A Classy Kitchen and Bar near Brockwell Park.
As you may guess, the name of the venue indicates where it’s located. Yes, Park’s Edge Bar and Kitchen faces onto the lovely Brockwell Park.
This is an area of London with which I’m very familiar. My father was born and grew up on a few hundred yards away on Dulwich Road. I used to work at King’s College Hospital and spent 15 years driving along Norwood Road. Along with many parts of South London, this area is becoming increasingly gentrified. The arrival of this type of bar and restaurant is a good indication that the area is changing. In this case, it’s certainly for the better.
Facing onto Brockwell Park, with large folding doors, Park’s Edge Bar and Kitchen is the perfect place to eat either al fresco, or stay inside and people watch. We did just that as we sipped our pre-dinner cocktails. Fiona is trying not to drink spirits at the moment, so chose a mocktail made with sorrel. Having said to the hostess that she doesn’t really enjoy very sweet drinks, it was adjusted to suit Fiona’s palate. That epitomises our experience here; the staff are knowledgeable, well-trained, friendly, and able to advise on the food and drinks. My Park’s Edge Twister cocktail was made with rhubarb gin and was delicious.
The food is sourced daily, and so we had a wait a very short while whilst the chef wrote the menu. This wasn’t a hardship given how much we were enjoying our drinks, chatting to the staff, and the pretty interior. The menu is British, but with a West Indian twist to some of the dishes; perhaps this is the start of a ‘New British’ cuisine.
Fiona enjoyed light and fluffy homemade saltfish dumplings which came with a very generous portion of spiced crab dip. The spicing was subtle, yet undeniably Caribbean. My peppered Calypso garlic shrimp came in a rich coconut sauce with toasted sourdough. The sauce was just right for me, it had a good chilli kick. I really hate it when restaurants assume that white middle-aged ladies can’t take a bit of spice!
I was pleased to see that the wine menu contained a good selection of English wines put to the forefront. Our waitress suggested that we order the Hush Heath Pinot Noir 2017 to accompany our sharing chicken main course.
This turned out to be a good pairing, the lighter style of red working nicely with the chicken and creamy scotch bonnet Caesar dressing. The side of jersey potatoes, egg yolk and asparagus salad was comfort in a bowl.
The coco bread was a first for me, but it felt a bit too heavy along with the potato salad.
We’d misread the menu as asparagus salad, not realising that the potatoes were part of the dish, so had ordered a side of chips with parmesan. These were delicious. Lethal for the hips I suspect!
A scoop of home-made buttered rum and bay leaf ice cream was a delicious end to the meal for me. Whilst Fiona sampled a caramelised banana and pineapple crumble.
There are a variety of events happening at Parks Edge Bar and Kitchen. I was amused to see that an old friend of mine, Patrick Steele, is hosting bring your own vinyl nights. There’s also going to be a special tasting event for English Wine week.
This really is a great neighbourhood bar and restaurant. Why travel to the West End when you can get excellent drinks and interesting food on your doorstep? I’m going to bring my dad (who is 91) here for Father’s Day, he’ll love how it’s changed.
Park’s Edge Bar and Kitchen
49 – 51 Norwood Road,
Herne Hill,
London, SE24 9AA
Phone: 020 8671 0306
Not quite what you are looking for? For upmarket Michelin dining, we recommend Trinity, Clapham. Or for a Vietnamese feast that won’t break the bank how about Mien Tay. And finally, for a fun night out, we loved Courtesan in Brixton.
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