[In Pics] Cafe Viva, Peckham

Just a few cheeky pics of my lunch from a new (ish) cafe on Choumert Road (just at the end of all the Nigerian shops). I had a breakfast bap (bacon, egg, roasted tomato, rocket) with an iced coffee and a fresh apple juice for £7.50 which I don't think is too bad. Coffee is supplied by local roastery Volcano, which is a bonus. A nice addition for Peckham.

Mini Bites: Scooter Caffé, Waterloo

I went along to a great little place last night, and all you lot should really know about it. Hidden away at the Westminster end of Lower marsh is a tiny little café with a pretty novel idea. Packed to the hilt with scooter memorabilia, from a full blown scooter in the window to number plates all over the walls, it sells drinks. Yep, just drinks. From Monmouth coffee to all sorts of booze, you are welcomed to rock up, enjoy the internet and have a few drinks. The atmosphere is laid back and it kind of feels you’re in your own living room. There are even the addition of a few cats running around.

The clincher for me is that they welcome you to bring in your own food. It’s a pretty novel concept in my eyes, and I like it. Bring food, drink their drinks, do work, enjoy with friends. Scooter Caffé is what you want it to be. I love the lax atmosphere and more importantly, free wifi. Take into consideration the little events they hold like Monday night film nights, open mic and cartoons, and you have a pretty great place to hole up and chill out. Love it.

Scooter Caffé - 132 Lower Marsh, South Bank, London SE1 7AE

Mini Bites: Candy Cakes, a hidden gem

Peering into the window of what you would take on face value as a cake shop, you see cupcakes topped with plastic looking fluorescent icing. Not immediately appetising. Not even the cutesy decorations crafted out of marzipan is going to draw the discerning lunch crowd in.

The London Particular, New Cross

One of my favourite things in the world is to find a nice cafe, settle in with a coffee and a bite to eat, and while away a gentle afternoon without a care in the world. I seem to have an abundance of these little cafes around where I live, maybe a subconscious reason why I refuse to move away! The last few months has seen an influx of new independently run places, with No 67 on Peckham road my current favourite.

The London Particular is a welcome addition to the relatively bare stretch between New Cross and New Cross Gate stations. Selling "healthy" food in bowls seems like a bit of an odd selling point for a cafe but seems to work as the little place was crammed when I visited. With one big table, and 2 smaller tables (one outside), it reaches capacity pretty quickly but feels cosy and welcoming.

The food itself is pretty simple with sandwiches and salads dominating the menu, with their own blend of "Particular" coffee on the menu. I know that my fellow diners were slightly disappointed that they had run out of their brioche pizza (probably my fault as I was late), but we all opted for the bacon and sausage sandwiches.

This is where it all falls apart a little. For a small place, the service was painfully slow. Once we had finally managed to order, we had another excruciating wait before our sandwiches decided to reveal themselves. Although the "Banger Sanger" arrived with a salad comprising of squash, chickpeas and cauliflower, the bacon sandwiches didn't. We had requested that this also came with a side salad, but instead arrived on its own and we were charged an extra £3 for the privilege.

"Jon's BAD vegetarian" sandwich was a halloumi and bacon sandwich. This was a most excellent bacon sandwich between two slices of soft, bouncy and flavourful white bread. Alongside a well made cappuccino, I took a few moments to myself as I slowly savoured each bite, and just for a little while, all this little cafes shortcomings were forgotten.

The London Particular is exactly what the area needs, a nice little place that people can chill out in, eat nice food, drink good coffee. The surrounding area is a bit of a wasteland and other than the Venue (never go there), has no discernible landmarks or real points of interest. It's still early days so hopefully the issues I encountered will be ironed out but I wish it well and is definitely worth a visit if you ever find yourself in New Cross.

The London Particular - 399 New Cross Road, London SE14 6LA

Number 67: Yet another South East London gem

If you, like me, are ruled by your belly, I don't think there has been a better time to live in the south east of London. There have been so many new restaurants and revamps that eating out around here has become an utter joy. I always try to look out for new places opening near me, and when I heard that there was a new cafe (from none other than the Camberwell Blog) opening next to the South London Gallery a short stroll from my house, I had to go and check it out.

The cafe itself is integrated with the South London Gallery, taking up various rooms and areas inside and out. I was slightly confused with the layout, but it is just meant to be a cafe, so I headed out towards the back and got a small table outside. The menu itself is quite an interesting beast. It's definitely on the slightly pricy side, with its "Full Spanglish" hitting the dizzy heights of £8 for breakfast. Definitely not Peckham prices! Then again, the selection on the menu had my mouth watering and I opted for a few smaller plates to see what this place was all about.

Saturday is brunch day and I wasn't letting the fact that it was nearly 2pm stop me from getting some sort of eggs and pig. The jamon and scrambled egg won that contest easily and arrived perched on a massive slice of toasted sourdough. I had to stop myself from scoffing this all immediately and making an unholy mess out of myself. The velvety scrambled eggs and what I think was Serrano ham was a modern twist on the more traditional ham and eggs. With the eggs slightly underseasoned, but coming together with perfect balance once the ham was added to the mouthful, I quietly devoured this all.

On the side, I ordered a portion of their pork rillettes, a personal favourite dish. When it arrived, I was seriously worried that I had over ordered but as soon as I took one mouthful of that silky pork, the food stood absolutely no chance. The pork arrived in a huge mound with some cornichons on the side to provide a vinegary contrast to the smooth and rich meat. More slices of sourdough were doused with an intensely grassy olive oil, bringing together an excellent contrast in flavours and textures.

Suffice to say I really enjoyed No 67. It has been a long time since I found somewhere which actually made me smile, and having it so close to my front door is just an added bonus. Open for lunch during the week and brunch at the weekends, you even get to take in the delights of the gallery next door. Another great addition to an already fabulous area.

Number 67 - 67 Peckham Road, London SE5 8UH

A tale of three cafes (Camberwell)

I often get a lot of stick for living in South London. I know this may come as quite a surprise, but there are a lot of haters out there (crazy, I know!). No variety, nowhere decent to go eat and drink, too many muggings, too ethnic, the criticisms continue unabated. I, however, am proud of living in South London and am here to champion it's cause.

My particular neighbourhood is Camberwell. Most of my regular readers already know this, I bang on about how great it is often enough and today, I am going to bang on about it a little more. You see, in the last week, whilst I have been...erm...freelancing from home, I have found the need to look for more local establishments to satisfy my lunchtime hunger pangs as well as providing me with my daily caffeine fix. Thankfully, I have discovered that I am rather spoilt for choice.

Love Walk Cafe

Located on the site of the unfortunate O Galo (a Portuguese restaurant which was only remarkable for the fact that it was always empty), Love Walk cafe was absolutely bustling when I walked in. I know it was lunch time, and that there are precious other alternatives in the area for the staff from the local hospital to get sustenance, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was a nice change to see this place busy.

Inside is adorned with global trinkets and feels warm and cosy. As for the food, expect your standard cafe fare, sandwiches with coffee, smoothies and a limited range of hot foods. I fancied a heartier meal so opted for their full breakfast, which was average at best, but filled me up. So there you go, better than what was there before, but not stellar.

Love Walk Cafe - 81 Denmark Hill, Camberwell SE5 8RS

Cafe Bay

Located a few doors down from Love Walk cafe is Cafe Bay. It appears that the banh mi revolution has even reached Camberwell as these Vietnamese baguettes make up most of the menu here. Of course there are Western fillings, but seriously, why would you order a ham and cheese sandwich when you can get one filled with pate, caramelised pork, pickled vegetables and herbs.

I went for the Bay special with a Vietnamese iced coffee alongside. Filled with two types of pork, as well as that essential smattering of pate, I really enjoyed my banh mi. I am still seeking that elusive soft rice flour baguette (apparently banh mi 11 in Broadway market is where to go) but this was as good an example as I have tried. The iced coffee was thick and sweet, and the coffee sat on top of the condensed milk ready to be mixed together.

Cafe Bay does things simply but does them well. Their banh mi is delicious and the cafe is functional as opposed to beautiful. A nice place to have lunch and a benefit to the area.

Cafe Bay - 75 Denmark Hill, SE5 8RS

House Gallery and Cafe

The last of my happy trio of Camberwell cafes is House. So what makes this any different from the other two? Well, a few things actually. Firstly, it has a small gallery downstairs, something that the other two definitely don't have. If my memory serves me right, it was always a gallery and then they converted the downstairs space, whilst turning upstairs into a cafe.

The second point, and definitely the more pertinent for me, is that it has free wifi. Well, only before 12 and after 2, which is sensible as it dissuades the campers from taking up prime real estate during their lunch period. As there is no "kitchen" bar a sandwich toaster, the offerings are fairly limited but the sandwiches are all freshly prepared and actually look pretty stunning. Personally, I go there for a cup of coffee, somewhere to chill out and it has been one of my impromptu offices during the last week. It's a very welcoming place and perfect to wile away a few afternoon hours. Definitely check out their orange juice, freshly squeezed and delicious.

House - 70 Camberwell Church Street, London, SE5 8QZ