By Emma Dolan
On Friday evening we finally managed to get tickets for the wildly popular supper club Beehive Place Kitchen & Bar, a stone’s throw away Brixton station. Fairly new to the Brixton scene, it launched in November and has run supper clubs on Fridays and Saturdays since then. Their aim is to create tasting menus that showcase the best of British produce in the kitchen, whilst serving signature cocktails, beers and wines from the bar.
The team from restaurant-on-the-move Chateau Marmot and head chef Sam Hodges (of St John and Soho House fame) are behind the concept. Chef and recipe writer (and general 2015 foodie favourite) Anna Jones even collaborated with them a few weeks ago to create a brunch menu.
Located in a Victorian hay loft around the corner from The Craft Beer Co., the space is beautifully decorated with dried flower displays, wooden crates and candles which makes the space feel fantastically cosy and homely. The menu changes weekly and the chefs work with the UK’s best small producers to create dishes full of interesting textures, flavours and colours. We knew nothing about the menu before arriving (we had been asked to fire over any dietary requirements earlier in the week so they’re able to cater for most needs) but thankfully, when we first caught sight of it, we were not disappointed as the menu included many drool-inducing ingredients and flavour combinations.
Everyone is encouraged to order a drink on arrival and the staff clearly worked hard to make sure cocktails were received in a timely fashion – no easy feat considering there were about 90 people eagerly awaiting a sip of something tasty. After about 50 minutes or so, the first course arrived: cauliflower soup, with smoked garlic, Norfolk sunflower shoots and a burnt butter garnish. I adore smoked garlic so I absolutely loved this dish. The smoked garlic, as you would expect, was pretty punchy so I imagine it wouldn’t be one for everyone, but I thought it was gorgeous – the soup was deliciously creamy with added crunch from the sunflowers shoots.
Next, we were served wild ‘Ashford Shoot’ duck, with wheat grain, foraged chick weed and honey. It was an interesting mix of ingredients and flavours, however, the duck on my plate was a bit too tough and the wheat grain was a tad dry; but course number three – Brixham scallops, foraged chervil root, monk’s beard and seaweed salt – was bursting with flavour and textures. The scallops were perfectly cooked and seasoned, and excellently complemented by the additional ingredients. This was definitely my favourite course.
Our final savoury dish was Pipers Farm red Devonshire beef, celeriac, wild horseradish, walnuts and flour spouts. The celeriac with the wild horseradish was amazing, it was like a creamy mash, but again, I found the meat a bit too tough. To finish, we enjoyed salted Royal Oak parsnip caramel ice cream with ginger loaf and a crumble topping. This was great – it was with trepidation that we tried the parsnip ice cream, but my god, it was tasty.
Overall we had a brilliant night out – we chatted to most of our table, one guy was celebrating his 30th (this was the first of 30 presents from his girlfriend…) and a group nearby included a vegetarian who enjoyed her special menu. There was an excellent atmosphere and the staff were friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. Tickets were £35 each but included no drinks – and the drinks were not that cheap. Although we felt it was good value for money, I think we would have thought it was even better if we’d been treated to some kind of drink on arrival. But overall, we loved it and hope to try out some more of the menus before it finishes.
Address: 11 Beehive Place, Brixton, London SW9 7QR
Runs until Saturday 28th March. Book in advance here.
[…] from those who have eaten there have been broadly positive with not a single plate of food returned since November, but plenty of customers returning to eat […]