Naughty Piglets
Brixton, London
The Other Naughty Piglet may have closed its doors for good in Victoria, but the original is still rocking in Brixton. The energy of this place hits you as soon as you step through the door, in fact it’s the very model of a new-breed London neighbourhood eatery – a noisy, jam-packed cave-like space with rough brick walls, tight seating, an open kitchen and a bar in the basement. Lyon-born Margaux Aubry and Joe Sharratt met while working at Trinity in nearby Clapham: she takes care of the natural wines; he oversees the cooking. Dishes may be small and delicate but they ‘pack a punch’, with British produce to the forefront but no limits when it comes to ingredients and influences. Devon crab could be expertly combined with crunchy raw cabbage, peanut satay and yuzu, while unctuous steamed pork belly arrives as ‘glorious ribbons of meat and fat’ fired up with Korean spices and sesame. The kitchen is free to roam, fashioning everything from plump, garlicky chicken Kyiv with cauliflower to a veggie dish of earthy girolles, fire-licked BBQ corn and Parmesan in mushroom dashi that yielded ‘stealthy but well-balanced flavours’. Desserts are bit-part players, perhaps rich white chocolate mousse offset by a sweet, sharp berry ‘gazpacho’. Those natural wines are stored in a ‘dungeon’ and there’s no list as such – so take expert advice from one of the clued-up, tuned in staff: a Georgian Tsolikouri has proved ‘extremely quaffable’ on a steaming hot day.
Dining Information:
Separate bar, Counter seating, Wheelchair access, Dog friendly, Credit card required
28 Brixton Water Lane, Brixton SW2 1PE
020 7274 7796
