Coal Rooms
Peckham, London
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A handsome building done out in pale brick, the former ticket hall of Peckham Rye station was transformed into a resourceful, all-day eatery some years ago. Light café-style furniture creates a Scandi feel, while the tiled walls and majestic toilets (Victorian and Grade II-listed) bear witness to the building's architectural past. Open-fire cooking is the kitchen's speciality, lending its aromatic savour to charred vegetables such as peppers with smoked cashews in chilli-hot salsa macha, or courgettes and asparagus with pine nuts and wild garlic in harissa. There is charring too, notably on the pineapple that accompanies burrata with roasted walnuts, and on the spring onions that go with wild sea bass and crab butter. When it comes to meat, the technique reaches its apogee – as in a Tamworth pork chop with perfectly rendered fat, sauced with mustard and sweet cider. Sides could do with a little more attention, but the sweet potato with crispy onions in chimichurri is worth a punt. The final indulgence could be a hazelnut chocolate brownie with vanilla mascarpone in Congolese Virunga chocolate sauce. The short wine list offers a good international spread from £29 (£7.50 a glass).
