I had never been to Brixton Village until this Wednesday just gone. There, I said it. Would you believe it? No, I can’t either.
It was a lovely, warm evening and we wandered through the whole market ‘oohing’ and ‘aaahing’ at places I had heard of and could now put a shop front to the name, so to speak. The one I really wanted to try was Kaosarn.
I had heard really good things and the reviews aren’t wrong. This is casual dining at its finest. Adorned with tonnes of outside seating, it bustled at the entrance to the Village and looked exceedingly inviting. We got there at the right time as there was only a small wait. The moment we sat down, there was a massive queue. It is very much in demand, clearly.
We chose the Satay Gai to share as a starter. I totally assumed it would be the standard fare of chicken that’s a bit boring, with an obvious peanut sauce/dip. I was wrong. The succulent chicken was marinated beautifully and ultimately was soft and, most importantly tasted delicious and authentic. It reminded me of my mum’s. The peanut sauce was only ok, but honestly I could have eaten the chicken on its own, it was that good.
Onto the mains. Between us we had the most obvious of Thai dishes. These were; green chicken curry, red chicken curry and chicken pad thai.
Chicken fest.
The pad thai was incredible, I haven’t had one this good since Spice (13th St & University Place, just south of Union Square, NY) and that is really saying something, let me tell you. The noodles had truly absorbed all the flavours of the sauce and spices, kind of like when you have spag bol the next day and it just tastes SO much better. The chicken was tender and soft, yet again, and there wasn’t too much tofu (padding). Just my kind of dinner. It was a huge portion and greedily, I managed to finish it.
The red and green curries, both served with rice, were equally as deelish. The sauce was at the right thickness and the flavours really burst through. The service is casual and it’s very much a ‘clear dishes as and when people have finished’ sort of place, but the food is that good you really don’t mind about it being so casual. It’s simple, good quality and not too pricey.
So, first visit to Brixton Village was a success…I’m guessing I’ll be back.
Rate: 4.5
Kaosarn
Brixton Village Market, London, SW9 8PR
020 7095 8922
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