Many restaurants proffer a ‘shop local’ ethos, but Dockley Road Kitchen - a new eatery attached to Bermondsey’s produce market Spa Terminus - has taken it one step further. Here, they’ve reversed the chicken and the egg, seeing a postcode bursting with top tier ingredients and realising that the one thing missing was a place to actually eat them. Helmed by former St John chef Emily Chia, with Klaudia Weisz and Alex Keys ex-of Rochelle Canteen, the trio are joined by Spa Terminus’ resident meat supplier, Farmer Tom Jones. Readers, keep your knickers to yourself, it’s not that one.
Banh mi terrine takes the flavours of Vietnam and packs them into a dense, meaty slice
But what Dockley Road Kitchen lacks in fruity Welsh belters, it makes up for with a genuine ethos that really works: make great food with great ingredients from trusted people that you want to work with. Sometimes, it really is that simple. Though Bermondsey has a fair few hotspots in keeping with its more street-smart, industrial feel - the area’s brewery-spotlighting Beer Mile, or the bustling arches of Maltby Street Market - as you walk down towards Dockley Road Kitchen, its warm, golden light feels like an inviting beacon amongst… well, not an awful lot, to be honest.
All 1970s dark wood and posh-smelling candles, with an open plan kitchen to add a pleasing level of bustle, inside it’s like being in the dining room of a classy older relative’s New York loft. You can picture the ghost of Diane Keaton laughing with one of their Tallow Martinis in the corner - a small but perfectly crisp take on the classic, with fino sherry and a rendered suet that gives the smoothest of finishes.
The menu is a small but perfectly formed selection of plates designed for sharing. Eighty per cent of the menu, we’re told, is sourced from local traders - and as an advert for their neighbours, Dockley Road deserves a cut of the profits. Hot pockets of panisse, a polenta-adjacent snack made from chickpea flour, look like nothing much but are ultra creamy and could almost be mistaken for cheese, while a ‘banh mi’ terrine takes the flavours of Vietnam and packs them into a dense, meaty slice, topped with pickles. Some may prefer theirs a little looser; personally, I like my terrines to really cram the goods in.
A crab raviolo, stuffed with delicate white meat and perched in a lake of fragrant green curry is a well-balanced thing, whereas the brill, swimming in a buttery, vermouth-laced sauce and spiked with pickled mussels doesn’t mess around. If you’re trying to cut back on meat, get yourself a fish that can satisfy the same itch. It’s Dockley Road’s ‘Cacio e Pepe’ dauphinoise, however, that’s quickly becoming the talk of the restaurant: a brick of thinly sliced spuds in a puddle of decadent sauce and slathered with parmesan shavings, which cries at you to enjoy your night without apology. In fact, this is the feel of Dockley Road as a whole: with little playful touches that aren’t trying too hard at anything, it’s a good vibes place. The staff are lovely; the mood is great; the food wants you to have a nice time. We finished with a golden syrup steamed sponge, its pleasingly rough edges straight out of the mould, and a dollop of herbally, creamy Montenegro semifreddo - a mix of classic and modern that felt apt (and delicious). With Dockley Road Kitchen, Spa Terminus’ reputation is in good hands.
The vibe Relaxed sharing plates in an under-used pocket of Bermondsey.
The food Top tier ingredients used in interesting and globe-trotting new ways.
The drink A compact cocktail list and extensive wine offering, sold by the carafe.
Time Out tip Order the steamed sponge for pud; essentially a hug in a bowl.