Invite someone to spend the day in London, and the last place I suspect they would expect to be suggested is Streatham. Home of the longest continuous high street in the UK and possibly Europe, Streatham gets its fair share of bad press. Jo Brand recently called it shithole and a Lambeth council press officer suggested the only way to improve the High Road was to use napalm.
When I first moved to Streatham two years ago, I wasn’t convinced that I would ever consider it home, but the arrival of new bars, cafes and restaurants, and an incredibly active community means that moving away in a couple of months is going to be surprisingly hard. Just last weekend, the annual Stanthorpe Triangle street party took place on a very bunting covered Bournevale Road. From tug’o’war (odds vs. evens, men vs. women) and a piñata, to a cake decorating comptetion, street disco and bouncy castle, everyone was welcome and included, and showed what a community should be about.
Strictly speaking this blog is meant to be about other places around the world… but often we can be so preoccupied in travelling abroad, that we forget the places closer to home. Or even at home. So when my mum came to London for the day, I took her to my favourite places in Streatham.
My top 6 Streatham places. 5 of them involve food or drink.
Earl Grey & Rose
Who doesn’t like cake? Earl Grey & Rose doesn’t just serve delicious (and beautifully decorated) cupcakes and sandwiches, made in the vintage-themed shop near Streatham Hill station, but also doubles as a venue for a sewing lessons and jewellery workshops. The café, decorated in handmade bunting, is filled with a mish-mash of furniture and crockery, presumably hunted down in antique shops, bric-a-bracs and car boot sales.
Manor Arms
Before its refurbishment in 2011, a friend warned me off going inside as in her words, it was a ‘proper dodgy old man’s pub’. Now it serves the best Sunday lunch (apart from my mum’s), has a crab shack in the garden on a Saturday with fresh seafood brought up from south Devon, and on this year’s Burn’s night, had a lone piper and address to a haggis. Not a normal sight in Streatham to see someone in full tartan regalia carrying his bagpipes to the bus stop. Eating a seafood platter filled with fresh crab, prawns, cockles and mussels, in the sunshine, even mum said she couldn’t believe she was in Streatham.
The Hideaway
Well established as south London's best jazz venue, the Hideaway, tucked away off the High Road opposite Streatham train station, is also home to a weekly comedy club. Al Murray performed earlier this year and a top line-up is expected before London's comedians head to the Edinburgh festival. The Hideaway Cafe, which opened on the High Road this year, is a great lunch cafe and evening wine bar, courtesy of Chix & Buck wine importers.
The Rookery
Hidden away at the top of Streatham Common, on the site of Streatham Spa are the ornamental gardens of the former Rookery Manor house. Away from the open common, the sheltered gardens are a lovely space for families to wander around the flowers and ponds, or just to sit and enjoy.
Pratts & Payne
This newly opened bar, a welcome addition to the High Road, is named after the long gone Pratt’s department store, and notorious Cynthia Payne, who ran a local brothel in the 1980s. The random assortment of furniture, some of which I’m sure has come from my grandparents’ houses, interesting collections of old photos and shop signs, is a quirky bar serving good food and occasionally gin ice cream - not tried yet.
Beyrouths
I love Lebanese food so I was especially pleased when I saw a couple of month’s ago via Streatham’s active Twitter community that a Lebanese street food restaurant was opening. The industrial-feel décor and bright yellow concrete floor is matched with a good menu of hot and cold mezzes and grill plates. Unless you’re really hungry, I would advise against sharing a mixed platter for a starter and a grill plate but I do approve of the bring-your-own policy.
So who imagined a food crawl down Streatham High Road would be possible?
If you're visiting, and have time, also worth checking out are I love Coffee, Nineteen, The Hamlet, Perfect Blend and Slurp
Anywhere you think I should add to my list? I'd love to know what any Streathamites think...
