The Begging Bowl: New twists on old classics

Bringing a bowl of Bangkok to the streets of Peckham
18 December 2017

You know that London’s street food vogue is unstoppable when it brings the Thai variety to Peckham. Bellenden Road may be touted by estate agents as the posh end of Peckham — a Moscow-based lawyer friend of mine up the road will be delighted to have this local so close to his London pied-à-terre — but it’s still SE15. The food and drink options are dominated by over-lit liquor stores, fried chicken joints and pizza places like the one which previously occupied the corner where The Begging Bowl opened in August.

Not that you’d realise this wasn’t a long-established local, to watch the packed tables and queue forming outside by 8pm on a chilly Thursday. In a light space with colourful reclaimed-timber walls, the hubbub rises from closely spaced tables, most of which are long and communal. Combined with charming but slightly frantic service, it creates a noisy but appealing vibe.

Dishes are grouped in four price bands from £5.50 to £12.50, intended to be eaten and shared tapas-style. They arrive from the kitchen irregularly, when ready. There is a steady supply of jasmine or sticky rice. Unusually for a Thai eaterie, no noodle dishes are offered.

Quality is high: this is a step up from many of London’s Thai restaurants. Classics like fishcakes were well executed: less compact and springy than is often the case, and the better for their fluffier texture and sweet chilli sauce.

Meanwhile, coconut and galangal soup with chicken and oyster mushrooms boasted big chunks of galangal, lots of kaffir lime leaves and Thai shallots. The heat in stir-fried squid with chives and ginger was mostly from white pepper, a typically Thai spicing.

Elsewhere the menu is more adventurous. Chargrilled sirloin worked well with Thai basil and a jaew (thick dipping sauce) dominated by ginger and galangal. The menu’s only green curry is of rabbit, pungent and hot yet complex, containing both Thai pea aubergines and the rarer apple aubergine. A duck curry was intensely aromatic, unusually rich and creamy.

There’s a range of 11 beers to wash it all down, plus a reasonable wine list dominated by aromatic whites and rosés. Two-thirds of bottles are available by the glass or 500ml carafe (though the default-sized glass, irritatingly, is an absurd 250ml).

We stepped outside: Peckham was grey and cold. How good to be warmed by the chilli and buzz of The Begging Bowl.

Open for dinner only Tues-Fri, lunch and dinner Sat. No reservations. Dinner for two with wine and tip, about £70.

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