French & Grace

Time Out says

Tue Oct 25 2011

Salad Club hostesses Rosie French and Ellie Grace have taken their monthly supper club to the next level by giving it a permanent home in Brixton Village Market. French & Grace serves a small selection of Mediterranean dishes, notably salads and wraps. The tiny eatery has space for only three tables inside; a handful more are placed outside, in the covered arcade. We noticed quite a few take-away orders on our visit, most opting for what they call the ‘über wrap’: a moist flatbread stuffed with lamb merguez, halloumi and houmous.

Salads have always been at the heart of the duo’s operations, and a warm chilli squash and chickpea salad didn’t fail to get a nod of approval: the feta and mint-studded salad came accompanied by an earthy beetroot purée and zesty houmous, all to be scooped up with crisp pieces of flatbread.

The lamb stew was bursting with warm Moorish flavours of prune and cinnamon, and was served with carrot and orange mash. Even though the meat and purée were on the sweet side, the components harmonised astonishingly well.

The only dessert on the October menu – affogato – was surprisingly summery: a scoop of vanilla ice cream topped with espresso and almond flakes.

French & Grace has the perfect location for Thursday evenings, when live music sessions are taking place at the Agile Rabbit just opposite.