We ordered Bhel Puri which is something like a Bombay mix with some small chopped green mango and some yoghurt. But don’t expect lots of mango and yoghurt - this is very much a dry dish. It was unusual and tasty, though not being very familiar with Bhel Puri difficult to tell how unusual or different it is. I may or may not order this again. It was a little dry for what I wanted.
The Samphire Pakora, were very interesting and very good. They are similar in concept to the fried green beans you get at Hunan, Duck and Rice and Taiwan Village. Here instead of green beans you get samphire crisped in a light batter.
The food isn’t typical Indian – it feels a more modern British Indian fusion.
We also had the Hake which was very good and the best thing we had. The fish was perfectly cooked and the malai sauce was light flavourful, like a tikka masala sauce without ghee.
Definitely worth checking out if you’re at Pop Brixton. I plan to go back and try some of the other things I saw people eat.
I went to Cricket a a while ago and agree on the Bhel Puri , the yoghurt to puffed rice ratio was all wrong. It shouldn’t be too wet but it became a bit like eating carrdboard. I’ve had it in Wembley and it was much better.
I also had the Keralan fried chicken. The chicken was cooked perfectly and really crisp. All I could really taste on the coating was turmeric. They need a bit of tweeking and to be more bold with the spices and they’d be really good.
There’s much argument over the “gentrification” of Brixton. As a rule, those of us who are truly gentrified still get our chauffeurs to drop us off on the Abbeville Rd or Clapham Village. Pop Brixton represents something a bit different - the “hipsterisation” of Brixton. It’s a little enclave set apart from the still-predominant cultures surrounding it like the foodie equivalent of a French Foreign Legion fort.
Kriket is undoubtedly good . I’ve been a few times now and enjoyed every visit. The samphire pakora is particularly standout. One of the limitations of the space is the difficulty to knock out sauce-based curries. As such many of the dishes rely on flavoured/spiced yoghurts/mayos/dips etc. They’re good and it makes the dishes even prettier but it does make the menu feel a bit like a string section without the cellos and the double-bass. It keeps it feeling more like finger-food/tapas than proper dinner. My main criticism, though, would be to agree with Chris that it all lacks a bit of heat and oomph! The spices are freshly and properly prepared (you can really taste this)…but then used with a bit too much restraint. I don’t know whether this is a function of who’s cooking…or who they’re cooking for. But I’d just love the guys to add that extra twist of chilli to give a bit more of a kick to what is, at heart, great food.
Yes I felt the same about the lack of punch. All in all very good Bhel and excellent Kichuri but I think the other things we ordered could have had some more oomph. My companions thought the Goan sausage roll was great but i didn’t really get it. The Aubergine dish we had (name escapes me) needed more flavour and the Sweet Potato and Hake were fine, but didn’t sing by themselves.
I think this is definitely an extension of who they are cooking for, which is annoying because Brixton used to be a place where spicy food was a given - now it’s much more hard to come by.
It is also undoubtedly more like finger food particularly at lunchtime when I went - there were four of us and we ordered the whole menu three times over!
I’d be interested to try a dinner there and see what the extended menu is like.
Re: the gentrification argument - i think this is related more to rising rent costs for businesses and homes, pushing people out who have been there for years. As someone who was of the age where Brixton was the place you’d go clubbing without telling your parents because they would think you’d get shot - whereas now it’s full of hipsters. But I do think it can be argued too that hipsterfication and gentrifcation are essentially, now the same thing. You don’t really get working class hipsters anymore because they wouldn’t be able to afford to live there!
