Anyone expecting a closely-fought Euro 2012 final was disappointed as Spain romped to another Championship in record-breaking fashion. (Oh, and anybody Italian. They were probably disappointed too, obviously).
Pavement cafes: not just for the French! |
I can bang on for days about why I love the market and it's pubs and restaurants, but it really does seem like the one place in London where you really can enjoy any food or drink you'd ever want. Albeit sometimes at a price.
For the full, elongated Spanish Tapas experience, there's the classy (and fairly pricey) Brindisa restaurant on the corner of Southwark street, but this is quite simply street food at it's best. A less-sung hero, like Iker Casillas, that is quietly but widely acknowledged as being damn good at what they do.
The Brood at work |
Cafe Brood technically has an indoors, but hardly anything ever happens there, with most of the cooking and eating taking place out in the open air, on the footpath by the side of the Cathedral.
Wish you were here!
Each day (apart from Mondays) the cobbled path comes alive with the aromas and colours of Spain as huge pans of Paella and Catalan entice passers-by, jugs of cool Sangria beckon thirsty tourists, and the barbecue sizzles with skewers of meat.
Half-and-half |
The menu is simple and appears to be pretty much the same each day, but that's no bad thing because they do what they do so well.
The paella can come with either king prawns, chorizo or both (if you ask nicely) and is about £7.50 for a portion. The rice is fragrant and lemony, and paella is one of the few dishes where I stomach eating peas.
But the real star is the Catalan meatball stew, which is rich, tangy and bursting with flavours. Your £7.50 could also get you a half-and-half bowl of this with Paella, which isn't a bad option, given that rice is a delightful conduit for a thick, spicy sauce.
The portion sizes aren't huge, but this isn't a bad thing because it means you can have the stew and paella for a starter and then graduate to a main course from the grill - the midfield maestro, if you like.
It's not on the menu, but the chefs are pretty flexible when it comes to giving the customer what they want, so we were given a platter for two (£15), which consisted of barbecued chicken, pork and sausage, with salad, salsa and a big bowl of fresh bread - essentially a sampler of pretty much everything we hadn't already tried.
Custom platters win customer platitudes |
A sit-down meal for two with wine will be in the £50 region, though if you just happen to be passing the area and of a peckish bent, it's quick and easy to pick up a snack that's a cut above most 'fast' foods.
Frankly I'd challenge anyone who is even modestly hungry to walk past Cafe Brood and not be tempted by the vibrant colours and heady aromas.
There's shitloads of good food squeezed into the Borough Market area, which can make it challenging for places to stand out consistently, but, like the Spanish football team, Cafe Brood has the quality to make it's mark at the highest level.
It's not clever or complicated, but it's bloody effective. With occasional touches of Alonso-esque flair.
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