What do we need to know about Pedler?
Pedler is very much a cosy neighbourhood eatery, open for dinner through the week (except Mondays) and for brunch and roasts at weekends. Despite the casual, local vibe, the team behind Pedler are no beginners – owner Taskin Muzzafer was previously a director at Drake & Morgan and also owns Little Bird Gin, while General Manager Pru Clarke and Executive Chef Gareth Crosby both also worked at D&M. Their experience shines through, from the design touches to the slick service and, yes, excellent cooking.
Where is it?
In south London hot-spot Peckham, where the Pedler team are all residents. Located just off Peckham Rye Common (at the ‘Peckham’ end), Pedler is in a good spot to attract residents from nearby Dulwich and Nunhead too.
Where should I meet friends for drinks first?
There’s a couple of great pubs nearby, The Rye (where Yanni and his Meatwagon started out many years ago)and The Montpelier. For cocktails, there’s Bar Story and Peckham Springs both by Peckham Rye Station and, in the summer months, Frank’s rooftop bar is open for business.
Where should I sit?
The layout of Pedler is of the ‘long and narrow’ variety – if you’re a fan of kitchen watching, you’ll want to grab a table at the far end to watch the chefs in action, whereas at the front there’s a nice table in the window and others dotted around a small bar area. In the middle is a great alcove decked out in House of Hackney wallpaper which would be perfect for larger groups.
So what should we eat?
The evening menu of small plates changes regularly but there’ll always be a mix of seasonal fish, meat and veg dishes – we visited for brunch but after chatting with the manager Pru about dinner, we definitely want to come back for the likes of “Peck’ham and Stilton croquettes” and “grilled lamb chops with pomegranate and beetroot”.
For brunch we had a fantastic duck rosti, featuring succulent chunks of roast duck on top of a crispy potato rosti and topped with a poached egg and red onion chutney (£8). We also tried ‘Frizzle Chicken’, two big pieces of fried chicken smothered in hot sauce and melted Manchego and served in a brioche bun (not too dissimilar to the monkey fingers at Meat Mission) which was superb (£8).
For desserts we went all out, ordering all three! Best of the lot was the ‘Dumpkin’, a HUGE doughnut stuffed full of sweet pumpkin cream which Pedler is sure to become famous for it’s that good, plus an absolute bargain at £2. We also had a gourmet penguin biscuit actually in the shape of a penguin and a cherry éclair – both excellent.
And for drinks?
Unsurprisingly, Little Bird Gin features in many of the cocktails such as the Peckham Martini, shaken with aperol, cinzano and fresh grapefruit and the barrel aged negroni (both £7). A short wine list with a global spread starts at £18 a bottle and they are all available by the glass and by carafe which we always like to see.
If you’re off the booze, there’s also freshly-made juices at £4 each.
Overall thoughts
In creating the ideal local restaurant, Pedler has hit all the right notes. A warm atmosphere, professional service and great food will surely win it a lot of fans in south London. It may not be somewhere you’d cross London just to go to but with plans to expand already in progress, watch out/pray for a Pedler in your neighbourhood soon.
Pedler is at 58 Peckham Rye, London SE15 4JR. Find out more.
Hot Dinners ate as guests of Pedler. Prices were correct at the time of writing.
