Bubbas, Tulse Hill

I really wanted Bubbas in Tulse Hill, styled as a fine dining Caribbean restaurant, to blow me away but warning bells rang on the approach. There was a lot of blue neon shining out of those windows. For the most part, I did like it - the food was well spiced and had flavour so there was obviously some talent in the kitchen in the form of their Michelin-trained chef. But it was all the fripperies that made me cringe; things served in kilner jars are cute to a certain extent, but when everyone round the table (of 5) has one, it becomes a bit of a cheesy gimmick.


Fried prawn and okra balls were served with a pretty orange smear and presented on an awkwardly shaped plate. The sliminess of the okra shone through - I am a huge fan of slime - and it was served with a delicious sweet and sour sauce, once you can dig it out of its jar.

Elsewhere on the table, huge prawns made us all gasp and were meatily delicious, coated in a rum glaze and having a hint of the scotch bonnet fruitiness. Jerk chicken lollipops were decently spiced (top photo) and the jerk ketchup it was served with had some serious kick. We scooped the remnants of the sauce jar with our fingers.

Onto mains, and I shunned menu items like Red Stripe battered fish with sweet potato chips for a more traditional stewed oxtail. This was served with a potato galette and dumpling. Without much sauce with the deboned oxtail meat, this was a little dry but the potato, meat and earthiness of the beetroot smear worked well together and I finished it without much effort.

Goat curry was served in a 'rose tuile', essentially a basket made of thin pastry that was all about presentation rather than flavour. My friend awkwardly smashed it apart, revealing well spiced but otherwise unremarkable curry. The blue neon light really did a number with that photo; the rest were rescuable with the genius of Lightroom, but there was no saving that one.

We declined desserts opting instead for the pub. I found the experience (bar the company) oddly joyless, something I don't associate with Caribbean food. Usually a splash of colour and flavour, the lighting within the restaurant didn't do much to help it. At around £10 - £15 per main course, the food isn't likely to bankrupt you but I've taken more delight from eating jerk pork out of a silver takeaway box on a plastic-topped table in a cafe for half the price. Still, it is refreshing to see a Caribbean restaurant go beyond your usual brown stew chicken, curry goat and jerk options.

While the waiting staff were sweet and helpful, they seemed uncomfortable with their starched whites and formal uniform, and the food somehow seemed that way too. Although flavoursome and ultimately satisfying, the styling was overdone and fussy. We were invited to the restaurant on only its' second day of opening, so hopefully the presentation of the dishes will relax as it beds in. But seriously. Lose the neon.

Bubbas

7A Station Rise

Tulse Hill

London SE27 9BW

We were guests of the restaurant.

Chaconia, Deptford

I'm a bit of a lurker over at Chowhound, the food message board; I don't often have time to post, but when I remember I dip in and out and although a lot of it is made up of tourists wondering where to eat in London, you can pick up a load of good suggestions. It was there I first heard of Chaconia, a Caribbean (or, more specifically, Trini) cafe in Deptford. Being a mere 15 minute walk from home to me, I had to visit, especially as the words 'best roti in the UK' were used.

Without a website or any ideas about opening hours, I chanced my luck and headed for 12pm. Alas, it was closed. I meandered around the high street for a bit taking in the stalls of Deptford Market that line the high street, and on my way back, around 12:30pm it was open. So I'd aim for 1pm. A lovely woman behind the counter welcomed me warmly and I ordered a potato and spinach curry roti.

As the lady was making my order, she explained to me that everything is freshly made on the premises. When I told her the compliment I'd read about the roti, she beamed with pride. Made into a wrap, the package was then wrapped in greaseproof paper and popped in the microwave for a few seconds - "roti has to be PIPING hot!"

Soft, chewy roti wrapped gently spiced potato and spinach. Cooked with plenty of cumin seeds, the roti meal was deliciously fulfilling. Make sure you ask for the pepper sauce, as the home-made luridly orange sauce was as hot as hell, the fruity scotch bonnets shining through in the dominant flavour. A cup of sorrel, which the lady told me was made with hibiscus and cinnamon, tasted fresh and fruity without being too sweet.

"Make sure you come back for goat! I make good goat. No pressure cookers." I am excited about next weekend's lunch already.

Chaconia

26 Deptford High Street
London SE8 4AF

Tel: 020 8692 8815