It is hard to disagree with Kerb‘s motto ‘Making London tastes better’; they have been delighting Londoners with their pop-up street food fiestas throughout London whether it is at the Gherkin or on the Southbank. Now they have opened a permanent site at Camden which is open 7 days a week with 35 traders. There is simply nowhere else in London where you can experience the sheer variety of different cuisines on offer in such close proximity to one another.
It would be next to impossible to review all 35 in one article, but here I aim to point out the highlights. Kimchinary has been earning rave reviews from Londoners for their exotic fusion of Korean and Mexican flavours to create an explosion of taste with their ever popular burritos. What is their secret? Their bulgogi ox cheek is slowly braised with care, they use kimchi fried rice and the final product is topped up with fiery gochujang special sauce.
Arepazo Bros. is a new addition to the Kerb family. You can probably count the number of restaurants offering arepas in one hand in London, but it is such an incredibly popular offering in Latin America. Here it is made with 100% corn flour and 100% gluten free. They also offer delicious plaintain fries.
For seafood lovers, a visit to Crabbieshack is a must. They were voted the best street food in London at the British street food awards in 2014. The hythe bay brown crab used in their burgers is juicy and fresh, whilst the old bay batter gives the burger an extremely crispy texture.
Strolling around the food stalls, you will notice how remarkably dietary friendly they are; there are regular signs highlighting their stall’s gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian offerings. One of our favourite vegetarian offerings is the super mario at the mac factory: sauteed mushrooms, truffle oil and garlic mac and cheese. What makes them so addictive is their sourdough-based parmesan and thyme crumble.
Desserts are often an afterthought at street food festivals, but here you can enjoy gluten-free, vegan and raw brownies, cookies and cupcakes and also the most in demand dessert at the moment, ice cream sandwiches.
If there are any issues to improve on, I would suggest some of the food stalls to offer taster portions with lower prices so visitors can try more food. At the moment, all the portions are proper-sized meals, so you really have to think carefully before settling on which food stall you choose for your meal. The alternative is of course, what I am planning to do, visit Kerb Camden as frequently as possible.
baldwin@townfish.com