Restaurant Review: Ravensbourne Arms

I've reviewed a fair few Antic pubs for my South London Press column before, and they're reliably good if not hugely exciting. The Ravensbourne Arms has something a bit special, though. Worth heading to Lewisham, even...

New pub openings get a hard time sometimes, especially if the word ‘gastropub’ comes into play. But the response to the transformation of old boozer The Coach & Horses into this smarter, food-led pub has been overwhelmingly positive. Residents and local bloggers alike can be heard singing its praises, grateful of a much needed safe, decent pub in a largely bereft area of Lewisham.

Ravensbourne Arms is the latest opening from the Antic group, a growing collection of pubs around south east London which are individual in style but reliable in standard. Previous successes in the area include Brockley’s Jam Circus and The Royal Albert in New Cross, and anyone familiar with these venues will quickly spot the resemblance.

Shabby, reclaimed furniture, wooden floor and an abundance of nic-nacs has become a calling card for the pub group, and pretty much sums up the styling here, too. There’s a large bar area for drinkers and a rotating selection of ales, whilst the menu hovers somewhere between homely comfort food and ever-so-slightly poshed up pub grub. 

Restaurant Review: Mekan

The small London chain specialising in Middle Eastern deli foods and mezze options has opened a new Clapham flagship with built-in bar. Here's my review for South London Press.

Mekan might not be renowned in the way that some of London’s restaurants-of-the-moment are, but for Catford locals this Turkish restaurant is well known as the being the best of the area. It’s true that Catford isn’t exactly overflowing with decent restaurants and that locals frequently flock to Dulwich, Blackheath and beyond in search of dinner, but from the praise heaped on Mekan by some regulars, it sounds as if it should be the rest of South London which is flocking to Catford. And perhaps people are, as even on a night blighted by cold, snow and ice when most people would rather stay at home, Mekan manages to be impressively full.