This is a strange old place. No, that’s wrong: it’s a strange new place. Formerly a pub, Brasserie Toulouse Lautrec is a recent addition to the Kennington area, just off Newington Butts. (A strange location for a new brasserie, just next to Elephant & Castle…) The thing about it is, it really still looks like a pub: stone floors, heavy wooden tables, rickety toilets and all. The layout is strange too: a bar with piano (they have nightly live music) upstairs, then the restaurant downstairs which is built around the kitchen and the staircase. Again, something feels a bit off here, like it’s almost too rustic.
Fortunately, the food’s pretty good. A duck confit and gizzard salad to begin was simple and understated, then we tried some French black pudding with mash and mushroom cream sauce. Quite good but very filling. The lamb on a bed of seasonal veg with home mint cream sauce was the show-stealer though. It was fatty and creamy-textured lamb which fell off the bone and was incredibly well-balanced. The apple tart for dessert was too long in coming, too cold, too thin and looked generally unappealing. It tasted alright though, which was nice.
I do recommend trying this place out, if you’re south of the river on the Northern Line. It’s a rough diamond right now, but it could yet be cut into shape with a few months more settling in. (It opened in November.) It’s also very reasonable: we each did two courses for £18 (£22 for three) and were most comfortable. If nothing else, it’s worth it for the bizarre experience of eating a simple French meal in an old-fashioned pub in Kennington.
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