Hi everyone! My partner and I are about to move to Sydenham after years of renting a little farther north (Elephant and Castle area). Contracts not yet exchanged, but... nearly there!
So what bit of local knowledge would you share to a complete newcomer to the area? We'll be moving not far from Sydenham station, and about ten mins walk from Penge East. What's the best real ale pub, for instance? (We're boring academic types...) And the best place for a slice of cake in the afternoon?
Thanks, and looking forward to joining the community!
For best ale I'd go to Ignition Brewery in the Sydenham Centre. Not a pub as such, but a local brewery well worth supporting. They've started doing occasional jazz nights there.
Personally, in terms of pubs I'd go with the Greyhound, the Dolphin and, in Lower Sydenham, the Perry Hill.
The Woodhouse up the hill is good too - a walk in Sydenham Woods is not complete with a trip there. Their garden burger shack is great (get there early to bag a table at weekends). The Alexandra on the border with Penge is a nice pub too, and does surprisingly good food. I like the Goldsmiths Arms pub in Penge too.
Other random recomendations... Hibagon Sushi is my favourite local food option, super fast delivery although you can eat in too. Much the same story with Mama Dough pizza.
Crystal Palace park is a huge asset to the area. Its street food market on Sunday afternoons is great.
Can't really help you on cake as I've had to go gluten free recently. But the cakes at the Moustache cafe/bar at the top of Kirkdale look really really good. Nice place for lunch too. Oh and while we're at the top of Kirkdale there's 161 bar: if you want to drink wine that's the place to go.
Lots of locals rate the Poodle Club in Lower Sydenham for standup comedy (not really my thing).
Horniman Museum and Dulwich Picture Gallery both short bus rides away for a bit of culture.
Kirkdale Books is a brilliant bookshop with an esoteric secondhand section downstairs.
Hello and welcome to the neighbourhood!
We are very lucky that the restaurants in the area are top notch. Gurkhas serves fantastic Nepalese food, Trattoria Raphaele is an award winning Italian and Hibagon is a great Japanese restaurant.
Some great little cafes as well. I personally like Cobbs Cafe, The Moustache and Brown and Green's within Mayow Park.
On Sundays there are farmers markets within the Horniman and Crystal Palace Park (with a good selection of street food as well).
Kirkdale Bookshops is a FANTASTIC bookshop and also sells gifts. Vardo, is also a nice gift shop in Kirkdale.
Lots of nice, friendly pubs. The Greyhound is good for food, The Golden Lion also serves food and has a nice little beer garden, The dolphin is also good for food and has a lovely beer garden as is the Dulwich Woodhouse.
Wellbeing on the high street is a wonderful health shop with a great selection of products. Good Food, is a nice little Deli and I love the PFC, which has a fantastic range of items and breads.
The Blackbird bakery is a fantastic bakery on the high street, and the flower shop next door is well worth visiting (as is Angie, who has a flower stall on the high street).
Wells Park is a lovely space to relax in and there is a lady who runs a coffee van there. A little further up and you have Sydenham/Dulwich Woods.
When it reopens, the Poodle Club, is a fantastic comedy club with some great acts.
There are many other cafes and shops that are well worth visiting:)
Martha wrote: 13 Mar 2022 17:47
Hi everyone! My partner and I are about to move to Sydenham after years of renting a little farther north (Elephant and Castle area). Contracts not yet exchanged, but... nearly there!
So what bit of local knowledge would you share to a complete newcomer to the area? We'll be moving not far from Sydenham station, and about ten mins walk from Penge East. What's the best real ale pub, for instance? (We're boring academic types...) And the best place for a slice of cake in the afternoon?
Thanks, and looking forward to joining the community!
Best cake is Cobbs Corner Cafe to eat in. Takeaway fab cakes from Blackbird Bakery.
Real ale would be Ignition Brewery next to Post Office
Thanks everyone! Big news is all is done/dusted and we're moving in by 1 June - so excited to be a part of a real neighbourhood!
But these are all excellent recommendations, and far better than just going by Google reviews, etc. Ignition Brewery is absolute Number 1 place we're headed, just as soon as we've unpacked (or before). It's extremely conveniently located for us, too!
Anything else springs to mind, do say! I'm sort of keen to do a bit of volunteering in the area, just to keep me doing good things outside teaching term. So if anyone knows of any opportunities...
Re. volunteering: the foodbank at Holy Trinity Church is always saying they are in desperate need of food - the demand they have had this year is through the roof. I don't know if they are equally in need of volunteers?
Spontaneous Productions always seem to be in the market for volunteers handing out their fliers and helping out with their events.
And here's another belated addition to local food reccomendations: Mr Kebabish (next to Blackbird Bakery). It's taken me 6 years as a local resident to try the place - it looks a bit grotty from the outside - but their grilled 1/2 Chicken with rice is an unexpectedly delicious thing. It may look like just another kebab shop but it's Indian run so has a surprisingly good curry-based menu. Working from home has prompted several Friday lunchtime trips there. Only wish it were open a bit later, 10pm is way too early for a post-pub takeaway.
