Brickwood
Australian Brunch Address: 16, Clapham Common South Side, Lambeth, SW4 7AB (& Balham, & Tooting)
Price: ££
Brickwood is a South London based Brunch spot. Australian creators source all ingredients locally - meat is from nearby butchers such as Moens and Sons, all bread from Bread Bread Bakery in Brixton. The decor is minimalistic and true to the name; a combination of exposed brickwork and wooden seating. It feels homey yet modern.
I have visited both the Clapham and Balham locations. Whilst Clapham is incredibly small on the inside, Balham is quite large. However, the clapham branch has a nice outside seating area out back in the summer, whilst Balham's only seated area is out front, This isn't necessarily a bad thing considering Brickwood is on Hildreth Street Market - a section of open pavement with no traffic running through. The inside of the Balham branch, although bigger, is in my opinion not better. The lighting is incredibly dark and the past few times I've been (in Winter) it's been dreadfully cold. Clapham on the other hand, though small, is cosy and warm and has ques coming out of it most weekends.
Clapham Brickwood however, isn't all flowers and rainbows. I ordered the breakfast burrito on a hot summer's day - big mistake. It was stodgy and lacking in flavour, it also left me feeling a little queasy, a definite one not to recommend. The Balham branch which I visited more recently was much more satisfying. I ordered the Wild Mushrooms and Poached egg with Ham Hock on Sourdough which was delicious. Granted, £8.50 could have gone a lot further but given Brickwood is located in the Brunch capital of Balham you won't get much better prices - brekkie costs a few bob these days apparently.
Overall, Brickwood is a nice place to go for Brunch on a weekend - even better in the weekdays where you don't run the risk of having to que. However, compared to some of it's rivals positioned closely next door (especially in Balham), I don't think it quite matches up to them.
OVERALL RATING: ***
http://www.brickwoodlondon.com/
