Picture of Senzala, SW9 8PS

Historical version 1 of Senzala, SW9 8PS (view current version)

This crêperie and bar was originally set up by the Brick Box project. The Brazilian chefs have been successful enough that they were able to buy the lease for themselves and have renamed the venue. The original write-up can be seen here.

The venue has been redecorated since becoming independent from the art project; the result is more austere and open. There is space for around twenty people inside and seating for another twenty outside, in the covered arcade avenue.

The menu includes both savoury and sweet crêpes and galettes, salads, coffees, teas, juices and soft drinks; there are now several vegan recipes (previously, the staff were happy to create custom vegan fillings to order). The price of most pancakes falls between £4.00 and £7.10 and you can add extra fillings of your choice. There are some basic sweet crêpes (e.g. with lemon and honey) for £3 to £4. With all crêpes and galettes there is a choice of plain wheat or buckwheat flour.

On a March 2011 visit, itsbruce and companion started by sharing a Picante buckwheat galette (minced beef, red and green peppers, jalapeños and cheese at £4.80) photo, which they seasoned lightly with the café's home-made chilli sauce. The pancake itself was light and had a good texture, while the filling was moist and well flavoured; as a whole it hung together well and was not at all soggy. We were impressed enough with it to try a sweet pancake. Most of those on the menu are chocolate based and offer a choice of dark, milk or white chocolate; we chose a dark chocolate Rum & Passas crêpe (rum-soaked raisins and chocolate at £4.40) photo, which was delicious. The final bill, with two coffees, a tea and a fresh orange juice, was £17.40 (service not included).

On a January 2014 visit, itsbruce tried one of the new vegan galettes - the "Dujhan" photo - and a green salad. The galette contained garlic mushrooms, caramelized onions, asparagus, sundried tomatoes, rocket and spinach with maple and mustard dressing. It was very good and quite filling; I was not able to finish the salad, which is better shared between two unless you have a large appetite or are only having a basic crepe. With the addition of a cup of tea, the final bill was £12.60. Service was as prompt and friendly as ever.

itsbruce's verdict: this isn't quite as cheap as it used to be but is still a great place to eat.

OS X co-ord: 531283 OS Y co-ord: 175412 (Latitude: 51.461948 Longitude: -0.109977)
This is version 1 (as of 2014-02-01 13:21:21). View current version.