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Uh oh – a new restaurant has opened in Peckham. Set your London discourse phasers to nuclear and prepare for a lumpy and scolding essay.
Only joking. This is all about Little Kudu, the latest gland on the Kudu ‘collective’ udder, which started as a single, South African-inspired restaurant and has now branched out into a grill, a cocktail bar in a Chelsea clothing shop and, somewhat inexplicably, a private dining space that is also gallery. There is no pie on the menu, but you can imagine if there was, owners Amy Corbin and Patrick Williams would have their fingers firmly in it.
More in the traditional Saffa canon was an amazingly tangy slopfest of braaibroodjie, a sort of luxury open-faced cheese toastie.
Little Kudu sits unassumingly in the arches under Queen’s Road Peckham station. It’s an unlovable patch of street, thronged by new builds and a graveyard of abandoned e-scooters and bikes. Mercifully the tiny interior, all dusty pinks and light browns and crowned with a rather stunning Murano glass chandelier, is a pokey oasis.
The ‘collective’s signature cocktail, the Smokey Kudu (also the name of their bar – keep up) take on a Manhattan, came in a little pour-it-yourself corked bottle, and, with a blend of Laphroaig and Japanese whisky, was a delicious and blood-thinning way to start a meal.
Little Kudu markets itself as a kind of tapas restaurant, and so not one for anti-small-plates crew. The Little Kudu loaf with Cape Malay butter was a salty brioche accompanied by a pan of spiced, buttery drippings, reminiscent of maniacally scraping the remnants of a curry with a naan (the Cape Malays are a muslim ethnic group in South Africa). The pigs head croquettes also evoked another global cuisine, this time Johannesburg by way of Chinatown, fragrant with star anise and five spice.
More in the traditional Saffa canon was an amazingly tangy slopfest of braaibroodjie, a sort of luxury open-faced cheese toastie. On the large plate side of things, it saw slices of bavette steak served with jammy red peppers and, somewhat confoundingly, a foamy hollandaise. Dessert was a steppe of chocolate soil covering a Don Pedro and Milo mousse combo – think boozy Nurishment and sweet in both senses of the word.
Everything at Little Kudu is careful and considered, and for the most part excelled, save for a couple of unnecessary risks. The wine was all from South Africa, and an ice cold Syrah was a welcome standout in the mid-summer heat. The ‘collective’ clearly know cooking. Let’s just hope they don’t jam a ceramics shop or a knitwear outlet in here as well – Little Kudu is more than acceptable as a restaurant.
The vibe An alcove of escapist luxury in new build Chernobyl.
The food South African fusion that flits between fresh and fun.
The drink The Smokey Kudu – but be careful, more than one and your legs will give way
Time Out tip Stick to the top half of the menu, more small-small plates than big-small plates.