Brixton Village #4: The Joint

You sit outside The Joint, because this tiny little BBQ joint cannot hold any more than their kitchen! Tables and chairs are "upcycled" plastic crates and there is space for about...20 people. 

Service is very efficient and very friendly with great advice through the short menu and a smile.

You basically choose whether you want a bun or a wrap, whether you want that stuffed with BBQ pulled pork or BBQ chicken and what slaw you want with that then await your mighty sized order. Starters are available in the form of wings or ribs for voracious appetites. 

Starting with spicy wings, not knowing how filling the main would be, they were deliciously flavoured but not quite crispy as I enjoy. Very nicely sized though (take note Wishbone!) and lucky there was tasty mint infused water though as the chili crept through. Then onto the main event, a tasty brioche type bun stuffed to the gunnels with  pork (why bother with chicken?!) and a fresh coleslaw with crisp lettuce.

It was all delicious, and everyone else around us seemed delighted at finding themselves at The Joint too. I would highly recommend this little place, bravo guys! 

Brixton Village #3: Wishbone and Franco Manca

Wishbone, Brixton

On finding myself in Brixton – quelle surprise! – with 45 mins to eat and get back to The Ritzy and no preference on what type of food, we decided to try Wishbone since we both agreed it was unfair to avoid a restaurant on someone else’s bad review.

We sat just outside and managed to order from the friendly staff just a minute before the kitchen 

Wet wipes (& dirty cutlery)

closed. We were going more for a “snack” so opted to share the Buffalo wings (with blue cheese sauce) and the “spicy hash brown mess”. The cocktails looked tempting – and similar in lay out to Seven just across the way – but we held off with 3 hours of viewing ahead so no comment there. (It did take 10 minutes to get cokes but with apologies).

So the food. The four wings were spicy. Really spicy. Like REALLY painfully spicy. And I like spice. I described the blue cheese sauce – to my cheese loving accomplice – as not for amateurs. He did not believe me and soon declared it “too blue”. The wings were one big leg which you had to stickily, difficultly, messily tear apart into three if you did not want wing over your face. The hash browns were…hash browns, with jalapenos, and spicy sauce. They were spicy. REALLY spicy.

Wings left, hash browns right

To be honest I ate quickly not only to get to the cinema but to get through the pain and mess. They may have wet wipes on the tables but I think, like a lot of the Meat Liquor franchise, this is a bit overdone. I will not return but am not heartbroken either as I have been told local fav “Wings and Tings” is the place to head and with more to explore I will continue my quest!

As an aside, got Franco Manca take-out pizza finally too. Under cooked dough, £1.95 for a scattering a mushrooms (and that is being generous to them) and surly staff. Not sure this is one to hit again but considering the queues may give it ago, perhaps its Northcote Road outlet.

Seven and LAB G, Brixton Village: 17/20 and 8/10

Location: Brixton Village, wander till you find it! 

Website: www.sevenatbrixton.com  

Visit: Saturday night

To Notes: go downstairs if you can, out the front gives great people watching

Scores

Ambiance 5/5

Design 4/5

Drinks 3/5

Staff 5/5

Was it booking through my blog that got me the best spot in Seven? I don’t know but I was delighted to pull up on a Saturday night having nabbed the last reservation to perch on a high stool looking out over the entertaining Brixton market maze of corridors (and directly into the “Religious Relics” shop managed by a  cowboy?!)

The evening started very well with a bottle of chilled water filled with cucumber (on of my must haves) and the cocktails all looked great. We opted for a Basil & Ginger Beer Mojito and “Guns of Brixton”, a twist on the Old Fashioned. The first was a little boring but the latter more than made up for it with an orangey smoke haze captured in the bottle!

Then we wandered to the back to choose some Pixtos (mini tapas from Basque) to keep us going whilst browsing the menu. These change daily and you just keep the skewer it came on to be added at the bill at the end. Chorizo and Manchego chunks disappeared quickly and the refried beans were delicious and very moreish. As good as the food was, I would start at Seven for a cocktail and pixtos then move onto another of the restaurants, partly because there are so many places to explore and partly because they are great value for money.

From the “a la carte” we went for Patatas Bravas – my tapas staple and ultimate test – sharing board of meat and Pimiento del Padron. The peppers were some of the best I’ve had and what looked at the outset to be mayonnaise and ketchup on the potatoes turned out to be a lovely combination of spicy tomato and garlicky sauce, if only the potatoes were a little smaller than the half roasters we had! And with the meat board covering four different meats with gherkins, that was us full!

The upstairs was hosting a private costume party at the back – one I have noted for my birthday – and there is one toilet and a few more seats and a lovely haphazard selection of furniture. Staff were knowledgeable and friendly and I look forward to returning soon.

Website: www.facebook.com/LAB.G.Brixton  

Visit: Saturday night

To Note: Not much...

Scores

Ambiance NA

Design NA

Drinks 5/5 (i.e. ice cream)

Staff 3/5 (end of the evening tiredness had set in...)

After this we wandered to LAB G after I had read how good the ice cream was. There was not the crazy selection of flavours I was hoping for but my god the salted caramel was good. And they really squeeze a huge amount into a one scoop tub. Great value for money, great flavours, will be back for more!

Brixton Village...More to Come

I recently visited Brixton Village, something I have been meaning to do for many months but kept seeming to get my timings wrong. This was following on from a review by Jay Rayner and about a lot of talk about regeneration. And how right they were. So instead of just doing the usual write up I plan to dedicate a section to this great little South London find and here are my priorities:

Franco Manca for sour dough pizza

Elephant for Pakistani street-food / curry

Mama Lan for Bejing Street Food 

Honest Burgers (for burgers!)

I have already done Seven for tapas and cocktails and LAB G for ice cream so keep posted for these, and more, entries