One of the best things about Deptford is the diversity of its restaurants; we’re talking Vietnamese, Caribbean, West African and Italian. But for our money, there’s nothing more comforting on a chilly evening than fiery Sichuan food from JinJiang. Order widely from its extensive menu; we’re big fans of the fried aubergine, potatoes and green peppers (a famous Shandong dish known as “three treasures from the ground” and the mouth-numbing Sichuan-spiced ma po tofu. Heaven.
Ah, Deptford. There is truly nowhere in London quite like it. The top of its high street is marked by an enormous anchor – a nod to the neighbourhood’s rich maritime history. (Fun fact: Peter the Great hung out here in the seventeenth century on a quest to improve Russia’s ship-building skills!) You can find nearly anything on this famous high street – great coffee, friendly barber shops, Vietnamese restaurants, Caribbean grocery shops, the list goes on – and at its end on Creek Road, you’ll find yourself at the Thames. Oh, and did we mention the epic Saturday junk market?
It’s a neighbourhood full of surprises, which rewards curiosity. And that’s exactly what our editor Joe Mackertich discovered while recording the latest episode of our podcast, ‘Love Thy Neighbourhood’, sponsored by FREENOW, the mobility super app. On this episode, Joe invites actor, comedian, writer and proud south Londoner Jon Pointing to take him on a tour of Deptford. To find out which spots Pointing picked, you’ll just have to listen to the podcast, won’t you? But first, we’ll give you a flavour of the neighbourhood with some of our top picks.
