Peckham Bazaar
The trail to Peckham Bazaar actually goes back to Paris in 2012. The trip was set up at short notice but part of my preparation was contacting Donald Edwards, one of many Twitter users I’d followed somewhat randomly. I’d seen that he was living in Paris and thought it would be good to have an expat’s take on a city that I was visiting for the first time. My hunch proved correct. His choice of where to eat, Chez Casimir, turned out to be a grubby place by Gare du Nord that served heavenly food. It was also a good way to get an insight into his ability to ferret out the good food in the unlikeliest of surroundings.
Moving on to early 2014 we finally had a chance to meet up again. While my life was puttering along at its usual stately pace, Donald had moved back to England and opened Peckham Bazaar with John Gionleka in November 2013. They teamed to pair Donald’s knowledge of wines with a menu of Greek, Turkish and Iranian dishes drawing strongly from John’s Albanian heritage. A couple of emails back and forth and I’m booked for a Friday evening meal. Having sampled Donald’s approach to food I’m confident that I’m going to enjoy Peckham Bazaar. In my eagerness, I booked early without really knowing how it was going to time with business appointments that I’ve yet to commit to.
Once those appointments are made it is obvious that the time of flying back from Switzerland means that my original booking time is a goner. Ever the optimist I warn the restaurant I’m running late but will get there as soon as I can. Ha! Negotiating Peckham for the first time with my dying iPhone and finding out how few roads are actually signposted means I see far more of Peckham than I want. But eventually I find the place. The smoke & accompanying grill smells billowing from a canvas awning in front of a former pub signal that I’ve arrived. And I am starving.
Finally I get in and sit down and my spot is on one of the communal tables to the left of the main door. My overwhelming urge not to disturb others means that I start sitting with my back to the room but I can’t deal with that. Eventually I have to disrupt my neighbours so I can see what is going on. The stark room has bare floorboards, green painted walls and white accenting on all of the trim. The furniture goes with the vogue of mismatched tables and chairs and cutlery is in a bucket in the centre of the table. The only other table garnish is a fat candle merrily flickering away. Unfortunately, the last train back to my Terminal 4 hotel leaves central London ridiculously early so I’m not able to spend as much time as I want even though I’m settled. But I can get round that. The rapidly delivered glass of house white, a Sicilian Inzolia helps relax me further. I love a menu that throws up foods I’ve never heard of before. Za’atar bread, skordalia, sucuc, ktipiti, adjika and avgolemono all sound exotic and tempting even though I’ve no real idea what they are.
The tight timeframe means my usual approach to ordering food changes. Rather than go for what stands out, I ask for whatever can be prepared the quickest and it’s quite nice to put myself in the hands of the restaurant. The pomegranate molasses marinated quail and marinated lamb will have to wait until another visit.
Moving on to early 2014 we finally had a chance to meet up again. While my life was puttering along at its usual stately pace, Donald had moved back to England and opened Peckham Bazaar with John Gionleka in November 2013. They teamed to pair Donald’s knowledge of wines with a menu of Greek, Turkish and Iranian dishes drawing strongly from John’s Albanian heritage. A couple of emails back and forth and I’m booked for a Friday evening meal. Having sampled Donald’s approach to food I’m confident that I’m going to enjoy Peckham Bazaar. In my eagerness, I booked early without really knowing how it was going to time with business appointments that I’ve yet to commit to.
Once those appointments are made it is obvious that the time of flying back from Switzerland means that my original booking time is a goner. Ever the optimist I warn the restaurant I’m running late but will get there as soon as I can. Ha! Negotiating Peckham for the first time with my dying iPhone and finding out how few roads are actually signposted means I see far more of Peckham than I want. But eventually I find the place. The smoke & accompanying grill smells billowing from a canvas awning in front of a former pub signal that I’ve arrived. And I am starving.
Finally I get in and sit down and my spot is on one of the communal tables to the left of the main door. My overwhelming urge not to disturb others means that I start sitting with my back to the room but I can’t deal with that. Eventually I have to disrupt my neighbours so I can see what is going on. The stark room has bare floorboards, green painted walls and white accenting on all of the trim. The furniture goes with the vogue of mismatched tables and chairs and cutlery is in a bucket in the centre of the table. The only other table garnish is a fat candle merrily flickering away. Unfortunately, the last train back to my Terminal 4 hotel leaves central London ridiculously early so I’m not able to spend as much time as I want even though I’m settled. But I can get round that. The rapidly delivered glass of house white, a Sicilian Inzolia helps relax me further. I love a menu that throws up foods I’ve never heard of before. Za’atar bread, skordalia, sucuc, ktipiti, adjika and avgolemono all sound exotic and tempting even though I’ve no real idea what they are.
The tight timeframe means my usual approach to ordering food changes. Rather than go for what stands out, I ask for whatever can be prepared the quickest and it’s quite nice to put myself in the hands of the restaurant. The pomegranate molasses marinated quail and marinated lamb will have to wait until another visit.
The first course is the sucuc (spiced lamb sausage) partnered with spiced aubergine and soft boiled egg. This provides immediate confirmation that the rush in from Heathrow and the trials of Peckham in the dark are totally justified. Za’atar flatbread underpins the dish so you have a delightful dense bread to soak up the combination of soft and oozy stewed aubergine and onion. The dense lamb sausage is wonderful with its subtle spicy heat and the minted parsley garnish adds a bit of light relief that helps the whole dish. A lovely way to start things.
The first glass of the moreish Inzolia evaporates quickly so there’s nothing to do but order another before the main arrives. The grilled octopus with fava, capers and silverskins is even better than the sucuc thanks to the wonderful balanced combination of flavours. The juicy chunk of octopus tentacle has a smoky edge that it picks up from the grill and is simply superb. The fava bean purée is a total delight and the hint of mint and parsley in the red onion garnish makes the whole dish sing. But best of all are the sweet onions on top. A delightful dish.
I glance longingly at the menu but unfortunately I’m out of time. I settle my bill quickly and the last act before scurrying back to Peckham Rye is a handshake and a photo of the two main men as they chat by the outside grill.
Peckham Bazaar easily lives up to expectation and despite my flying visit doesn’t disappoint at all. My culinary experience of Balkan food veers towards Greek places that include the standard mix of kebabs, stuffed grape leaves and souvlaki that can keep me quite happy. However, the food at Peckham Bazaar is light years ahead of this kind of fare. It's a joyous mix of thoughtful where each dish is a wonderful amalgam of balanced flavours and hearty that ensures you leave sated. Every time I look at the photos I can’t wait to go back.
The restaurant is currently undergoing a renovation which includes bringing the grill indoors. It will be high on my list of places to go back to when I manage to get back to London, especially now I know how to find it.
Overall Rating – 4.5/5
Peckham Bazaar easily lives up to expectation and despite my flying visit doesn’t disappoint at all. My culinary experience of Balkan food veers towards Greek places that include the standard mix of kebabs, stuffed grape leaves and souvlaki that can keep me quite happy. However, the food at Peckham Bazaar is light years ahead of this kind of fare. It's a joyous mix of thoughtful where each dish is a wonderful amalgam of balanced flavours and hearty that ensures you leave sated. Every time I look at the photos I can’t wait to go back.
The restaurant is currently undergoing a renovation which includes bringing the grill indoors. It will be high on my list of places to go back to when I manage to get back to London, especially now I know how to find it.
Overall Rating – 4.5/5
