Brixton Night Out.

I find it funny that last week I was visiting Brixton Village for the first time (see post) and on Friday, I found myself there once again. This time it wasn't for lunch...



..and was a completely different experience.

The covered 'Brixton Village' is open until 11:30pm, and all of the restaurants are spilling out into the market space. On Saturday night there was a gallery opening, and DJ playing along one of the 'avenues'.

My Partners in Crime.

As we mingled outside the gallery (later you'll see why this particular show caught my eye), we were told to eat at (and then physically dragged to) one of the village's Mexican restaurants. While I remain sceptical on London's ability to do Mexican (this was more like Tex-Mex/SoCal street food), the 'Burrito' I had definitely hit the spot.

Off we went to EL PANZON....

Poor photo, but this little series had us giggling. I know. Grow up.

While the food was good, though not entirely authentic, the MARGARITAS were AWESOME!

H's flowers were our 'secret weapon' of choice. Although they were abandoned (in water of course) in the last pub we were in, we enjoyed them while they lasted.

The DJ that really got the party going.

 I think he had us sold when he played THIS.

Can you see why I was attracted to the Art? The young artist's name was Lucie Conoley. Click her name to check out more of her work. It goes without saying that I loved her work. 

'K' even bought a print....and if I had any money, I would have also.

Having lived in Brixton herself, this is the print that 'K' bought:

We left Brixton Village and headed to The Prince (where we left the thirsty flowers in a beer glass), before joining K's sister at Hootananny. A Reggae Club/Concert Venue. 

Sometimes the unexpected evenings are the best, don't you think?

Brixton Market and Village.

On Saturday, 'S' and I headed to Brixton to check out the Brixton Market. We'd been told it was wonderful from countless people but had yet to head back to Brixton since our early unsuccessful flat hunting days. What wasn't so clear to us was that there is quite the difference between Brixton market and the Brixton Village.

If you're thinking of heading there, you should realize that the Market is big, and has different days for different purposes. Saturday is more of a Vendors day, where as Sunday is a Farmer's market. As we were there on a Saturday, we found ourselves navigating through stall after stall of knock-off Calvin Klein underwear, plastic dusters, toilet brushes, tables full of used shoes, and baked goods (you name it, and someone was selling it at their table).

We began to question if this was actually what our friends had sent us up there to see....

That is until 'S' said, "Should we check out what's in there?" and pointed to an extrance to a covered market area. In we went. What we didn't realize, was that this was what they call 'Brixton Village' and is a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT experience.



Brixton Village is a covered area full of the cutest restaurants offering everything from gourmet coffee, fresh breads and pastries, to world cuisine. It was hard to decide just where to eat. 'S' had read about a few of the places before, but specifically a place called Mama Lan. Mama Lan offers homemade dumplings and Beijing Street food.

Dumpling image from here.

Vegetable Fritters...words cannot describe!!!

Beef and Noodle Soup.

Check out some of the other choices....you'll see that 'shabby chic' is in abundance.

How great is the siding on this little shop?

Tables made from Produce Boxes with blankets ready to keep you warm.

After our lunch we headed to Federation Coffee for some caffeine and a little treat.

Polenta Lemon Cake. Yum!

Other than our Market Adventure, it was a wonderful weekend. 

On Saturday evening, I met up with some of the Canadian crew at a pub around the corner from our house. You know it's a great night out when McDonalds is essential in the wee hours of the morning! On Sunday I met 'M' for a coffee. We strolled through Wandsworth Common, and then ended up at The Hope Pub to watch England play Italy in the Six Nations. Other than that, I'm looking forward to working hard this week, and then heading to Paris for the weekend.