REVIEW: Pedler, Peckham Rye, Peckham

When it comes to eating out in London, I must confess I’m a bit of a hermit. I travel all across Europe, but when it comes to my home city, I seem to be stuck in Zone 1. Partly it has something do with where I live, but also because there’s already so much on my doorstep – that and the sudden need for my bed after a boozy lunch means not far to travel. So when Peckham was put on the cards, I had to do a quick Google. I’d been hearing a lot about Peckham recently, with its new restaurant openings and swarm of middle class families moving into what is a slightly more affordable part of London. It’s also now home to a fabulous new restaurant, Pedler.

One thing Pedlar really have got spot on, is their cocktails. Relatively simple, but delicious concoctions are mixed together with some cracking ingredients and top quality spirits. The smoky negroni was certainly the best I’ve had in some time, although dangerously easy to drink. Pedler also have a great little selection of appetisers to help curve any hunger pains while you’re settling in. Some lovely mixed Pulgian olives and gorgeous single bites of seared tuna wrapped in a fiery pepper crumb will get the taste buds suitably tantalised.

Hopefully you can forgive me for my poor quality photos, it’s pretty dark inside Pedler. Great for cosy romantic evenings, but not for my camera. I took a photo of the bread about 100 times before I managed to focus on it and not because I’m a perfectionist, I just needed you to see what some of London’s best bread looked like. I’m a bit of a stickler myself when it comes to bread, I can’t help but instantly judge a restaurant from it’s bread. It’s one of the first things you encounter in a restaurant, so it has to be good, first impressions last and count for a lot. Here the bread was spectacular. Large slices of fluffy bread, char-grilled and with a small pot of their own olive oil which was light, but full of flavour. This is how you do bread.

The food here at Pedler is all about small plates and sharing (or not). Everything is extremely eclectic here too, with dishes deriving their inspiration from across all parts of the globe. One dish we weren’t expecting to see on the menu were these lamb kofta with hummus and charred baby gem. The kitchen here loves charring food and I love eating it. It was packed with flavour, those kofta balls delicious and the hummus as smooth as could possibly be, even the charred lettuce was excellent. This dish was no culinary breakthrough, but it was perfectly cooked and you could really taste the passion and care that went into cooking this dish.

One dish that no one in their right mind could possibly resist was the devilishly good sounding, blood orange hollandaise ‘fondue’ with char-grilled dipping veg. To say it was good would be an understatement, but to say it was some of the best veg with the best dipping sauce we’ve had in a while, wouldn’t be. I’ve not really compared one restaurant to another before but Pedler very much reminds me of a little gem in Notting Hill called, Goode & Wright. While the food is still excellent in Notting Hill, the one thing it doesn’t quite have is atmosphere like here at Pedler – it really does have an extraordinary vibe. The place was buzzing from the moment we arrived, right until we stumbled out of the door.

That was the other thing about Pedler, for a mid-week Wednesday the place was absolutely packed. So busy that there wasn’t a single free table and punters were literally lining the bar in hope of snagging a table – I felt rather lucky. In keeping with its eclectic vibe, Spain seemed to inspire our next course. Angry prawns, roasted peppers and coriander. The prawns themselves were beautiful examples. Large and chunky, a little sweet and had been cooked in a rich, tomato based sauce. The Angry element to them was the fiery kick they punched, although personally I’d have actually enjoyed a little more heat. More of that grilling appeared again too, giving a lovely smokiness to it all.

Easily the best dish we ate here and one which rarely escapes the ever changing menu, was the frizzle chicken with fried polenta, parmesan and attitude sauce. The dangerous sounding descriptor refers to that sauce drizzled all over everything. I’ve no idea what this secret recipe sauce consists of, but I can tell you – it’s hot. The moist morsels of chicken were covered in a gluten free batter, which was much more crispy than I’d expected. No matter how crispy and delicious this batter was, I’m still no more convinced about the whole gluten intolerant wave that’s spread across London – I find it all rather odd how everyone has become gluten intolerant in the last few years. Do people really understand what Gluten is?! Either way at least Pedler are bang on trend.

We were completely full by this point and admittedly rather drunk too. It’s always a give away when you’re ordering large glasses of wine, after we (I) had already polished off a delicious bottle of Viognier. I’m blaming Pedler’s fantastic wine list for that. On the menu there’s a fantastic selection of hidden gems from across the wine making world, barely ever reaching past £35 – unless you request Pedler’s cellar list, that is. Nothing is more satisfying than a poached pear for dessert too, especially if it’s one like this. Laced and glazed in sweet syrup, accompanied by a couple of scoops of chantilly cream. Simple, but incredibly indulgent and a steal at only £5.

Finishing up on our last dish, I really wasn’t expecting to be eating three of my favourite things in one bowl. Sweet pomegranate, silky smooth white chocolate sauce and a light and airy chocolate mousse – I think I’ve found my new favourite dessert.  I started off this review talking about me rarely dining out past zone 1 In London (except for rest of UK) however I think I’ve had a revelation. With a very small handful Pedler is one place that I would happily leave central London for because quite frankly, its eclectic quality mix of foods, affordable wine list, amazing music playlist and some of the best service I have ever encountered while dining out – what’s not to like? Pedler is one of South London’s hottest new openings right now and easily one of my new favourites. Go now, before the rest of Zone 1 finds out.

8/10