Brunswick House Cafe Vauxhall – A Hidden Gem

Vauxhall has always been the place that you pass through, change trains and don’t give it much thought. There isn’t exactly a high street to hang out at. There is however a little gem of a restaurant hidden amidst the Lassco reclamation yard which is dwarfed by a monstrous block of purpose built flats. Brunswick House Cafe is run by Jackson and his team.

This only opened a short while ago and is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The lunch menu is quite simple to cater to the local office workers who frequent the place and the dinner menu is a lot more adventurous.

We recently stopped here for a drink before dinner nearby. They have some table outside where you can sit among the reproduction gargoyles but just ignore the roar of traffic from over the wall. Inside there are 2 rooms, all eclectically furnished. The first has an open kitchen and a few tables and the inner room is decorated with the stock that the reclamation business sells. This could be a real mess but they seem to have created a really cosy space.

The ceiling is hung with a whole bunch of chandeliers and other quirky light fittings. The seating is made up of all sorts of unmatched seating and decor from big bright stage lights, an old library stair which is covered in old shoes. If you do visit, the decor might not look anything like the picture as the stuff gets sold off.

Jackson is the brains behind the menu which has some rather unusual and delectable flavours. Unexpectedly, as we were having drinks, we were served a few dishes off their menu.

Firstly, the outstanding Nduja, goats curd and honey crostini thingy which is a spreadable spicy salami from Calabria combined with the sweetness of honey and creaminess of the goats curd, enough to make one swoon. Jackson says he often makes this for breakfast and if they serve it there, I’ll happily make the trek there for another dose of this.

We also had a hard boiled duck’s egg with runny yolk topped with a dollop of mustard and vinegrette, unctious. Lastly, it was some simple grilled asparagus with a delicious dipping sauce made with wet garlic and sherry.

Just going by the flavours we had of the 3 seemingly simple dishes, this guy loves big flavours. Just my kind of food and I’ll have to be back to have a proper meal. Will report back and hope it doesn’t disappoint.