What is East Dulwich Missing - Food Wise

[SweetShopDan]

I would be interested in everyones opinion about what East Dulwich is missing, food wise:

- A good Steak House

- A Sushi Restaurant

- A Fish Restaurant

- Something a little bit different e.g. Cajun food

Just a couple of suggestions to get things started.

Also what do people really dislike about the current food offering in East Dulwich?

[Jeremy]

None of the Chinese places are great, and none do dim sum.

[SeanMacGabhann]

Hi Dan

I reckon you would find an audience for all of the above. Somewhere LIKE Bodeans would also be good. A Vietnamese has been announced once or twice on here but for whatever reason(s) it's never quite happened

A rival Mexican would be interesting but we should see how the revamp of the existing one goes

And a vegetarian restaurant always comes up in "what we don't have" type polls

As for ED generally and food - we do pretty well by many postcode standards but I would say there is an overall "meh" factor if you are being serious about quality. Most of the restaurants around here have their champions and detractors, but in my opinion the only one I would rate as a destination for outsiders would be Franklins. It does a small menu, with good ingredients and does them very well. And service (possibly only in the evening) is great as well

Have you got summat interesting in mind for a vacant space??

[James]

M&S!!!!!!!!!!

Veggie restaurant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[lordship_bod]

i would go for a steak place, a good mexican and like jeremy says a place that does good dim sum.

what i dislike about ED is that we have 101 indian restaurants and a small bit of variety at the other end of the scale...

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

A winkle stall.

[SweetShopDan]

Thanks for the feedback, Sean we are at the early stages of looking at an empty space, will let you know more at the end of the week.

I keep coming back to a Steak House, a choice of cuts and variety of sauces, great ingredients cooked simply and charged appropriately.

[SeanMacGabhann]

A steakhouse with more adventurous cuts than the traditional rump/sirloin/filet would hit the spot for me

I like a piece of onglet for my steak-frites

And speaking of frites, very few places do good ones - much less great ones

Somewhere like Les Halles in NY would be the kind of place I would love to have nearby

Les Halles

[SweetShopDan]

Exactly a contemporary NY Steak House, Lou and I went in April and loved the place!

[david_carnell]

Honestly, and this isn't an attack on James or anyone else in particular, but if I hear one more person ask for an M&S I'm going to suffocate myself in some excessive cardboard and shrink-wrapped clingfilm. Argh!

Dim-sum would be good. I know its far from authentic but Ping-Pong in town is quite lovely.

The steak in Franklin's is pretty special so I'm covered for that.

I really can't think of anything that we don't have or that isn't a short journey away. Cajun/soul food would be lovely but can't see it surviving. I'd like Le Chardon to be a bit more rustic bistro-esque and have prices to match. Otherwise I'm pretty happy.

Edit: I see a NYC style steak-house is being mooted. Witha proper brolier then it could be good. But no wagyu or USDA meat please, we can do amazing beef from British farms.

[timtim]

Food-wise we are very lucky in ED, but I guess we are still missing:

- Sushi

- Dim sum

- Good steak

- Good mexican

- Vietnamese

About 6 months ago I was whinging we had no good Italian, but we've now got Locale and the Italian on Forest Hill Road

[CamberwellOz]

You have to use Mr. GG Sparkes though. Best meat in the area!

[SweetShopDan]

The Steak in Franklins is ?19.50, is it awesome? I will have to try it.

[jumpinjackflash]

A steak house like the Gaucho Grill in Richmond would be amazing - best steak ever!

[SweetShopDan]

David, rest assured any produce would be sourced in the UK, I am a farmers son so my life would not be worth living if this was not the case.

Excuse my ignoraance but what is a brolier?

[SeanMacGabhann]

He's being brolier than thou again Dan ;-)

Broiling generally - start the education

here

as ever tho'- just use that as a starting point

[ratty]

McDonalds

[HonaloochieB]

Dan, get a franchise for a Wimpy bar and the beau monde of the SE22 district will beat a path to your door.

Ignore Ratty and her MacDonalds, this isn't bloody Croydon you know.

[woodie]

japanese not nec just sushi but noodles/rice at reasonable prices and a neat felafel stall, 2 I'd frequent with the odd curry and restaraunt variants already here.

[Mellors]

I had the sirloin at The Rosendale on Saturday night and it was really superb - although a bit priocey at ?22. Franklins steak has always been great as well.

I vote for a decent Chinese.

[TheNewMrsH]

A good steak house would be good as would a good italian...

[Marmora Man]

Two points (and a minor third)

1. Steak is easy to cook (tho' many restaurants seem to fail to do it properly) - a one item menu (albeit several different cuts) always strikes me as unadventurous. Surely the trick for a restauranter is to encourage return visits - an ever changing menu helps with this.

2. A decent fish restuarant (think Rick Stein's on a more inland / lower cost basis) would be a different matter. Shellfish, fish soups, various species, cuts and cooking options - including perhas a really good seafood pie, Omelette Arnold Bennett, smoked eel, devilled crab, soft shelled crab and so on - now that would attract me and I do not know of one in the area outside of central London.

3. Sean McG speaks of the Onglet - an underated cut, also known as the butcher's steak, with 5 of 6 friends choosing it (on my recommendation) for dinner on Saturday night at the Blue Print Cafe I can vouch, yet again, for this steak cut. Cooked quickly on a very high heat the outside was charred but the inside meltingly rare - served with watercress salad and horseradish cream - just superb. PS: There's just one onglet (of about 1 - 2 Kilo per beast) so it will always be a rarity on menus.

[david_carnell]

@ MM

For a decent fish restaurant (albeit a French one) try the Lobster Pot in Kennington.

[DaveR]

North African would be good - tagine, brochette, couscous etc. Or (in my dreams) Iranian, with a bread oven in the front, like the places round Olympia/West Ken - fantastic

[Sandperson]

ratty Wrote:

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> McDonalds

Seconded