Hidden away behind Elephant and Castle station, Lenos & Carbon is an unpretentious restaurant serving top notch Columbian food at incredibly reasonable prices. Having relocated a while back from the New Kent Road, it now finds itself in and among many of London’s most authentic South American restaurants, all based in the so-called Latin Quarter. However, Lenos & Carbon still holds its own and is hugely popular with its loyal group of regulars as well as those lucky enough to stumble upon it, meaning that it’s often worth calling ahead. However, once you’re sat down inside the café-like restaurant, one thing that’s guaranteed is that you’ll be served food that packs a punch.
Lenos & Carbon doesn’t look like an awful lot from the outside, with a tatty sign hanging above the door, the only clue that a restaurant lies within. However, once inside there’s always a buzzy nature which is hard not to get on board with. The walls are largely bare but have the odd print hanging from them, and a number of plain wooden tables are squeezed into the space.
When it comes to the food menu, there’s a variety of different dishes on offer. The offering begins with a selection of small dishes which can be eaten as starters or shared amongst the table as tapas. These range from a number of different arepas, all the way through to prawn ceviche and calamari. Main courses encompass everything from seafood dishes like charcoal-grilled salmon and trout in shrimp sauce, to meaty dishes such as pork loin with apple sauce, and beef flank cooked in tomato, onion and garlic sauce.
If you have room for any more food, you can pick from desserts such as Columbian-style figs with syrup, cheese and caramel, and rice pudding again done in the traditional Columbian way.