Brixton Village

I am a lucky girl. You know why? I live one tube stop away from one of the most hyped food destination of London: the Brixton Village! :)

Formerly known as Granville Arcade, the 1930’s market was revamped two years ago thanks to an initiative of the Lambeth Council and Space Makers. The vacant market units were offered rent free for 3 months to community projects and business start-ups in the hope of attracting new traders. It worked! Slowly, the new Brixton Village came to life and it is now home to beautiful restaurants, cafés and fashion shops.

I first visited Brixton Village and the nearby Market Row arcades last summer to taste the famous Franco Manca pizza. Oddly, I didn’t take any pictures at the time, so you will have to trust my words when I say it was THE best pizza I have ever had in London! (Pizza eaten in Italy falls into a completely different category, sorry!)

Last November I went back to the market for a longer visit, this time carrying my DSLR and looking for all the names I had been reading about on the papers for months: Elephant, Kao Sarn, Honest Burgers, French & Grace, Federation Coffee… Getting more and more excited every time I spotted another cute little shop! Brixton Village restaurants surprised me with their incredible attention to detail and original style and décor.

If you have been to Brixton Village already, you know that long waiting times are the norm, especially at the weekend. The downsides of Brixton Village are that the units are small and cold, indoor space is limited, toilets are few and located in the arcade. Most restaurants have got tables outside which come with a blanket for each chair! I find this to be another cute detail that adds to the overall nice décor.

We managed to find a table without queueing at Casa Morita. The selection of tacos was excellent but more appropriate as a starter than a main course, so if you are hungry, go for the specials of the day.

After the Mexican lunch we moved on to the nearby The Bread Room for coffee and cake. We sat on stools by the window, finally feeeling warm enough to take our coats off, and enjoyed a quiet moment sharing a big slice of carrot cake. We were impressed by the big portion and small price!

Last weekend I went back to Brixton Village to try the “Best godammned burger in town” (according to Hot Dinners) at Honest Burgers!

Honest Burgers doesn’t accept bookings, but they take your name and number when you arrive, so you are free to roam around the market until your table is available (rather than stand in a queue for half an hour as we did at Franco Manca). On Sunday at 2pm the wait for a 4 people was 45 minutes. It is fully licensed (no BYO bottle), but they don’t accept cards, so make sure to bring cash.

I must agree with the general judgement that this is one of the best burgers in London. I am no expert in the matter, but I liked everything about my cheese-burger and fries and cannot think about a single complain to make!

On the way back to the station, I couldn’t resist stopping by Ms Cupcakes to buy a little treat to take home. I asked for their best-selling cupcake, the Rocher, but unfortunately (not surprisingly) it was sold out! So I bought the second best, triple chocolate cupcake and brought it home for a little evening snack.

With so many restaurants still to try, I cannot wait to go back to Brixton Village for another food crawl! Hopefully this post will also convince my friends to travel south of the river and join me!

So, do you LOVE BRIXTON or not? :)