We absolutely LOVE Salon. We've been quite a few times and keep coming back. We just moved to the UK and have brought all of our family who have visited to Salon, and they always have amazing things to say about it! Highly recommend - great service, incredible food.
A long time since I’ve had food this considered...this constructed... this understandable.... and just so good. Great place. Super service. Great atmosphere. And the foods not to bad either.
Intimidation by size can apply to many things in life. Whether it was that rather menacing looking white van that fought you for that last car park spot or the apparent Goliath standing implacably on the tube. Thankfully, it doesn’t always have to be such explicit bullying as here it was simply, that the man on the table next to me had a fairly large camera. I wondered if he was an annoying foodie like me.
With a swath of new openings happening every week there has to be something said about a place I have visited for two Sundays in a row now. Salon in Brixton Row piqued my interest a few weeks back when I spotted a couple of brunch photos making their way into my Instagram feed. I’m always on the hunt for an interesting brunch thats able to keep my attention longer than it is to smash an avo into a pulp and plonk it on toast.
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I've always passed by Salon en route to other establishments along Brixton Market Row (ie the original Franco Manca and my favourite Thai in town, Yum-D) but I've never really given it much thought for a visit as it always came across another coffee shop (and I always go to Federation Coffee in Brixton). So when Bakeryee suggested a brunch rendezvous there, I was surprised to know they actually serve proper food.
There's a decent sized dining area upstairs reminiscent of the type you see in hipster magazines/Pinterest with its shabby chic meets industrial meets country home vibe.
Yee booked us a table for Sunday brunch (they require a £5/head deposit for groups over 8). Pleasantries exchanged after the latecomers *ahem* arrived and shortly after, we were all sorted for orders. We immersed ourselves in pleasant Sunday-brunch banter until our orders arrived. Like the place itself, each dish had that Instagrammable factor, including Tamsin @ A Certain Adventure's scrambled eggs with 'nduja on toast (£6.5)
, Miho @ Wander To Wonder hot smoked salmon, buttermilk scone with beetroot & cabbage slaw (£9) and the special plat du jour, a lamb stew with fried duck egg (£9)
It was the smashed avocado on toast with chilli and smoked lardons (£6.5) that had me salivating. I wanted to get this myself but as I've pretty much smashed (har har) this recipe at home, I decided to get something else. When I heard appreciative 'Oh, yum!' utterances, I had massive food envy.
Four of us went for the three-cheese cornbread with ham hock and supergreens (£7.5). I had high hopes for this dish, but unfortunately something seemed amiss... and something seemed too prominent. We realised that the cornbread lacked a bit of moistness and creamy texture whilst everything else on the plate was a bit overseasoned.
This was when everyone pretty much agreed that the kitchen might have gotten a tad too excited with salt.
I opted out of the poached egg but everyone else had /#eggporn-worthy plates. Instead, I ordered a side of wild mushrooms with pickled walnut (£2.5) on the side, which I enjoyed more than my main.
We ordered a few slices of warm banana bread served with hazelnut ganache (£4). This sounded really promising but I honestly didn't like it as much as I thought I would. The banana flavour was slightly overpowered by spices and the superseeds on top just gave it a strange texture. The ganache, however, was pretty yum. I'd've licked all four bowls of it if I were that greedy.
Overall, Salon Brixton has a lot of potential. Their seasonal a la carte and brunch menus have strong contenders for really outstanding dishes, as long as they go easy on the salt! If you do visit, go bring a bunch of people you can laugh with. After all, it's the company that makes up for a good time.
I've always passed by Salon en route to other establishments along Brixton Market Row (ie the original Franco Manca and my favourite Thai in town, Yum-D) but I've never really given it much thought for a visit as it always came across another coffee shop (and I always go to Federation Coffee in Brixton). So when @bakeryee suggested a brunch rendezvous there, I was surprised to know they actually serve proper food.
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As London continues to expand, the gentrification train rolls on as its reach spreads further and further in every direction. When I arrived a little over 6 years ago, places like Brixton were considered undesirable and a journey from Central London; these days it is very much considered part of it. Whether that is a good or bad thing is not a subject for this forum but from a pure dining standpoint, it has been a roaring success with hot spots Market Row and Brixton Market right at the heart of it all.
Here you will find almost anything to satisfy every craving as the food on offer is truly global with a variety of cafés and restaurants dishing up all sorts of flavours from Europe, India, Asia, Africa, South America and the Caribbean. With so much choice, it can be hard to settle on a place to dine but I recommend paying a visit to Salon on Market Row.
Seasonal and inventive are the 2 guiding principals to what is served at Salon, making use of local produce found in and around Brixton. And when they are dishing up plates such as my three cheese cornbread with shredded ham hock, greens, super seeds and poached duck egg, it's hard to argue they aren't sticking to them as the dish's simplicity masks the intricacy of its components. And with dessert of a next level Cointreau custard soaked hot cross bun served with marmalade and creme fraiche, it doesn't take a genius to guess the season in which I dined.
In an area where you're spoiled for choice, I consider Salon very much in the leading pack; food is always good and the beautiful dining room always relaxed. See for yourself.
Also follow me on Twitter @annixontong and @wetrykai and on Instagram @annixontong.
Objectively, Salon - ostensibly a showcase restaurant for the products sold at the Cannon & Cannon deli - are a very solid little operation serving decent British (or largely British) food in an airy room above Brixton Market and are charging very little money for it. It's possibly unfortunate for them that I made my second trip to Broadway Market and to Sabel this Sunday just gone, who are doing this thing that much better (in fact probably better than anyone else), but if you find yourself near Electric Avenue with £15 burning a hole in your pocket you can certainly do much worse. N'duja croquettes were an attractive golden brown, had a nice crunch and came perched on blobs of ketchup and surrounded by leaves of chicory. I'd have liked a bit more of a kick from the n'duja, and there was something about the ketchup that felt a bit... low-rent, but I was happy enough to eat them. Which I guess is the point. Welsh Rarebit was a bit wrong, though - a thick, disconcertingly brown gunk lai
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Objectively, Salon - ostensibly a showcase restaurant for the products sold at the Cannon & Cannon deli - are a very solid little operation serving decent British (or largely British) food in an airy room above Brixton Market and are charging very little money for it. It's possibly unfortunate for them that I made my second trip to Broadway Market and to Sabel this Sunday just gone, who are doing this thing that much better (in fact probably better than anyone else), but if you find yourself near Electric Avenue with £15 burning a hole in your pocket you can certainly do much worse.
N'duja croquettes were an attractive golden brown, had a nice crunch and came perched on blobs of ketchup and surrounded by leaves of chicory. I'd have liked a bit more of a kick from the n'duja, and there was something about the ketchup that felt a bit... low-rent, but I was happy enough to eat them. Which I guess is the point.
Welsh Rarebit was a bit wrong, though - a thick, disconcertingly brown gunk laid on brown bread, grilled too timidly to have any of that nice golden crust you get on a good bit of rarebit (see: St John, Farringdon). Pickled walnuts were a nice touch, but there's only so much bitterly beer-y, salty mixture the consistency of snot you can eat before feeling a bit queasy. We didn't finish it.
Dexter beef - they didn't specify the cut but I'm guessing onglet - had plenty of flavour and was cooked well if you ignore the fact it didn't have a char. It's probably a bit mean criticising a restaurant like this for not having a charcoal grill, as often it's a licensing/extraction issue and out of their hands, but there has never been a bit of beef in the history of the world that isn't better cooked over coals. Still, not bad.
Suffolk chorizo with Jersey Royals was nice too, and oddly enough suffered from the opposite problem as the beef as there was way too much of it all - mainly potato. The chorizo had plenty of punch and bite, and the potatoes were little bouncy balls of flavour, but my friend pointed out that leaving those furry leaves on the radishes has way more benefit to visual aesthetics than taste, and there was quite a bit of salty butter swimming about underneath it all.
Still, all said and done, it was a hearty old lunch for £15 a head and we'd had a nice time. It's great fun, too, looking out over the market while you eat, where, as anyone who's ever been to Brixton Market will know, entertainment in various forms is never in short supply. A marvellously gooey rye, baked fresh that morning, was way better than you usually get as a house bread and, slathered in salty butter, made a fantastic appetiser. So Salon are doing enough right that the odd misstep doesn't matter so much. On the days I don't fancy trekking over to Broadway Market, I will be back.
7/10
This is fine dining with no stuffy-toff attitude. It’s a wonderful feeling to come as you are, no need for a tie or high heels (unless you want to of course)! We came for my partner‘s birthday, and were well treated by the staff upon arrival throughout the experience. We did the tasting menu and every dish came out beautifully designed, well-timed, and perfectly paired with the right wine. note that the tasting menu is seasonal and changes every four weeks. The venue is spread across two floors, the bottom with the large bar, and upstairs with the kitchen. We loved the music playlist, perfect for the target audience!
The lunchtime set menu at Salon was spectacular! A punchy, succulent lamb pie was the standout course but so much was excellent. Loved the delicate radish salad. Light-touch service, well paced. Really refined stuff. Very reasonable pricing at £30 for six small courses.
Salon is simply fantastic. Great seasonal food cooked exceptionally well with little fuss or pantomine. It's a tasting menu which has great value, and if you match the wine pairings - even better. We had a great meal, and some excellent and different wines. The service was exceptional and the attention gone into the menu and wine list is phenomenal. The staff were exceptionally friendly and helpful and allowed a few extra tasters of some really unique organic wines. Can't wait to go back.
Very tasty food, especially bread!!!
Did not particularly like the fish pasta with tomato sauce but the rest was amazing!
Quite expensive though for the Brixton area but it worth it
Updated review 2021:
Came back to this restaurant after pandemic and from now on this restaurant is more about set menus and dining experiences, where you pay £50 and get 6 dishes in relatively small portions to taste. Food is very experimental and delicious. I have already visited this restaurant 4 times and plan to visit more as they change the menu every month as far as I understood. I always enjoy the starters and deserts but always find the mains not good enough. I mean they are tasty but in comparison with the starters and deserts they are not as amazing as they are. But anyways, food is delicious, so I highly recommend to visit and have a great dining experience
Well priced tasting menu for lunch.
All the food was fresh, creative, delicious and fun.
Service friendly and the atmosphere is lovely.
My only complaint is that there was an error on the menu for mains which was unannounced until the food was served. I would have changed my order had I been aware of the change but wasn't given that opportunity. The mains were on the smaller side but this seemed appropriate given the price.
Otherwise it was a brilliant meal and I will return for the dinner menu.
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Salon’s fine dining without the fuss description is what initially sparked our interest. We went for their 7 course tasting menu last Friday night, and opted for the extra courses too (why have 7 when you can have 9 🤷🏼🤷🏼♀️).
It’s quite the time commitment, we were there for around 3 1/2 hours, but there were so many food highlights that we thought it was worth it. If you’re game, then get yourself strapped in and they’ll take you on a culinary ride of your life.
Our highlights were the beautifully silky duck pate, which was served in a delicate little pastry case, mwahhh 😘. The extra sea bass course was well worth it, the fish was cooked to perfection and the sauce out of this world.
The absolute show stoppers were the desserts, aireated custard (what??!), an amazing chocolate dessert, which was the best we’ve ever had, it was the perfect balance of sweet, a tiny bit bitter, ever so slightly sour and the textures made it a total taste sensation. Where do we start on the miniature custard cream and … jelly, genius!!
The staff were super cool and knowledgeable, the atmosphere relaxed and fun and the wine was de-li-cous (the wine shop next door hinted that it would be)
So, if you’ve got a free evening and like us you enjoy filling your time talking about, smelling and eating food, then get yourself to Salon asap Rocky!
📍🚇| 7/8 minute walk from Brixton tube stop
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We came here Friday evening around 8:30 following Open table's suggestion, not knowing what to expect. The restaurant has a bar on the ground floor and dining room is upstairs. Booking is strongly recommended if you want a sit down dinner (we didn't!). The first thing I noticed was how different the crowd is here, more sophisticated and matured (and posh), I felt a bit underdressed (with my trainers!). The staff here is very friendly though and that was not a problem at all. Anyways, we learnt that the bar food menu is very similar to dining room menu but smaller portion. This was OK and perhaps even better value for people who don't eat a lot. To be fair the portions were big enough to fill us. Service can be a bit slow but it was busy (food came fast though) . We ordered the bread selection, confit carrots and duck. Everything was slightly unusual but very delicious! I'm definitely coming back again. Next time will make a booking! [Edit - came back for brunch on Sunday, we ordered the siracha Royal, and roast pumpkin and beans with toast, really enjoyed the food again! Would definitely recommend it]
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Enjoyed the extended tasting menu in May 2019. I like what Salon’s been doing. They’ve really upgraded the ambience of the place and built out the ground level as a wine room / bar, and dovetailed the whole thing with a wine shop adjacent. The food has seen a serious upgrade as well .. many more dishes, more complexity both in ingredients and preparation methods.
There were some gems and some misses in what we ate. The Brill cooked in butter, capers and lemon was beautiful, the filet itself was really meaty. The charred asparagus with a moreish, smoky mousse with a partially set yolk was stunning. So was the chocolate ganache with sesame ice cream. The seaweed broth was just so so, as was the pea purée mousse. Overall, you just have to go with it, there’s a lot of experimentation going on in the kitchen and it’s mostly a good thing. I imagine eating here is a bit like how you’d dine if you were on the beeb’s “Great British Menu”.
To take the fine dining feel to a higher level they could look at putting out cloth napkins, nicer silverware and more frequent swaps of the dining utensils between varying courses. The extended menu could also benefit from a couple of amuse bouches / palate cleansers.
Came here for my 30th and they were very accommodating. Food was marvellous, I was impressed more and more with each dish. Wine was delicious too and lots to choose from.
Our servers were very good, very attentive, always topping up water and chatty with a warm personality.
Have already recommended this place to others.
Special credit to them for putting a candle in my dessert to mark my birthday!
The al a carte and tasting menus were both amazing, staff were very kind and friendly, can't wait to go back I'm the future.
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