Craft Beer & Cosmopolitan Vibes at Parks Edge

Posh Dulwich.  Edgy Brixton.  And spanning the gap: Herne Hill, cosmopolitan urban oasis.

Rich kids’ Dulwich College.  Culture vultures’ Dulwich Picture Gallery, target of November art heist when would-be robbers took two valuable Rembrandts off the wall only to dump them in undergrowth in a police chase. Chi-chi shops, village feel and classy eateries.

Brixton: home of industrial-level decibel clubs, including Electric; Brixton Jamm for funk, hip hop and r&b; much-loved Ritzy Picture house restored to its 1911 glory; bustling market and fried chicken shops.

Sporty Herne Hill: the Herne Hill Harriers, keen amateur athletic sports club; the Velodrome, one of the oldest cycling tracks in the world, built in 1891 before the birth of Lycra, and host to London Olympic track events in 1948; Brockwell Park Lido, built in 1937 and re-opened in 1994 thanks to activists fighting four year closure.

All three South East London towns can claim Brockwell Park as their own – 50 green hectares commanding views of the city and central London, beloved by joggers, skateboarders, dating couples and families with four million visits a year.

And on its edge, bordered by Norwood Road and round the corner from Herne Hill overground station is Park’s Edge Bar and Kitchen, reflecting the identities of the whole area with inventive cocktails and classic British dishes spiced up with world flavours.

One dismal November evening three of us visited for an early supper.  We shared small plates of huge flavour: minted green pea and coconut yoghurt hummus, babaganoush, white truffle oil and focaccia with hot peppered squid and grilled Cornish tiger marinated garlic prawns.

Oh, and did I mention cocktails that kicked off the flavour fest?  Twenty year old student, nursing a hangover, was revived with a Lycheenee: bacardi white rum, lychee liqueur and strawberry puree.

Instant result.  It kick-started her appetite to such an extent we had to talk her out of ordering the most expensive dish on the menu: a 250g peppered fillet steak with Dauphinoise potatoes and spinach.  We deemed it too pricey at £27 when frankly it was really the creamy spuds that attracted her.

She was more than satisfied with chargrilled spicy butterfly chicken,  potato rosti, wilted spinach and red chilli salsa (£15.50)  – and was allowed to take home her leftovers in a doggy bag.

Her mother and I soaked up the relaxed atmosphere on comfy deep turquoise button-back bench seats, Stevie Wonder Motown background music, daring décor, while sipping Rosetta Parks cocktails of gin, rosewater and hibiscus flower juice.  Fabulously fruity.

Helpful staff advised on wine choice from an extensive list that includes home grown British wines, sparkling and still, from vineyards in the South East and South West of England.

A robust Portuguese Alentejo Tinto, full of black fruit flavour, hit the mark with our main dishes: Dorset lamb rump with rosemary infused roasted vegetables(£17.95) and a jerk spicy chicken burger, Scotch bonnet mayo, tomato, gherkins and handcut chips (£14.50).

That last dish was the slightest nod to fare from the ubiquitous chicken shop. The friend who chose it remarked: ‘There’s been a divide in Herne Hill between chicken shops and a la carte restaurants. Restaurants seem to cluster near the pedestrian area by the station while chicken shops are all opposite the park. Park’s Edge is offering an edge to what’s been chicken shop territory. With a plan to develop the arches behind it should help pull the area together nicely.’

That’s a view echoed by restaurant owner and general manager Claudia McKenzie, who started the business with some nervousness at the time of what she describes the Brexit debacle.  But thanks

to word of mouth, repeat customers and a loyal client base she hopes to weather the storm of restaurant closures.

‘This is a cosmopolitan area, a lot of wealth cheek by jowl with deprivation, a housing stock that’s good value for money, proud of its own identity.  We hope we will be around for a long time.’

Her premises back onto Canopy Beer Co, a local craft brewery that invites drinkers to take the scrap-yard obstacle challenge to reach its humble bar under the arches. By coincidence I rose to that challenge only the night before when, with another Herne Hill chum, we were locked out of her house and needed shelter from the rain until a keyholder came to the rescue.

Claudia proudly sells their bottled beer which is trundled round on trolleys on a regular basis.

Her aim for Park’s Edge is to present classic contemporary British food with international flair.

‘Whether using Brazilian pink peppercorn to flavour our parsley, caper and citrus butter or applying nutmeg from the Spice Islands to flavour our black treacle pudding, we carefully infuse non-traditional flavours into our quintessentially British dishes, giving our dishes extra pizazz,’ their website informs.

‘As a fresh food kitchen, we source and support independent British farmers and local producers. Wherever possible, our chefs use the freshest ingredients, bought directly from regional farms and local producers.’    

All this and ‘a warm and welcoming atmosphere with delicious food, wine, cocktails, mocktails and friendly unobtrusive service.’

No meal would be complete without Afters.  Bread and butter pannetone with salted caramel ice cream got my vote, with top marks for home-made sorrel sorbet and a wicked sticky toffee pudding with warm rum custard sauce.

How I managed that run to catch my train to familiar West London I’m not sure.  But the cross-London journey to Park’s Edge was well worth the effort.

• See www.parksedgebarandkitchen.com to book and check opening times, or call 020 8671 0306. Address: 49-51 Norwood Road, Herne Hill SE24 9AA.