EatsDulwich

I've got some in my back garden that I won't be needing this year Jon. PM me if you want to come and pick some once it's properly flowering.

There's a stall on Brockley Market which sells game and rabbitt. Not sure if it's wild rabbit. Try contacting the organisers who can check with the stall holder for you: Brockley Market.

We use Local Greens who mrure mentions. We collect our bag of veg (which comes from organic or spray free farms as local to SE London as possible) every Thursday from Green & Blue on Lordship Lane. They have a number of other colelction points in the area. Good veg, well sourced and a lovely bunch of people. We pay around ?50 per month for a weekly bag throughout the year.

Agree with EGL about The Victoria. You might also consider The Paxton which is a couple of minutes from Gypsy Hill station. It has lots of safe enclosed outdoor space and a small children's play area outside. Good food and they can cater for children.

The Great Exhibition... (@GreatExibitED on twitter)

The food at Saf has been excellent when we've been, as have the cocktails. I just find the interior a little cold and canteen like, but that might just be me.

I'm not sure if you want to be in Dulwich itself? If not, the Old Nun's Head in Nunhead has a large function room upstairs which is great for parties. They serve food and drink. I think the Mag on Lordship Lane also hires out its upstairs function room. The Herne (Forest Hill Road) has a separate function room out in the garden. I'm sure there are more I can't think of right now... @EatsDulwich

Like indiepanda I drink my coffee black and struggle to find coffee that is strong enough without ordering an espresso! Amongst others, I have had good coffee at Jack's, Homemade, Bambuni, ED Warehouse, Dark Fluid Coffee (Brockley Market) and Luca's but each time it depends who makes it... The quality of coffee has as much to do with the barista and the machine they're using as it does the coffee beans.

When I invite friends over for a meal I want to cook a meal that we can all enjoy together. I would hate to put a plate of food in front of a friend and for them to feel obliged to eat it or have to leave it, so like Pickle, I always ask in advance what my guests don't eat (for whatever reason) and plan a menu to suit them and us.

g-rant - For coffee I'm quite fond of Homemade on Barry Road. As far as I'm aware they're still using beans from Coffee Plant on Portobello Road. I've also had decent coffee at Zenoria in the ED Warehouse - they serve Volcano Coffee (West Norwood) as does Bambuni across the common in Nunhead. I agree with ontheedge that you can usually get a decent coffee in Green & Blue too. If you fancy a coffee whilst you shop on a Saturday lunchtime, Dark Fluid pitch up their mobile coffee cart at Brockley Market (Lewisham College carpark).

Just thinking about it, there are also lots of individuals who run their own businesses like Bake Until Scrumptious, photographers (including Helen Jermyn), piano teachers, Suzanne James (caterers).

There are lots of ED businesses on twitter: Rye Books, Roullier White, ED Warehouse, Mrs Robinson, Franklins, Jack's, Zenoria Coffee, The Palmerston, The Herne, The Actress, The Bishop, EDT, The Rose, Green & Blue, the card shop on LL( sorry I can't remember the name), Shot by the Sheriff, the gyms...and loads more I can't think of off the top of my head I'm sure! Also local are The Gowlett, The Victoria, The Paxton, Persepolis, Old Nun's Head, Bambuni, Ayres the Baker, the soon to be Dish and the Spoon, Anderson & Co, Babur, Hills & Parkes, Hopscotch Bar and loads in Brockley. Are you looking for their twitter handles?

It's a lovely little market with great produce. We seem to head over there every couple of weeks at the moment. Had some amazing food from Mike & Ollie a couple of weeks ago for lunch.

Has anyone tried The Rosendale for a roast since it reopened? I've heard mixed reports so far. I'm with taper when it comes to roasts...homecooked wins every time.

As others have said, The Florence in Herne Hill is very child friendly and has a large secure playroom at the back. They serve good food (although I've never had a roast there so can't vouch for the roasts). They also serve children's portions (including a small roast I think). Same owners as The Bishop and The Victoria Inn. The best roast I've had in the area recently was at The Victoria Inn (SE15)- great quality and quantity. Although not cheap (?10-?12) it was streets ahead of the offering at The Magnolia last time I was there for what I think was a similar price. The Victoria welcomes children but not so much for them to do if you need distractions for them. Also had a couple of good roasts at The Mansion (SE27 - Sydenham Hill) recently. There were quite a few children there when we were. I think there might be a garden but we didn't venture out so not sure what there might be to entertain little ones.

BTW - I think Cate is right that Tracy of Dolce Vita is away at the moment...

When is your baby due Buggie? Perhaps we could organise an East Dulwich chocolate brownie bake-off for the homebakers and make sure there are plenty left over for you to taste :) I'm sure there are plenty people in ED baking up some terrific brownies....

Ever so sorry Smiler - next time!

Thanks nbn! Not heard of Hopscotch so I'll have to seek it out :) It's sounding more and more like we'll have to do a second tasting...Hopscotch, Homemade, Jack's, The Bishop, The Old Nunshead. Anymore???!

Sadly Homemade hadn't opened when we did the tasting in June or else we would have! We missed Jack's too because they're only open on weekdays...

Apologies for ressurecting an old thread....but there's good reason! Inspired by this seemingly endless thread about where to buy the best chocolate brownies in and around East Dulwich we decided to hold a tasting of all the chocolate brownies we could find in East Dulwich (along with a few mentioned on this thread from nearby) to put them to the test. We bought them all on a Saturday morning so that they were fresh and got together to get tasting the very same day...it was an arduous task, but someone had to do it :) Not everyone has the same tastes or is looking for the same thing, but the clear winner on the day, at ?1.80 per slice, was the brownie from Dolce Vita Catering who have a stall outside The Cheese Block on Lordship Lane on a Saturday. The runners up were the Choc Star brownies from Wild Caper (Brixton) and the incredibly buttery fudge-like brownie from ED Deli (Lordship Lane). If you're short of something to do (!) (or genuinely interested...) you can read more about it here. We'd love to know if you agree or disagree or whether we missed a gem...