Scrambled egg with smoked salmon and crispy kale
So what do we need to know about Kudu?
This new neighbourhood spot in Peckham has some rather interesting people involved. In the kitchen is Patrick Williams who was previously sous chef at Paradise Garage. He's joined front of house by his partner Amy Corbin. If that name sounds familiar it's because her dad is Chris Corbin - one half of the dynamic duo Corbin and King who run London's top restaurants including the Wolseley, Colony Bar and Grill and the Delaunay.
Where is it?
On Queens Road - about a minute's walk from Queens Road overground station.
Where's good to meet friends for a drink first?
There's a bar area towards the back of Kudu, but if you want to meet up somewhere else before you come, there's plenty of options. The Still Room is just a few doors down and serves up craft beer and an interesting wine list and there's also Beer Rebellion which is closer to the station.
Boerswors sausage, egg, white beans and chimichurri
Where should I sit?
The roomy dining room has a few big tables for groups and a particularly nice one in the window which is worth nabbing. Otherwise there are some small tables for two along the right hand where both of you face into the room and some trad tables for two along the left hand side.
What sort of food do they serve?
They say: "Our South African roots inspire our food - whether that's slow cooking in a potjie pot over hot coals, or baking our delicious Kudu bread. Sourced as much as possible from local suppliers, we celebrate hunters & foragers and gather what we can from our own herb garden and vegetable plot."
We visited for weekend brunch so the options to see that South African inspiration in practice were a little limited. But to be quite frank - even without it, we massively enjoyed our meal.
A brief brunch menu covers all the basics you'd expect, but it's the individual touches that mark out why Kudu's worth a visit. So the smoked salmon and sunshine-hued scrambled eggs (£12.50) comes with crispy kale and two wafer-thin duck fat croutes - an enhanced version of fried bread. The salmon is smoked in house, and the breads are all made here too. The sausage and egg dish (£11.50) gives us that SA taste featuring Boerswors sausage, egg, white beans and chimichurri. Sadly the slab of maple bacon wasn't on the day we visited, but we would totally have ordered it based on how good these dishes were.
For dessert, leave room in particular for the pumpkin tart (£6), served warm with salted caramel sauce and an inky charcoal and almond ice-cream. That's usually on the dinner menu too and we can see why - it was bloody marvellous.
If we were going back, dishes we'd like to try from the regular menu include their homemade kudu bread served with melted seafood butter and baby shrimp, and the pigs head tortellini with a mushroom and hay broth is supposed to be pretty good too. But as far as Instagram's concerned, the dish to order is the whole mallard duck for two - presented on a bed of hay to the table before being taken away to be plated up.
Pumpkin tart with charcoal and almond icecream
What about drink?
On the shelves in the dining room are a series of huge glass jars with taps containing ready to pour cocktails like their Smoky Kudu or Old Fashioned (all at £6.50). As it was brunch we didn't really bother their drinks list with the exception of a can of Peckham Pils. But the list of 5/6 whites and reds are all available by the glass/carafe and bottle and start at just £5.
Overall thoughts
God, we're jealous of Peckham folk. Kudu is quite lovely. And actually, considering our trip across town only took 30 minutes by overground, it really is worth crossing town for. The brunch is one of the best we've had in a long while but the rest of the menu is probably where this place will really make a name for itself.
Hot Dinners were invited to Kudu. Prices are correct at the time of writing.
More about Kudu
Where is it? 119 Queens Road, Peckham, London SE15 2EZ
How to book: Visit their website - 25% of the tables are no reservations.
