Kricket Brixton — Restaurant in London

The staff were lovely, the vibe was good and cocktails were amazing but the food...not so much.

I had high hopes for this place after reading all of the reviews but alas, I didn't have the same experience. OK, so here's what I ordered and my issues with the food. First of all when you have an extremely short menu, I expect everything to be amazing.

As a starter we had the burrata and the raw bavette (tartar). The burrata was so overpowered by coriander seeds and other spices that you just couldn't enjoy a good mouthful of it because you have a constant unavoidable, bad crunch in your mouth. When dishes have lots of spices in it, it's generally a good thing but not in this case.

I love a good tartare but the bavette was just not good enough. Not sure whether the meat wasn't good quality but it was not a pleasant sensation. A bit chewy and the spices didn't do anything for it and in general this could have been a magical combination (tartare + spices).

We had 3 more dishes: the spiced smoked cod roe, the sweet potato and the fried keralan chicken. The cod roe was over-blended into an extremely smooth paste and lacked a bit of a fresh kick to it. Either like lemon or something else to bring out the flavour. The lovely marinated/pickled onion that went with it was supposed to possibly do that but it just wasn't enough and it wasn't balanced.

The keralan chicken was the biggest disappointment of the night. It looked red and crunchy and I couldn't wait to take a bite of it. First of all, it wasn't warm, then it was soggy and it lacked the fried chicken crunch that I assumed that it was supposed to have but the worst bit was that it was simply bland. The curry leaf mayo that came with it was also horribly tasteless and was pointless having it on the plate. The best thing about the dish were the pickled radishes. Overall, it felt like it was extremely under-seasoned and that it was cooked a good couple of hours before serving, hence the sogginess and lack of nice fried chicken crunch. Very frustrating. The sweet potato came last and despite that it was lukewarm and just wasn't anything special. The flavour of the potato itself was nice but the topping had way too much of a spice (not sure exactly how it's called) that felt as if you're chewing food that contains stones. It's not a pleasant experience.

Basically with most of the dishes there was an element of an unpleasant crunch because you had to chew through seeds or very hard spices. And don't get me wrong I generally love spices but the spices here were not adding flavour at all. The one dish that needed to have the crunch was the fried chicken and that one just didn't. It's a shame really because it feels like a missed opportunity.

We also had a paratha, which was nice but it tasted as if it was made with puff pastry (you know that artificial butter flavour, yeah that one) and that's not a good thing.

Overall for £80 for two people and with such a short menu, I was expecting simply better and tastier food. It was quite disappointing and we left full but dissatisfied (I know first world problems but for £80, I want flavour!)

It's possible that I came on an off day( it was a Tuesday!) or that my selection from the short...

Update: 16/07/2024. Oh dear, the food here has gone down hill. The mains are loaded with salt and chilli! And when we complained we were told that’s all they had. Obviously they mass produce the sauces and layer in salt and chilli to hide their lack of flavour. What was once a small venue (see below) has become a sprawling mega kitchen that shows no care and attention to its food. It’s a shame as some of the smaller dishes are decent enough, but hey, it’s not too difficult to get a good chaat elsewhere. Add a few extra pounds and go to Dishroom for a takeaway!

Kricket Brixton is a small venue with a kitchen and long bar. Thus, there are relatively few tables. It could be described as intimate, if you aren’t seated right in the window. The staff are attentive and welcoming. There was no music playing, so not a great deal of ambiance or atmosphere for dinner.

This also applies to the menu, which lacks any real “dinner” options. The menu is designed to be shared, with around 9 small plates to choose from and a few sides. We were a party of 5 and 4 of us were still hungry when we left. The issue was in trying to determine the size of the sharing dishes, which turned out to be only enough for one, or two at a stretch.

It would have been helpful to read a menu that distinguished which dishes were actual mains sized (or big enough for 2 to happily share). As a result, we ended up ordering 2 or 3 “mains” and 9 or 10 sides. Not really a sensible dinner! The cocktails, although well made, were also a little on the small side. The food was very tasty and well made but sadly lacked spice for an Indian inspired restaurant.

So... it’s a good place for a quiet lunch... too expensive and quiet just for cocktails... and okay for a quick dinner, as long as you’re...

I believe this is the first time I've ever felt the need to leave a review for a restaurant, so already, this place is ABSOLUTELY worth your time. I found this place searching for a spot that has a focus on sharing plates with whomever you decide to bring, and they truly delivered.

The décor, the atmosphere, the service, and the food/cocktails are all perfect, even the playlist has some real gems I would have never expected to hear out for a meal. We got 4 dishes in all at the suggestion of our waitress (I'm sorry I never asked your name!) who was spot on in saying that it would be more than enough plus a dessert. The chefs special of Cod, a butternut squash plate, bhel puri, plus a side of malabar paratha were all amazing, everything all the way down to the tiniest shred of cucumber was perfectly crafted to create a symphony of flavour. The cocktails weren't lacking in their share of care of creation either, the dark matter and the paper plane were wonderfully balanced drinks, the dark matter especially was something wholly unique which one of the waitresses was kind enough to ask the bartender for their recipe of a green chilli rum.

All in all, I can't overstate how much of a gem this restaurant is, everything screams of passion and it'll be a place I absolutely revisit, especially considering how well priced the whole evening was. Do yourself a favour and get down here, and on your way out do the incredible chefs a favour and slip a round of beers in for just a fiver, they more...