Crown and Anchor - Gremio de Brixton - Honest Burgers - Seven at Brixton

Wednesday 1st May - I have been waiting for a few weeks to go to some places in Brixton with Luke and Lauren who live nearby, but Luke is busy being flown around the world for work so we caved and went on a friend-date instead.  The sun was out so we found a bench outside the excellent Crown and Anchor pub on Brixton Road.  It is relatively new so and in a slightly odd location so many beer aficianados may not have discovered it yet, but it is well worth a visit.  They have fantastic beers on rotation from Kernel, BrewDog, Dark Star and many more great breweries.  Everything on the daily changing food menu has a suggested beer pairing, including a different recommendation for each type of sausage available in their Sausage and Mash Story - a create your own section with various choices of sausage, mash and gravy. Crown and Anchor is another wonderful pub to add to your list.

We moved off towards Brixton Village to find some food.  If you haven't been to Brixton Village yet then you need to make some time for it as soon as possible.  It's an exciting covered market of restaurants, bars and shops of the highest quality with a buzzing atmosphere that is hard to beat.  We decided to try out the popular Honest Burgers (who have another branch in Soho) and put our names down for a table in 45 mins - with no reservations at most places, expect a wait and grab a drink elsewhere.  There are many good options for drinks around Brixton, notably the Craft Beer Co pub, and we decided to try out the newly opened Gremio de Brixton nearby.

Brixton Village

Gremio de Brixton opened a few weeks ago in the crypt underneath St.Matthew's Church, a site formerly owned by the club Babilou.  It felt a bit wrong walking across a church green and in to a crypt to get a drink but we went for it.  It is a huge space to fill, but once word gets out I shouldn't think that will be a problem.  It's beautifully lit with plenty of cosy tables to choose from.  We just stayed for a quick drink (very affordable glass of Spanish wine and half pint of Mahou lager) but when it is busier we will return for the full Tapas experience.  The food menu is very enticing and reasonably priced for London.  One friendly barmaid came over to chat to us, joking about how busy it was (we were the first in that night), and made us feel very welcome.  They know they are on to a winner.  All there is left to do is spread the word!

Can you see it?

We scampered back to Honest Burgers after getting a call to say our table was ready.  It's a simple menu and you should really go for the Honest Burger if it is your first time there - Ginger Pig dry aged beef with smoked bacon, mature cheddar and more served with delicious rosemary salt chips that Lauren deemed to be the best ever.  Wash it down with wine, homemade lemonade or tasty beers from Redchurch brewery.  It was lovely sitting outside packed in with other hungry punters who we inevitably got chatting to, swapping ideas for other places to go in Brixton.  On one girl's advice, we decided to pop over to the second covered market over the road for a final drink of the evening at Seven at Brixton.

Seven at Brixton (opposite the busy Franco Manca and Wishbone) is a tapas and cocktail bar set over two floors with eye catching design.  The five different rooms are used as an exhibition space for local artists and you get to sit among the art installations whilst you eat your pintxos and sip your Spanish wines/beers.  The books organised by colour on the ground floor bar are particularly striking. The quirky cocktails (listed on an oversized luggage tag) are only £5, all day long - would you see that in a Shoreditch equivalent?  You only have the name to go on for the cocktails with no ingredients listed, but there isn't much risk when they are only a fiver.  We went for a Creme Brulee Martini and a Cinnamon Martini that were both very drinkable.  I would imagine it gets busy at the weekends but you can make reservations before 7.30.  The atmosphere in Brixton Village is only going to get better as summer settles in for good - start working your way through its many wonders as soon as you can!

Thanks to Lauren who I know is keen to pick up many more Brixton points now - she moves in to 4th place ahead of Libby and Shannon with 14 points.  Maybe I should start some kind of loyalty rewards scheme?