Reviews Smoke & Salt

There is a super new addition to the roster of the cool and vibrant Pop Brixton in the form of Smoke & Salt. A feast for the senses; Smoke & Salt create modern small plates using British ingredients highlighting the ancient techniques of smoking, curing and preserving. I have followed the extraordinarily talented chefs Aaron and Remi across their culinary journey from North to South London covering their residencies in Angel, Dulwich and now to permanency in Brixton.

Each time I try a new Salt & Smoke menu I come away having enjoyed an evening of delectable food interspersed with enjoyable conversation with the chefs explaining their dishes and what inspired their creative thought processes. Smoke & Salt embody the simplicity of seasonal and local ingredients whilst adding a global spin. Their food reflects the multicultural beauty of London and the wider U.K. and the love that is put into the creation of each dish is evident.

As you can appreciate from the fact that I've followed these guys for awhile now the standard of their menus and the subsequent quality of their dishes is always high. Let's be honest, anyone who can start a menu with tidbits knows how to feed the soul and of course the body. We basically tasted the entire menu which is no mean feat but proved to be a rather manageable mouth-watering experience on a balmy August evening. I choose a cocktail titled Bubbles & Black- lemons, blackcurrant and bubbles - which opened the night superbly.

Let me now take you on a voyage of discovery. Full marks are given for the presentation of all the Tidbits to be described in a moment. These tidbits covered fried yellow plantain with beer-braised onions and oregano, accompanied by chicken skewers. For me plantain is a taste of home and these are definitely at the top of the order again list. Summer tomato salad is a beautifully presented, rich, colourful and tasty dish made of heritage tomatoes with creamy smoked ricotta. This dish is so yummy that it would convert even the hardest of non- tomato fans! A burst of sunshine in your mouth; hello Mediterranean vibes! Finally, the cured trout is a riot of colours, the softness of the trout, the crunch from the onions, the heat of the chili, a juxtaposition of textures, soft and sweet - exquisitely balanced.

From the kitchen plates there was Creedy Carver Duck - 'rillette' - style with duck jam, grilled flatbreads and lavender. Trombetta Courgettes served with toasted seeds, a walnut crumble and summer savoury dressing. These were earthy, crunchy, bursting in flavour with an after tang of citrus.

The Grilled Plates proved to be another highlight; the Hispi Cabbage led the way with a smoky tofu dressing, pickled peanuts, chilli threads and coriander. Miso and honey glazed lamb belly accompanied by an english pea tartare with pickled gooseberry dressing. So fresh and crunchy were the peas; you have to ask if they were picked literally before gracing the plate. The vibrancy of the greens was a direct complement to the delicate yet robust lamb. 

Finally comes the 'Pastry' element of the menu. There is only one dessert on offer and it is outrageously delicious. Simply called Harvest Pudding; grilled amarillo peaches sing with flavour, tarragon, English strawberries, carmelised popcorn and sweet 'corn' custard. This is a summertime party in your mouth - the Pudding looked good and tasted even better!

The entire menu epitomised style and substance combined together. Make a beeline down to Pop to be whisked away on a global trip using local ingredients. I'm planning to be back in Brixton pretty sharpish!

Had an excellent meal here last week - highly recommend the six course sharing menu, even with wine pairings it’s very reasonable for the quality and quantity of food. The menu changes and is set but we had the pea and bean dip, bread and butter, crispy plantain, smoked trout, tempura courgettes (maybe the best course), smoked chicken and crispy potatoes, and namelaka. My partner is gluten intolerant which I made the restaurant aware of before our visit and they were really good at providing gluten free alternatives where necessary. Generally, service was excellent throughout with descriptions of each course and glass of wine. Overall the experience was great and would definitely return.

Hidden gem in Tooting, affordable tasting menus with overall satisfying dishes. Option to tailor the menu for the dietary requirements (e.g. pescatarian/vegetarian) which was a huge plus. Taste-wise, some of the dishes tasted really beautiful, some of them were a tad underwhelming (e.g. broccoli) I wouldn’t say I was satisfied with all the dishes, however overall the dishes here were decent and for sure you cannot complain for the given price. Also portions are big - you will leave the place very full and wanting to go out for a walk. Only one downside is that service was quite slow and we had to wait quite a bit between the dishes on the evening we visited and the tables at the backside of the restaurant did not have atmosphere not as nice as the tables on the front area. But none were deal-breakers. Happy to visit again once the new menus are out!

I was treated to a meal here last night, my first time in the restaurant and it was superb. The bread and butter alone was delicious and I loved the grilled venison. Will definitely return!

Well worth the advance booking. Every dish was tasty, well flavoured and absolutely divine. We had the bread and quail to start, the wok fried greens, desserts and spinach waffle. The waitress seemed to be in a rush always - I’d order and then she’d run off before my friend could order. While the service was good, we found ordering unnecessarily difficult.

Amazing food and great service. Such a great local restaurant - highly recommend

Genuinely one of the best meals I've had in a long time. Tasting menu with optional wine pairing both incredible value (along the lines of the Dairy that used to reside in Clapham and was an old favourite before it closes, but even more inventive). Literally couldn't fault anything we had and the service was top quality to boot. Tricky to get in online but called up on a Saturday afternoon on the offchance and Remi kindly called back able to fit us in so worth trying this avenue if nothing available online. Can't recommend this place enough - we will be back soon!

Had been wanting to try this place for a while and it did not disappoint! Impeccable service from the start, delicious tasting menu in nice relaxed atmosphere Gorgeous variety of sharing plates and they catered well for the dietary requirements in our group. Really loved the whole experience, highly recommend!

We've never been to this area for food before so weren't sure what to expect, certainly not what we found in any case. For anyone wondering, the restaurant is upstairs. It's a very small place, we had a table quite close to the kitchen but the food that comes out of that kitchen is certainly big on flavour. We had the seasonal menu which is outstanding value if you're up for it. There were some more unusual flavour combinations and ingredients but it all tasted wonderful (with minor exceptions - I'm not a big fan of bitter tastes, or pumpkin beer). Each dish looked lovingly crafted and was a delight to eat and would certainly visit again.