Will Bowlby and Rik Campbell first launched Kricket onto an adoring public at Pop Brixton in 2016 before re-locating to an equally loved permanent site in Soho. Now they’re back where their success story first started with this new site under the railway arches by Brixton Market (they opened a flagship site in White City in the summer of 2018).
The new Brixton branch is larger than Soho and incorporates a separate bar where you can sample punchy cocktails such as the rum-based Dark Matter ahead of a table in the colonial-meets-industrial dining room (all dark-wood tables and house plants) – although as this Kricket takes bookings, you won’t have to wait to sit down.
As in Soho, the short menu has a core list of Kricket classics joined by dishes that change every couple of months. The now legendary Keralan fried chicken, dusted with pepper and served with a tangy curry leaf mayonnaise for dipping, is worth ordering whether this is your first visit or your fifteenth. The crunchy bhel puris also make a welcome appearance with their swirl of tamarind stickiness, puffed rice and dollops of yoghurt.
Elsewhere, Goan sausage pao are like intensely meaty mini burger buns with a mild afterglow of chilli heat, while a colourful bowl of juicy tomatoes livened up with hints of spring onion, ginger and sesame is one of several veggie options – although like all the cooking, spice levels are toned down for Western palates. A smooth lassi-style mango parfait is the sole dessert.
Pocket-friendly, cool and complemented by fun and chatty staff, this branch of Kricket is a welcome return to a buzzing Brixton restaurant scene it helped to kick-start.