Best restaurants in Brixton

Pop Brixton Seating Area Photo by Hannah Miles

Bottle + Rye, Market Row — for a slice of European café culture

This intimate wine bar and restaurant from Robin and Sarah Gill brings a slice of European café culture to Market Row in Brixton Village. The team behind Sorella, Bermondsey Larder, Darby’s and Rye by the Water took the classic Parisian bistro as their starting point for the interiors, dominated by an elegant marble, brass and walnut bar. Nab a seat here to watch the kitchen and bar team whip up cocktails and plate dishes.

A menu of simple, deftly executed Gallic classics delivers. Succulent, well-seasoned pig’s head brawn terrine comes with cornichons, delicate rings of pickled onion and hunks of sourdough, and a luscious dollop of creamy smoked eel brandade is served with Pink Fir crisps for scooping. Veggie dishes also shine – especially summery pea and broad bean ragu and a salad of green beans and leeks with crunchy hazelnut praline. Don’t miss out on dessert – a beautifully made blackcurrant and fig leaf choux éclair on our visit.

A mostly European list of minimal intervention wines includes plenty by the glass (try Judith Beck’s delicious Zweigelt and Blaufrankisch rosé) as well as natural ciders from the likes of Little Pomona, Brixton Brewery beers and a succinct cocktail list including a peach and jasmine americano. bottleandrye.com

A seafood dish with a glass of white wine on a dark wooden table

Temaki, Market Row — for Japanese hand rolls

Temaki, standing for, Te (hand), Maki (roll) has an intimate yet lively feel to it, hosting only 18 covers at a time indoors. The open kitchen brings a sense of connection between the diner and the skilled, humorous chef (Shaulan Steenson) who multitasks, eloquently chatting through the menu while crafting the Temaki. There’s a prevailing joyful atmosphere as the waiting staff are brimming with enthusiasm and knowledgeable about the menu and even more excited to explain about the drinks. We were recommended the Sumi clear Junmai sake which was light with a savoury finish, followed by a sansho peppercorn gin which was topped with filtered lime juice — a sweet yet tangy dream. On to the hand rolls, there are eight to choose from, made fresh to order, alongside meticulously plated small plates. We loved the yellowtail sashimi, which was fresh and tangi from the ponzu with chillies sourced locally from the markets in Brixton. A standout was akami tuna temaki with a nikiri soy filling — not to be missed. If you’re in south west London, or are in the market for a new, fun experience to dive into an interactive Japanese cuisine, Temaki is the place to visit. instagram/temakihandrollbar

Maremma, Brixton Water Lane – for Italian neighbourhood vibes

The small space of this Tuscan bistro has a distinctly neighbourhood vibe – vases of dried flowers sit on tables crammed in alongside stools at the pale sage counter overlooking the busy open kitchen and aperitif-bottle-lined bar.Large, almost life-size illustrations of wild boar and octopus on exposed brick walls reflect dishes on the menu – the former in a hefty cut of pepper-crusted cutlet and belly with balsamic figs and wispy Italian spinach, and also combined with Tuscan herbs and fennel seeds to make a ragu tossed through glistening folds of homemade pappardelle.The menu is dedicated to produce from the Maremma region of south-west Tuscany. Highlights of our visit were a starter of super-soft octopus neatly arranged in a bowl with crushed new potatoes, all doused in Tuscan olive oil and lemon juice. Another was the tortelli Maremmani – yolk-yellow pasta parcels stuffed with creamy ricotta, spinach and a hint of nutmeg, topped with crispy sage. Skate wing wasn’t on the menu on our visit, but we’ve heard from reliable sources it’s another standout.

Wines all come from Maremma – the brancaleta sangiovese/malvasia nera blend provides an elegant, aromatic accompaniment to the boar dishes, while chardonnay from the same vineyard is intense enough to hold up to most options on the menu. The cocktail menu also showcases spirits from the region – Seven Hills gin, infused with juniper and herbs from Maremma, is used in the negroni and a rosemary old fashioned, while the Mi-To (Milano-Torino) cocktail mixes a new Maremma-born vermouth with Corsican grapefruit aperitif, Pampelle. maremmarestaurant.com

Interiors of Maremma Brixton – stools at a bar with an illustration on the wall of a wild boar — Maremma menu. Photograph by Jade Nina Sarkhel

Thunderbird Fried Chicken, Market Row – for fried chicken

Matt Harris has been tinkering around with fried chicken for years, experimenting with hundreds of batches of wings. After manning his American street-food truck, BBQ Lab (in locations such as Dinerama), Matt now focusses solely on fried chicken at a permanent site in Brixton’s Market Row (and most recently at the O2). Exposed brick and pipework interiors are brightened up with electric blue paint, pops of orange and Thunderbird’s neon logo, which disguises a chicken wing as a lightning bolt. Matt’s Chipuffalo Wings won the top award at Wing Fest a few years ago, and they’re definitely still living up to the title – tender wings are cooked in a pressure fryer then quickly splashed in an open fryer to ensure the contrast between crunchy coating and succulent centre, before they’re slathered in a mildly spicy chipotle sauce with an extra dollop of thick blue cheese sauce on the side. The comforting Thunderbun chicken burger is spot on in all its parts – crunchy golden chicken with tender centre and a squidgy bun, complete with a homemade smoky burger sauce and juicy gherkins. Cajun fries come with secret smoky "Awesome sauce", or go all out with molten jalapeño cheese fries with charred pepper aïoli.Funky Brixton Brewery beers match Thunderbird’s décor, particularly the hoppy, light Low Voltage session IPA and crisp, citrussy Reliance pale ale, or there are milkshakes for the full diner-style experience. thunderbirdckn.co.uk

Chicken burger held up at Thunderbird Fried Chicken — Thunderbird menu

Kricket, Atlantic Road – for Indian small plates

Contemporary and cool, Kricket specialises in Indian small plates using local vegetables and fish and meat sourced within the British Isles. Kricket is a collaboration of fresh seasonal British produce and traditional Indian flavours and spices all set out in an informal environment. Kricket first opened in a small shipping container in Pop Brixton, before opening up in Soho and a permanent site back in Brixton on Atlantic Road. Looking for London's best Indian restaurants? Check out our top Indian restaurants here kricket.co.uk

Wood pigeon at Kricket, London — Kricket menu

The Laundry – for bistro vibes

Housed in an imposing Edwardian building, in what used to be a commercial laundry, interiors come trendily spare and stripped back, with high ceilings, wooden floors, exposed-brick walls, pendant lighting, duck-egg-green banquette seating and bistro-style chairs and stools. The menu eschews the traditional starters/mains/desserts and instead comes divided into snacks (think sourdough with caramelised onion butter and oysters with home-made chorizo and lardo), vegetable, fish, meat and sweet plates. Dishes look pared back but do complex, clever things with flavour pairings. Highlights include ruby-red Hereford beef tartare with thwackingly meaty aromas, jewelled with a deep-golden egg yolk and dressed with prawn oil and bonito flakes that add subtle layers of umami. Aged Cotswold lamb comes accompanied only by softly cooked, rainbow-hued winter tomatoes. Delicate, subtly saline cured seabass is perked up with morsels of sweet-sharp pickled strawberry and anise tarragon. Desserts are straightforward and feature the likes of lemon tart, chocolate tort and panna cotta, but it’s worth waiting a few minutes for the kitchen’s warm chocolate-chip cookie, baked to order. With fudgy insides and melting chocolate, it’s a classic done perfectly. To drink, try the silky, creamy old fashioned with butter-washed whisky, and a delicate take on a French 75. The wine list – a mixture of old and new-world vintages – has plenty by the glass and is also available by the bottle to buy and take home. Wine nerds should ask about the restaurant's The Cleaner's Diary – a curated selection of special vintages. The Laundry also does a breakfast service, offering dishes such as hazelnut and coconut milk pancakes with roasted pumpkin ice cream, and chorizo, béchamel and fried egg sandwiches. thelaundrybrixton.com