<a target="_blank" href="https://thelaundrybrixton.com/">Brixton Laundry – London</a>

374 Coldharbour Lane

Brixton,&nbsp;London SW9 8PLTel.&nbsp;+44 20 8103 9384

BY NEAL MARTIN | MARCH 06, 2020

The Food:

Panzanella salad

Pan-fried Cornish cod with crushed potatoes and salsa Verde

Chocolate, almond and orange torte with clotted cream ice
cream

The Wine:

2017&nbsp;Neudorf&nbsp;Rosie’s Block Chardonnay &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;92&nbsp;&nbsp;

My abiding memory of my first trip to Brixton is ordering KFC
through bulletproof glass. I am not sure how many times a gun-wielding hoodlum
feeling a bit peckish smashed his way into KFC yelling: “Two-piece traditional meal deal with fries...or your life” but
better to be safe than sorry. In those days Brixton was a no-go zone unless you
wanted to score drugs or like myself, wanted to see your favorite band at Brixton
Academy. Brixton could be dangerous and so of course, as a thrill-seeking
teenager, I absolutely liked going there.

In the last two decades, Brixton has been spruced up and
undergone gentrification, although far less than sterile postcodes elsewhere.
Though Brixton is much safer, thankfully it has kept its edge. Less
self-knowing than the narcissistic East End, it is a vibrant, visceral place
that epitomizes everything great about city life. It has also become one of the
most genuinely exciting places to eat and drink in the capital, far more
interesting than over-priced, touristy central London. Its multi-cultural
society has fostered a rich variety of cuisines that cluster together in street
markets, pop-up kitchens and restaurants. In terms of value, Brixton is up
there among the best, a veritable spawning ground for many aspiring young chefs
(I remember dining at Kricket when
they operated out of a converted shipping container – now it has several
successful branches.) Brixton has resisted the inexorable corporatization of
London as best it can and whilst it will not last forever, unlike other areas,
its soul remains intact.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1583515344125-brixton+laundry+facade.jpg"> 

The facade of the Brixton Laundry.

One of the latest openings is Brixton Laundry in Coldharbour Lane, just a five-minute walk from
the tube station. It is part of a new wave of restaurants that cares little for
haut cuisine, expensive ingredients to justify a whopping bill, flashy interiors
draped with garish modern art or a celebrity chef presumably at the stove but
more likely filming at the BBC. Michelin stars? That’s not their raison
d’être. It’s about good vibes, great atmosphere and what’s on the plate: delicious,
simple food you would want to eat again. It’s about well-chosen wines with a sprinkling
of a few fancy labels catering for the oenophile, but not forgetting the let’s-get-this-weekend-started
house wine for those seeking intoxication. I visited Brixton Laundry less than
a week after the much admired and wine-friendly Gezellig in Holborn suddenly shut
its doors. Gezellig was a great restaurant in the wrong location, and it
ultimately paid the price. Conversely, Brixton Laundry is supremely well
positioned in a gorgeous red brick Edwardian former steam laundry that
overlooks one of the most bustling streets in South London. Footfall. It can make or break you.
Unless you are some superstar chef opening a destination restaurant, then you
need people walking by and thinking: “I fancy a bit of that”. Wisely, Brixton
Laundry is open throughout the day serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, or you
can just pop in for a coffee or a swift half. This multi-purpose approach is becoming
increasingly important, for the harsh reality is that for all the multitude of
restaurant openings, there’s also a multitude of closures.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1583515388335-brixton+laundry+melanie.jpg"> 

Melanie Brown and
Gareth Birchley. Brown confessed that opening a new restaurant has been a
gargantuan task, but more rewarding than she anticipated. Birchley chips in
with the fine wine selections and washing up. 

The person behind Brixton Laundry is Melanie Brown. I was
already acquainted with Brown since she promoted and distributed New Zealand
wines in the UK for several years. Gareth Birchley, whose background is with
fine wine merchants, is responsible for the fine wines, while Alex Kokott
is the head chef. Brown told me that menu is based around “An Old World
brasserie with a New World spirit”. Initially the plan was to offer a varied
and eclectic wine list with an emphasis on mid to upper-priced bottles luring wine-lovers
and those with inquisitive palates. This template is nothing new and often
stems from backers and/or founders who come from the wine industry - a bubble
where the world spins around fermented grape juice. &nbsp;It is easy to become hermetically sealed off
from the painful truth that as much as writers and merchants encourage open-minded
and adventurous wine consumption, most people are conservative in their choices
or they are reluctant to spend the minimal amount or don’t care for wine at all.
Recognizing this early on, Brown slimmed down the fine wine selection to a couple
of dozen interesting, mature bottles handwritten in a dinky leather-bound book.
The reality is that 80% of customers just want a cheap bottle of Picpoul de
Pinot. They are not craving that natural wine from Etna or dusty bottle of ‘85
Chambertin. We might not like it, but giving the masses what they want keeps
you in business and essentially underwrites those who want more interesting or
expensive bottles.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1583515403629-brixton+laundry+neudorf.jpg"> 

As such, I had an outstanding 2017 Rosie’s Block Chardonnay from the ever-reliable Neudorf in Nelson, New Zealand. It
sports wonderful brightness on the nose with fresh apricot, orange rind and
just a hint of elderflower that is vibrant and well defined. The palate is well
balanced, with a crisp seam of acidity, discrete tropical fruit and a focused,
vibrant finish that is steelier than the aromatics imply. It was an absolute
delight. <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1583515414830-brixton+laundry+cod.jpg"> 

Pan-fried Cornish cod with crushed potatoes and salsa Verde.The menu is straightforward, bloody delicious and less than
10% of the price for a set menu at Araki two days earlier. My pan-fried Cornish
cod, served atop flavor-rich crushed potatoes and a tangy salsa Verde, was
perfectly cooked and seasoned. <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1583515461347-brixton+laundry+panzanella.jpg"> 

Panzanella salad.We shared the Panzanella salad, which was delicious, the tomatoes
beautifully ripe. I finished with the chocolate, almond and orange torte with
clotted cream ice-cream. Yes, it is the kind of dessert that is banned from my
post-surgery diet, but hey, you are allowed the occasional indulgence. It was
worth the naughtiness, the gooey chocolate just gorgeous, its sweetness
counterbalanced by the bitterness of the orange, whilst the clotted cream ice-cream
was as good as it reads. My penance for this dessert was that I walked home
from the train station and skipped dinner. <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1583515493168-brixton+laundry+torte.jpg"> 

Chocolate, almond and orange torte with clotted cream ice cream.Brixton Laundry is a welcome addition to the London dining
scene south of the river (and I might be biased, but it has always preferred it
to the north.) It has the casual ambiance of a traditional pub where you can
drop in at your leisure, but raises its game thanks to great cooking and far
more interesting wines than you would find at a similar establishment, which is
why I bring it to your attention. Who knows? Maybe in a few months the masses
will reject their Picpoul de Pinet and demand a higher caliber of fermented
grape juice. And you know one advantage? You don’t have to place your order
through bulletproof glass.

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