Eat & Drink
Originally published on Wednesday, 6th April 2011
The Brunswick House Café
The hidden gem in a house of brick-a-brack
30 Wandsworth Road, SW8 2LG - 020 7720 2926
Location
Leave Vauxhall tube via the wrong exit at your peril. (You want exit 6). Brunswick House, the grand Georgian riverside mansion, within whose walls reside the wonderfully barmy LASSCO architectural salvage store and the Brunswick House Café, feels like the last house standing in the middle of the Vauxhall Cross gyratory system. Half a dozen pelican crossings later, you’ll need a cocktail. Make it a Corpse Reviver.
Vibe
Feels like a pop-up but isn’t; the best of both worlds. The old house and ballroom full of curios is home to good food and £6.50 cocktails. This dynamite proposition is catnip to South London’s skinniest, greediest jolies laides and on-their-uppers aristos.
Flavours
Whip-smart and easy on the eye, young chef Jackson Boxer has done the pop-up scene (having cooked at his brother Frank’s Café and Campari Bar, the sensation of Summer ’09 if you recall) though his ‘establishment’ foodie credentials are rock solid too. His is ‘school of St John cooking’. Rare roast topside of beef atop dripping-anointed toast is always on at lunch and I’ve been back more than once for the confit Old Spot with broken eggs. Afterwards, there are Portuguese custard tarts and coffee by Jack Coleman (London’s roaster du jour). It all comes cheap. Even at dinner (Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights only), dishes don’t top a tenner. You might find cockles, mussels and fino for £7.20 or, for £4.40, white beans, garlic and ‘house lardo.’
Décor
Beneath the bunting, dusty chandeliers and old restaurant signs, seating is at any chair or table you can find and it’s all for sale. The vintage placky stacking thing I sat on had an £8 tag dangling off it but I could have chosen better. Next time, I’ll try the faux Alvar Aalto at £30. The ramshackle terrace out front with its wrought iron love seats and birdbaths is fun too.
Upshot
Cheapness and nowness are very, very strong attributes. This place’s moment may be just that but we’ll be talking about it – and Jackson Boxer – in years to come.
