I finally get to Brixton Village

I am very good at making lists of places I want to go to eat. There is so much going on in London though, that actually getting to them is tricky. I had been meaning to go to Brixton Village, where on Thursday and Friday nights there is music and good food and general merriment. Had I actually got round to doing this? No. And then I picked up a copy of the Times one Saturday and lo and behold, in the magazine was a piece on the 'foodies favourite hangout', Brixton Market. Even the bloody Times had got there before me. So, off I went one Thursday night, with a hungry belly and the article ripped out of the magazine. The market is down a grotty road just past Brixton tube and I got told off by a big burly bouncer for attempting to walk in whilst smoking (yes, I know, filthy habit, bad for the tastebuds, will give up soon etc etc). First impressions, not good. But then we wondered around, saw how busy some of the food establishments were and the smell of the food made our bellies hungry. So, being the cheapskates that we are, we started off with some tacos for £1, from the very friendly chap manning the taco stall. Sadly, I can't give you his name or the name of his stall as his English wasn't up to much but go and seek him out and have a taco or two, he's very charming despite the language barrier.

The friendly taco man

Whetting our appetite

Having amiably ambled around for a bit, we settled on French and Grace for our supper. Mainly because they had seats outside, but also because we liked the look of what they were serving, with the added bonus of a vegetarian dish for the veggie, who I am covertly trying to convert back to meat, and who will indulge in the occasional lamb kebab when pissed.

The vegetarian.

Menus

The atmosphere

So, we settled in, eavesdropping the uber middle class conversation of the table next to us (well, even the Times has been here) and ordered up some beers and snacks.

I love wine served in a tumbler, like I'm in an old school Paris bistro. I'm easily pleased.

There's not a huge option of starters/snacks, but I'd rather that and they be top notch (as these were) than loads of mediocre dishes. Proper fat green olives and fried corn kept us happy while we awaited our main dish. It's all very relaxed and informal, people wondering by, wine to sup and even a band to keep us entertained.

Snacky treats

The evening's entertainment

And then our wraps arrived, big parcels of yumminess - soft,soft flatbread encasing grilled halloumi or spicy merguez sausage (or in my greedy case, both) with a hummus type sauce and crunchy slaw, dressed in something that we couldn't put our fingers, or rather tastebuds, on. Having played the guessing game of identify the individual flavours for a few minutes, we gave up, cheated, and asked the waitress. Nigella seeds. So there you have it. Warning: This is not first date food,  more like food for wrapping your gums around, getting sauce all over your face and dripping it from the bottom of the wrap all over you plate/self. But very, very tasty.

Halloumi flatbread 

Cheeky merguez sausage with halloumi flatbread. 

View inside the wrap! 

Suffice to say, after all that, we couldn't manage pudding, couldn't even think about it. We both rated Brixton Village highly and strolled off into the night, happily stuffed and making all sorts of promises to each other about going back every Thursday evening for dinner. And have we been back since? Don't be silly, of course we haven't. But we will. And soon.

http://brixtonmarket.net/info/market-cafes/