Over the years Brixton has become south-London’s food royale, and the Village Market is one of the crown jewels. Peppered with up and coming chains and independent eateries, Jay Rayner has labelled the market as “the most exciting, radical venture on the British restaurant scene right now”. Naturally, we had to visit ASAP.
Our BBQ pit stop of choice was The Joint. Starting in 2012 as a pop-up, The Joint has quickly become a fully established name in the area. Founded by Daniel Fiteni and Warren Dean, a baker and chef respectively, it is easy to see why the queues are so long – these guys understand the importance of a wholesome bun.
Arriving in glorious early afternoon sunshine, appropriately late of course, we enter the village and get rather lost. The myriad of things happening around us made locating The Joint quite challenging, but we weren’t complaining – after all, where else in Brixton can you find a Kilted Pipe Band marching along market stalls? Regardless, it didn’t take long to find what we were looking for, sit ourselves down, and order some cocktails. Like with any other blogger event, we had our cameras at the ready, chomping at the bit to get started on some food whilst chatting about Time Out’s shameless use of our photos with no credit (we see you Time Out, we need to have words).
Looking at the menu, we had a plethora of tempting starters to choose from. Out of gluttony and good manners we just ordered everything, so out came the wings, riblets, cheesy fries, onion rings, and everyone’s favourite edgy millennial burger place staple – the fried mac ‘n’ cheese. Unfortunately, we couldn’t quite hack the pull-apart shot of the mac ‘n’ cheese, so you’ll have to settle for a sick shot of the cheesy fries taken through an onion ring.
Enjoying the laid back atmos, we began nibbling™ away. The stand outs from this selection were no doubt the wings and riblets. Drenched in suitably sticky hot sauce and melting away from the bone, we could truly taste the time and effort that had gone into their preparation. Also, a huge shout-out to the fries and the home-made BBQ sauce – the no-nonsense crispiness and bath of cheesy goodness of the former, and the authentic taste of the latter left us hungry for more.
The scene-stealers of the day were the Beef Brisket and BBQ Pulled Pork burgers (pictured below). What really got the best out of these were the fillings surrounding the meat. The pulled pork was expertly paired with apple candied bacon alongside fresh coleslaw, and the smoked aiolo and bacon relish perfectly complemented the beef brisket. Each filling added a noteworthy contrast in flavour and texture; qualities which are hard to come by with the culture of fast and sloppy food. They were delicious and impractically humongous, so either drop your dignity and grab the cutlery, or be prepared to get your hands dirty in the best way possible.
– OUR MVPS –
Overall, our trip to The Joint was the perfect mid-exam treat. If you are looking for a food coma in a place nestled away from the trials and tribulations of the real world, The Joint is the place to go.
Details:
Address: The Joint, Brixton Village Market, Atlantic Rd, Brixton, London SW9 8PS
Instagram: @thejointldn
A.M.A. — A.G.S.
NibblingLDN 