Brixton is known for being one of the most diverse areas of London, meaning you can virtually eat your way around the world. Not only can you find everything from Japanese street food to Trinidadian flavours, you can do it on a budget.
Franco Manca
Market, Restaurant, Pizzaria, Italian, $$$
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You can get authentic Neapolitan pizza complete with soft sourdough crust and traditional topping combinations for under £8 at Franco Manca, which a real bargain when you consider the quality of the meats and cheeses they top their dough with. If you really wanted to watch the pennies, a simple tomato, garlic and oregano pizza will get you change from a fiver.
Brixton is blessed with many Caribbean restaurants but Fish, Wings & Tings is a real winner thanks to the nouvelle Caribbean style (a result of chef Brian Danclair combining his French training with Trinidadian flavours) and value for money. A goat roti with curried chickpea, potatoes, string beans, pumpkin and kuchela comes in at under £10.
This tiny spot in Brixton Village Market has a menu to match, just a handful of samosas, curries and three types of thali, but when the quality of the food is this high and the prices so low, you don’t need anything else. Go for one of the thalis with daal, rice, raita, naan and salad to get the authentic Pakistani experience.
Okan specialises in the traditional Osakan street food okonomiyaki (a Japanese savoury pancake made with eggs, shredded veggies and meat or fish). At Okan, there are lots of possible combos with pork, beef, prawns, tofu and kimchi being just some of the fillings, and you can easily add extras to properly customise your okonomiyaki. It’s a small site so often gets busy, but grab an outside seat if you can and watch the market in full swing.
Maria Sabina, named after a famous Mexican shaman, started life as a market stall on Station Road before graduating to a more permanent location inside the Pop Brixton development. Owners Monica and Tom pride themselves on using authentic recipes from Guanajuato, so as well as baja fish and pastor pork tacos, you can find hibiscus flower, potato and grasshopper fillings too.
As well as a container inside Pop Brixton, Koi Ramen also has stalls on Brick Lane Market and Tooting Market, with the aim of bringing Londoners the highest quality ramen at the lowest prices. With their classic tonkotsu ramen starting at just £6.50, with the option to add extras, they definitely make good on their promise.
Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen, run by Zoe Adjonyoh, has gone from supper club, to kitchen residencies and to a real restaurant in Brixton. Zoe’s offers traditional Ghanaian food with a modern twist, like Jollof fried chicken, Ghana dahl and tilapia with baobab butter. The food is not only inventive but exceptionally well priced too, with nothing on the menu more than £9. If you’ve never tried West African food before, this is the place to start.
