Last Updated on April 19, 2017
Packing a Punch at Brother Marcus:
Brother Marcus is a small food venue with a relatively small menu. Hold that thought right there and don’t let it progress before I say that size isn’t everything! Bear in mind that this year’s annual Michelin star awards now include street food vendors. The quality of what you produce is really the only important thing for a food establishment to keep top of mind. The guys at Brother Marcus certainly have, and the results are impressive!
I’ll cut to the chase…. Brother Marcus achieves this with ease! Brother Marcus changes its menu between daytimes and evenings. During the day they serve freshly made Brunches, sandwiches, salads and bakery items. My friend and I attended an evening meal, and this is when it changes to Loaded Buns and side dishes. There are four of each, and they cover the spectrum of vegetarian, fish, pork and beef.
I chose the “Salty wench” a giant bun of 14-hour slow cooked shredded salt beef with a side of Mac n cheese balls, my friend chose the “Notorious P.I.G.” again a large bun loaded with slow-roasted pulled pork and a side of “Rainbow slaw”
I have to say we both looked at the plates and immediately cut the already halved buns into quarters as they were too much to handle in halves! That’s not a criticism at all! Just a note to say you won’t leave hungry after a meal there!
We tried both buns, and I have to say they were very, very good. Sometimes balance is lacking in the ingredients in this kind of food, with one flavour sucker punching you whilst the others are lost. Brother Marcus gets the balance absolutely right here, with the flavours and seasoning all spot on. The side dishes were also excellent, the Rainbow Slaw was homemade and again beautifully seasoned, and the Mac ‘n cheese balls were crisp and crunchy.
Brother Marcus also sells locally sourced beer to accompany should you wish to divert from wine. Small volume craft beer production is on a meteoric rise in the UK, which is a truly great thing. The beers selected by Brother Marcus are all from within a couple of miles of Balham at the very most. We tried both the “Wolfie Smith” and “Kemosabe” and both were really nice accompaniments.
Reading my own words…. It’s appearing to be a rave review! Well, I can’t apologise as I’m only really trying to impart how good the food Brother Marcus serves really is. Going back to my earlier comments, you don’t need a massive menu to be good, and a smaller or shorter menu is actually a great idea. It allows you to concentrate on getting your food offerings absolutely right. Brother Marcus has gone with this, added the benefits of high-quality ingredients, a little time between daytime and evening opening hours to prepare. And the result is excellent.
I’d urge you to have a look at the menu, and consider dropping by and sampling what they have to offer. Brother Marcus deserves to go on to great things!
9 Chestnut Grove
Balham
SW12 8JA
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