Bixton Village, London

About a 30 minute walk from our Camberwell flat in London is the bustling, gritty, vibrant suburb of Brixton. We decide to head out to the (now) famous Brixton Village to have a look around and grab a bit to eat.

Brixton Village is one part of the Brixton Market which is made of a bunch of street markets and arcades - including a street market on the famous Electric Avenue.

The Brixton Village building is very cool, dating back to the 1930s and it reminds me of the indoor section of the Queen Victoria Markets in Melbourne.

Back in the day the Brixton Village market area consisted of a bunch of market traders; butchers, fish mongers, fruit shops and the like. There are still a few of these around but many of the vacant shops have been taken over by hip food stalls selling everything from dumplings, African food, Caribbean delights and gelato.

Like many areas today it's the "hipster-fication" of areas like Brixton Village that are keep the markets alive, but it's also good to see some of the original traders still up and running.  Time will tell if they eventually get pushed out the building, but the mix as it stands is really fun and interesting.

 

After wandering around for awhile we decide to find somewhere for an early dinner. We're a little too early for many places but Fish, Wings + Tings - a small cafe that serves up some tasty authentic Caribbean eats - is open. This is a REAL treat for us as it's not the sort of food found in Sydney.

We start off with a can of "Ting", a refreshing carbonated Grapefruit drink that is a little sweet and a little zingy. I guess you could say it's a little bit Tingy...boom tish.

For entrees we order a plate of sticky wings that are topped with a sweet mango salsa. These are SO messy, but luckily they are finger licking-amazing!

You've got to love a place where the chef + owner makes his own hot sauce...and adorns the bottle with a photo of his own face...cute.

The Boy and I both decide to order a Roti Wrap for our mains. These are totally different to the flat Roti bread we have here in Australia and actually look more like a square burrito. When the owner sees that we've totally unwrapped our rotis he comes out from the kitchen, re-wraps our meals and gives us a lesson in how to eat a Caribbean Roti the Carribean way - just like a kebab or burrito it turns out, no knives or forks please.

These were really delicious and very filling. My roti came filled with prawns and veggies like pumpkin and peas, and The Boy opted for a goat filling. A generous dollop of the owners "famous hot sauce" added a great spicy kick to these. One bottle of the sauce seemed to be more hot than the other though.

Fish, Wings + Tings can be found at Atlantic Ave, Brixton - London (UK).

Brixton Village can be found off Coldharbour Lane, Brixton - London (UK).