Northcote Road: a food guide
Half a mile of SW11 between the Junction and Wandsworth Common: a roast with double-egg Yorkshires at the top, self-pour wine, south Indian at No 39 and an Italian that has been here for thirty years.
By Clapham London Editorial
The best way to eat Northcote Road is to start at the Junction end with a glass at Vagabond and work south to dinner at Tamila at No 39. It is half a mile of SW11 that everyone calls Clapham, and it has fed this side of town since its market first set up in the 1860s. Here is how to eat your way down it.
A little history
Northcote Road sits low between the Wandsworth and Clapham commons, over the buried Falconbrook stream, which is why it feels like a valley as you walk it. The street market dates to the 1860s, smaller now than it was, and the young families who moved in gave the area its nickname, Nappy Valley. Expect buggies by day and a busy bar crowd by night.
The top end: Battersea Rise
Before you even turn into Northcote Road, two of the best wine stops in south London sit on Battersea Rise. Humble Grape at No 2 has around 500 organic bottles and a shop, with a £6 organic wine special on Saturdays from noon to 4.30pm, monthly tastings, and a deal on Saturdays where children eat a three-course kids' menu free with each dining adult. Very Nappy Valley. Soif at No 27 is a bistro and natural wine shop, open for lunch and dinner Wednesday to Saturday, with Sunday lunch until 5pm. Dogs are welcome in the daytime but not at dinner. Book Soif for dinner, and ask what they are excited about on the list.
The Northcote, 2 Northcote Road
The big pub on the corner, and the place to watch the rugby. On Sundays it serves double-egg Yorkshire puddings, goose fat roasties and honey-glazed parsnips, and pigs in blankets all year round. The kitchen also hosts a Burger Shack residency. Book on Six Nations weekends, when it is packed.
Vagabond, 4 Northcote Road
Two doors down, Vagabond lets you pour your own: tap a card or the app on the machines and take a splash, a half or a full glass from more than a hundred wines. Order a camembert or a meat board to go with it, and find the covered roof terrace or the garden at the back, which is open all year. It is the best way to try five wines without committing to one bottle.
Northcote Records, 8-10 Northcote Road
A few doors on, the Junction's late one. Pizzas start at £6, cocktails are two-for-one until 7pm from Monday to Thursday, and there is live music most nights. It is open until 1am on Fridays and 2am on Saturdays, so this is where the evening ends if you let it.
Old Bank, Northcote Road
A pub that is open all day, with outdoor tables and a menu that leans towards seafood. Order the pan-fried octopus, or the battered haddock if it is a Friday kind of day. On a sunny afternoon the outside tables are the reason to come, and because the kitchen runs all day, it is the easy answer for a late lunch.
Osteria Antica Bologna, 23 Northcote Road
An Italian that has been on the street for more than thirty years. Harden's readers describe it as a relaxed, friendly, well-established local, and that is exactly it. Book a table for a long, unhurried dinner, and do not expect fuss.
Tamila, 39 Northcote Road
The newest serious kitchen on the road, from the team behind Tamil Prince in Islington, cooking roughly south Indian food. Harden's rates the food very good, and its readers call it a welcome addition. This is the dinner booking to make on Northcote Road.
Rosa's Thai, Northcote Road
The Thai cafe chain's Clapham Junction branch, with a terrace and the house curries. Save room for the Thai tea custard tart.
Summer weekends
In summer, the council closes Northcote Road to traffic on Saturdays and Sundays from 6am to 10pm. Stallholders, bars and restaurants set up along long communal wooden tables, and the whole street becomes one big outdoor dining room. Come hungry, come early for a table, and graze your way down. The dates are set each year, so check Wandsworth Council's announcements before you plan a weekend around it.
How to do it
- A drink first: Humble Grape or Vagabond at the Junction end.
- Dinner: Tamila at No 39, or Osteria Antica Bologna at No 23.
- Sunday: a roast at The Northcote, booked ahead.
- Late: Northcote Records, until the band stops.
Clapham Junction station is a five-minute walk from the top of the road, so it is an easy evening from anywhere in SW4 or SW11.
