[London, Brixton] Naughty Piglets

Finally made it here. I was really impressed with the cooking. It was creative and inventive, yet not too overworked nor sacrificing flavour for visual flair.

Service was great and prices reasonable. Definitely worth a visit if you’re nearby. We’ll be back.

We’re lucky enough to have NP as our local and have become regulars (I’m not sure the term “piglateers” has their official endorsement yet…)

I still remember the first visit: we stopped by on spec and got a seat at the bar. My heart sank as I ticked off all the paraphernalia of the modern "on trend " restaurant. Chemistry lab stools. Industrial filament lightbulbs. Menu ambiguous as to what was starter and what was main or whether it was all “small plates”. Expectations duly cemented we settled in and prepared to hate it.

And then, remarkably - and disappointingly for my so-called restaurant instincts - it was great. Simple, well executed dishes that offered classical flavour with just enough innovation to pique the palette (e.g using Ajo Blanco as a sauce for scallops), and a superb winelist - not obvious in its selection and with an emphasis on natural wines, but quality picks whilst avoiding the bizarre and soupy offerings that lists of natural wines often throw up. Suddenly all those lab stools and lightbulbs were an irrelevance - we were smitten. With plate prices maxing out at about £15 even for a “main” we felt we’d got a better-than-fair deal when the bill arrived too.

What really puts the cherry on top, though, is the service and vibe created by Joe and Margaux, whose place it is. He used to cook at Trinity and leads the small kitchen team packed into a space which would hardly be called “generous” even in a caravan. Margaux (ex-Terroirs) leads the charming font of house team as well as putting together (and constantly adding to) that fabulous wine list. They both work their socks off to make their place the success it deserves to be.

p.s. I went back again last night - you know, just to check in hadn’t gone downhill in the last couple of weeks or something - and, yes, still great! Just thought I’d mention so that people can appreciate the lengths I go to and the sacrifices I’m willing to make, to ensure the most up-to-date and accurate postings…