Best Bites: Prime sandwiches in Peckham and a good Brixton brunch

Rarebit 

I headed to Rarebit on Sayer Street in Elephant and Castle for dinner last week. Perched on a little table outside, we ordered a bottle of chilled Soave and settled in to enjoy what was undoubtedly one of the last warm evenings of the year. We started our order with the rarebit, sharing the same name of the restaurant it was bound to be good before moving on to burrata with grilled peaches and thyme. I normally tend to avoid burrata on a menu – to me it’s overrated and often bland – but here the cooling creaminess of the cheese alongside the sugary sharpness of the fruit was delicious. The real star of the show, however, had to the be the mussels in a punchy coconut curry. So good were they that no shell was left unclean, and every drop of broth greedily spooned up. 
Molly Wade, memberships manager
CODE was a guest of Rarebit

Smoke & Salt 

When coming out of Tooting Broadway station, the natural pull would be to head north, towards the area’s brilliant Indian and Pakistani restaurants. When I visited last week, I turned left, expecting a wasteland of talentless, lacklustre restaurants. I was wrong. Smoke & Salt, where large cuts of meat and fish are cooked over gleaming embers, awaits. Fermentation jars catch the eye at each glance up from the menu. Snacks include cauliflower nuggets smothered in chilli salt and aioli, and English heirloom tomatoes bring sweet juiciness. A 12- hour smoked pork chop is available, with perfectly rendered fat and a mouth-watering apple and seaweed jam. Head to South London.
Harry Cromack, accounts manager
Available on the CODE app

Mondo Sandwiches  

Mondo has been a popular fixture of the Grove House Tavern in Camberwell for some time. These sandwich purveyors, where inelegant but sophisticated fillings are stuffed generously into white subs, now also appear in Peckham, at The White Horse. There you will find the juiciest of meatball marinaras; mushroom barbecoa; aubergine parms; mortadella with straciatella and whipped pistachio cream. These are just four of many elaborate constructions, each one balanced and satisfying. London is replete with fancy sandwiches – these are fancy, sure, but they are indelibly proper, too.
Josh Barrie, editor
CODE was a guest of Mondo Sandwiches

Maddox Tavern

New York City meets Mayfair at Maddox Tavern, a new all-day brasserie. After a ‘Ginger Club’ cocktail at the bar, we are moved swiftly from the pub area to the main dining room. Oysters and popcorn shrimp start proceedings before a colossal tomahawk steak arrives at the table alongside buttery hispi cabbage, smooth mash, peas with pancetta, and a rich port sauce. Just in case our stomachs hadn’t reached capacity, we pushed the limits with an apple crumble and custard. British classics done well. 
Henry Southan, social media manager 
CODE was a guest of Maddox Tavern 

Bottle and Rye  

I went for dinner, so I returned for brunch. But don’t worry, overcooked eggs and excessively perfumed Prosecco are not the vibe at Bottle & Rye, where trout pastrami is salty and soft, and St Ewes’ eggs are perfectly poached and perched on toasted sourdough with lashings of hollandaise. If you feel extra luxurious, add black pudding. We discovered that orange wine is also the perfect pairing for a brunch. Luckily, they serve it by bucket.
Harry Cromack, partners accounts manager
CODE was a guest of Bottle + Rye 

Read more reviews from the CODE team here