Brawn

Brawn has matured like the street on which it stands. Once a pig-focused pioneer in the hipster hangout of Columbia Road, it's now a long-standing institution, catering to professionals of this coveted London postcode. To step inside, however, is to find a place still young at heart – old school hip-hop blurts out of vintage speakers, a forest of empty wine bottles adorns the whitewashed walls, mid-century chairs clatter about a dining room that’s packed even in the midweek doldrums.

The menu rotates almost as quickly as the vinyl records here, but there are classics at the heart of things: among them Parmesan fritters – little crispy balls of white-hot cheese, lost under a heavy snowfall of Parmesan shavings. The kitchen is adept at stylish presentation: notably in a delicious starter of crab amid thickets of agretti and blood orange. By contraast, meaty mains on our visit had a bias towards the rustic: braised rabbit agnolotti with rosemary or veal blanquette with wild mushrooms, perhaps. A highlight was a hefty Barnsley chop, served alongside crispy torpedo-like pink fir potatoes and the tang of anchoaïde.

Desserts might include a much-loved vanilla panna cotta happily sozzled in Campari – although a sight to behold on our visit was a tall, teetering stack of rhubarb and custard mille-feuille. An expansive wine list goes big on French and skin-contact offerings. 'Very cool, but not pretentious,' is one verdict.