppanyaki, yakisoba, donburi, and okonomiyaki, a traditional savoury pancake topped with meat or seafood, kimchi, spring onions, pickled ginger, and sauces such as Kewpie mayo and oyster. This is a dish that remains fairly hard to come by in London. It is remarkable, bringing reams of flavour, salt, softness, crispy edges and fat abound — the perfect hangover cure, especially with the addition of a fried egg (do not swerve).
Unit 39, Brixton Village, SW9 8LB, okanlondon.com
Healthy Eaters
Stafford and Rose Geohagen opened Healthy Eaters on Electric Avenue in 2003 and recently opened their second restaurant in Market Row. Both serve the most comforting Jamaican home cooking, a happy reminder of home to some, an education to others. On the menu, chicken soup, jerk chicken with rice and peas, and patties, filled with pork, fish or vegetables. Healthy Eaters is more than food, it’s a touchstone in London’s Jamaican culture. Go for a barbecue, drink rum, enjoy Brixton.
17 Electric Avenue, SW9 8JP, healthyeaters.co.uk
Three Uncles
Three childhood friends from Hong Kong opened Three Uncles in 2019 and it didn’t take long to gain traction. The concept is based on the roast meat cafes of Wan Chai market, where roast duck and char siu pork is married with fluffy white rice. The restaurant is distinctly Cantonese, with meats marinated, rubbed, hung and fan-dried before being roasted, rested and served. Sauces vary. All are good.
