Where
Kricket, POP Brixton

What
An evening to celebrate Diwali with Indian restaurant Kricket and British light artist Rupert Newman.

Experience
POP Brixton is a playful courtyard of bars, restaurants and shops housed in old shipping containers near the arches of Brixton train station. It is also an event space and Indian inspired restaurant Kricket, who normally occupy one of the shipping small containers upstairs, took over the decidedly more grand barn like building for a night to celebrate the ancient Hindu festival of light, Diwali, in collaboration with British light artist Rupert Newman.

The placed looked pretty incredible. There were 3 long tables set with runners and stoneware plates and Rupert’s colourful bespoke visuals bouncing around the room. I was dubious about how well British chefs were going to be able to carry off the diverse and intricate Indian cuisine but they weren’t trying to imitate. The food was Indian inspired but considerably meatier and served with lots of different flavoured mayonnaises and dips to suit the English taste. The spiced rum and masala popcorn laid out in giant bowls down all of the tables was a pretty exciting sign of what was to come. The food was brought out on enormous platters to be shared. Some of my favourites were the bhel puri served with raw mango, tamarind and sev yoghurt, the daak kachori served with chickpeas, pomegranate and coriander chutney and the goat leg raan that was served with pickled heritage carrots, pilau rice and smoked paprika raita.

After dinner, a selection of tastily sticky and sweet deserts were brought out for us to enjoy whilst watching the light show play against the enormous walls. After enjoying all that beautiful food in such a vast atmospheric space, it’s hard to believe this is normally served on a couple of benches inside a shipping container. It really was a great night and I’m looking forward to going back and enjoying the food again in a somewhat more modest setting.

Cost
Small plates £4-9

Address
Pop Brixton
49 Brixton Station Road
London
SW9 8PQ