WHERE TO EAT IN WEST NORWOOD
Fish, chips and sweet, sticky Portuguese tarts.
KNIGHT’S FISH BAR
39 Knight’s Hill, Norwood, London SE27 0HS
Gary and Debbie of Knight’s Fish Bar are lauded in the area for frying the best fish and chips in London and have been a staple of West Norwood for a generation.
They serve the only fish and chips in the city that satisfy the intense cravings belonging to those from seaside towns or places up-north where a real cod and chips just can’t be beaten.
Frying in beef dripping, the higher smoke point provides their food with a richness that’ll keep you coming back for more.
They offer all this with a smile and at a great price too, their lunchtime special priced at only £3.80 per portion.
MR. FRANCATELLI
280 Norwood Rd, Norwood, London SE27 9AJ
When walking down Norwood Road, you cannot help but be drawn into Mr. Francatelli, as the piles of cannoli lining the tops of their counters are sure to catch the eye of any discerning sweet tooth.
Pino and Anna opened the deli and café in 2018 after moving to the UK in 2014.
Hoping to bring their authentic Italian ingredients and passion for simple but tasty food to West Norwood, they started the restaurant naming it after Charles Francatelli, the British Italian chef who had worked as Queen Victoria’s chief cook, blending their old home and their new together.
They talked of starting up, explaining: “At the beginning, it was very tough because the previous leaseholder used to run a delicatessen that had sadly closed down five months before we took it over.”
“The community lacked confidence in us, we were still an Italian deli we guess, and whilst picking up the business we struggled against this.”
When recommending a dish, they said: “There is not just a single dish we are particularly proud of. We simply love our job and our mission is to make customers happy and excited to come back and eat again.”
The best moment of running Mr. Fancatelli for them so far?
They laughed: “We’re waiting for this pandemic to end for the best member of running Mr. Francatelli. We have a wide range on offer from coffee to pasta, pizza and panini. We can’t wait to welcome our lovely customers back.”
THE ELECTRIC CAFÉ
258 Norwood Rd, Norwood, London SE27 9AJ
Established initially roughly around 1905 and now run by Stavros Tsoukkas whose Greek-Cypriot family has owned it since 1978, The Electric Café is a Tulse Hill institution.
Lauded time and time again, Electric Café takes its rightful place as one of Time Out’s Top 10 Greasy Spoons in London and even made it to number 2019 in the Lonely Planet Ultimate Eatlist, a book that delves into the world’s top 500 food experiences.
Eating at The Electric Café is certainly an experience.
Everything here is good. No, great. There is a huge amount of comfort to be found in everything they serve, from the hand-cut, twice-cooked chips and soft, fried bubble patties to the moist coconut cake and strong coffee. They cook from scratch and take enormous pride in everything they serve. They have, after all, been serving it since 1978.
The traditional food has a traditional setting to match with an interior that hasn’t really changed much over the years and is filled with souvenirs from the years gone by, The Electric Café oozes authentic charm.
PLATINUM BAKERY
330 Norwood Rd, Norwood, London SE27 9AF
Martin McPherson and his brother took over Platinum Bakery on Norwood Road around three years ago when the previous owner was struggling to make a profit.
He explained: “I’ve been a baker for over 15 years. I used the work at a different bakery, managing it. I found out that this bakery was struggling and went out of business, I took the opportunity to come and take over.
“I already knew about baking and could bake the bread myself, unlike the previous owner who had to employ bakers.
“Now it’s doing much better,” he smiled.
Whilst people genuinely travel miles for Martin’s hot, freshly baked bread — they supply other Caribbean shops, off-licenses and bakeries so bake it throughout the day — three months ago, they launched a new hot food menu to entice a new audience.
They’ve certainly succeeded. With their comfort-filled, traditional West Indian menu served ready-to-eat or to be heated up at home, they’ve seen more customers than ever over the last few months.
Martin said: “Before it was just a bakery with patties, bread and fruit spice bun.
“Now with the takeaway side, people only come for food now, not for bread, and some people come for both. It’s a one-stop-shop where you can come and buy baked goods and come and buy your dinner as well.
“We have a lot more people come in for the food now. The main meal we sell is the oxtail with rice and peas, with our ackee and saltfish the second most popular. Everything goes!”
SWEET PORTUGAL
469 Norwood Rd, Norwood, London SE27 9DJ
Sweet Portugal is West Norwood’s own family-run Portuguese delicatessen, providing the community with a truly enormous range of Portuguese products as well as meat and fish.
With shelves as packed as these and a different freshly cooked special every day, there is always something new to try and keep you coming back for more.
It would be impossible, however, to leave without trying one of their fresh from the oven Pastel de Nata. Sticky, sweet, flakey and brimming with custardy cream, these tarts are sure to get you visiting Sweet Portugal time and time over.
PINTADERA
50 Knight’s Hill, Norwood, London SE27 0JD
Natalia Pirisi and her best friend Barbara Moro opened Pintadera in July, seven years ago.
When her daughter started attending St Julian’s Primary School nearby, she and Barbara would go to the coffee shop that had proceeded them.
She said: “It looked different from the other greasy spoons, so we thought fantastic and would come here to drink a really nice espresso.”
Like most of the cafes and restaurants that had occupied that spot, however, that coffee shop they had enjoyed so much didn’t last.
“It was a pity because there were so many good people in the area that could use a place like to enjoy. Jokingly, we said to each other if we owned it, we could make it work.
“After a couple of months, the shop came up for rent. We looked at each other, asking ‘shall we call?’.
“We really didn’t think we were going to get it, because we didn’t know anything about this kind of business but the family that owned it took a chance on us.”
Personally, Natalia is a huge fan of their pomegranate salad, a bowl filled to the brim with pomegranate, fresh spinach, avocado, blueberries, roasted seeds and lots of sharp, shaved Parmigiano cheese.
However, it’s their lasagnas, for both those that eat meat and those that don’t, that keep their customers coming back for more.
It’s not just their lasagnas though. Now run Natalia and Stefania Melis, it’s the way they make you feel so welcome that has provided the Knight’s Hill café with such staying power.
Natalia says: “We are a nice team. We’ve created something I think quite nice and I think people really love us, and they’ve really given us a lot of support over the past year. I think we’ve managed to create a nice relationship with the community.”
THE GARDEN
31 Knight’s Hill, Norwood, London SE27 0HS
Another Italian on the list, The Garden specialises in authentic Italian dishes with an unmistakable Mediterranean flair.
The menu is packed full of sourdough pizzas and homemade pasta that includes ravioli stuffed with porcini mushrooms and ricotta and pappardelle covered in rich, braised beef sauce.
The highlight of this restaurant, which also offers a range of freshly baked cakes, charcuteries platters, cheese boards and wines exclusively from Italy and Sicily, however, is the garden at the back. The perfect place to spend any summer evening.
WEST NORWOOD FEAST
St Luke’s Church, 13 Norwood High St, Norwood, London SE27 0DT
For seven years, the community has come together for the West Norwood Feast, an event built around 100 market stalls spread over five sites along the high street.
Taking place on the first Sunday of every month, April through to December, the volunteer-powered street festival is a farmers market, craft fair and flea market all rolled into one. Any West Norwood resident, however, will tell you: the best thing about the Feast is the street food hub located in St Luke’s gardens.
There are traders here with a passion for cooking great food who bring cuisine from all corners of the globe to West Norwood.
After you fill up on the hot delights from the likes of Souvlaki Street, Lucknow2London and Zongo Foods, be sure to stop by Fish Tail, a family-run business selling sustainable fish, a huge range of deli products and some of the best mackerel pâté around.
