Just a few stops south of Central London on the Victoria line, Stockwell might not have the buzz of its bustling neighbour Brixton, nor the gauche swagger of nearby Clapham, but what it lacks in hype it more than makes up for in substance. This patch of South London, known to locals as Little Portugal, boasts one of the capital’s most thriving Portuguese communities alongside a clutch of brilliant gastropubs and some seriously underrated international gems.
The area’s demographic diversity shapes its dining scene in ways that feel organic rather than laboured. Where else in London can you find a Portuguese bakery turning out 20,000 pastéis de nata daily, an award-winning gastropub with absolutely no affectation, and an Ethiopian restaurant open until late, all within walking distance of each other?
We’ve eaten our way through the lot to bring you the best places to eat in Stockwell. Here’s where to dine in SW9.
O Cantinho de Portugal
Ideal for discovering the heart of ‘Little Portugal’…
If you want to understand why Stockwell earned the nickname Little Portugal, start here. O Cantinho has been feeding the local Portuguese community (the largest outside of the motherland) since the early 2000s, and walking through the door feels like stepping into a family-run tasca in Lisbon rather than a restaurant on the Stockwell Road.
The menu spans Portugal’s regional cooking, laid out like a culinary map of the country with dishes organised by region, from the frango à guia (Algarvian-style chicken) that arrives still sizzling from the grill to the porco à alentejana, a hearty marriage of pork and clams that is pure salty, fatty alchemy (the pickles tie it all together). The bacalhau com natas is excellent too, layers of salted cod and cream that’ll have you questioning why you ever bothered with that ready meal fish pie from Saino’s when this isn’t much more demanding on the wallet.
And stone me, is that Boris Johnson in the photo below?
Nah surely not. On with the show, then…
Open from 9am till midnight daily, this is very much a neighbourhood spot where conversations flow in Portuguese and the football’s always on (2016’s Euros win was a fucking blast). Portions are generous enough to feed a small village, and with most mains hovering around £14-20, it’s some of the best value cooking in South London. Don’t leave without trying the pastéis de nata, which are made fresh throughout the day and disappear almost as quickly as they land on the counter.
The wine list sticks firmly to Portuguese producers, with a house red that’s dangerously drinkable at £4 a glass. Service can be leisurely when they’re busy, but that’s all part of the charm. This isn’t fast food; it’s genuine Portuguese hospitality.
Website: cantinhodp.com
Address: 137 Stockwell Rd, London SW9 9TN
The Canton Arms
Ideal for when you want gastropub excellence without the pretensions of the modern London, erm, gastropub…
Winner of Hardens’ Best London Pub 2021 (among many other awards, quite frankly) and a regular in the Top 50 Gastropub Awards, the Canton Arms has been quietly getting on with the business of serving brilliant food since long before ‘gastropubs’ became a maligned term.
It’s from the same stable as the much-lauded Anchor & Hope, and with prices that remain as refreshingly reasonable. The menu changes daily, but expect the kind of robust, seasonal cooking that makes other gastropubs look like they’re trying too hard. There’s a decidedly Mediterranean bent to the dishes, which is a welcome change from another fancified burger, strangely proportioned pie and a sticky toffee pudding that, admittedly, slaps.
The seven-hour salt marsh lamb shoulder is the stuff of local legend, so tender it comes apart with a gentle nudge and, alongside its potato and olive oil gratin and seasonal green, comfortably feeding five hungry souls for £145. You do the math.
If you don’t have that many friends, there are a series of excellent fish dishes usually on, not battered and with chips (no shade to the national dish, of course), but in more breezy preparations, like a pleasing chunk of hake fillet with asparagus and morels, or a curl grilled octopus tentacle with nothing more fussy than a dollop of pea puree. Come the right time of year, the Guinness and haggis toastie was wildly good a couple of years back. God this is satisfying stuff.
The wine list leans heavily on natural and biodynamic producers from across Europe. Glasses start at around £6, with plenty available by the carafe if you’re settling in for the evening. And you should settle in – the lighting gets dimmer, the conversations get louder, and before you know it, you’re begging for a lock-in and a tour of the kitchen.
All of this comes in at around £50-60 a head with drinks, which for this level of cooking is nothing short of miraculous. Just don’t rock up on a Friday night expecting to walk straight to a table – being the only nationally-acclaimed gastropub in Stockwell, the Canton Arms is packed out from the first drop of thirsty Thursday all the way until the Sunday scaries truly kick in.
Read: 11 of the best gastropubs in London
Website: cantonarms.com
Address: 177 South Lambeth Rd, London SW8 1XP
Lucy 1st Ethiopian Restaurant & Bar
Ideal for late-night Ethiopian feasting and an introduction to one of the world’s great cuisines…
Named after the 3.2-million-year-old Ethiopian skeleton Lucy, this two-floor restaurant right by Stockwell tube has been flying the flag for Ethiopian cuisine since 2010. Open until midnight at weekends, it’s the kind of place where you can stumble out of the tube after a night out and find yourself embarking on an entirely different kind of adventure.
Ethiopian food is all about sharing, and Lucy 1st does it right. Order a few dishes to share and they’ll arrive on a giant platter lined with injera, the spongy sourdough flatbread that serves as both plate and cutlery. The awaze tibs – strips of marinated lamb cooked with hot pepper – pack serious heat but are spiced with pleasing complexity, too, while the kitfo is essentially Ethiopian steak tartare, served raw or lightly cooked with spiced butter.
Vegetarians are brilliantly catered for with dishes like miser (spiced red lentils) and gomen (collard greens with garlic), all deeply flavoured with berbere spice mix. The portions are enormous and prices hover around £10-15 per person, marking Lucy out as a place of generous value, as much as nuanced seasoning.
Open from midday, every day, the traditional coffee ceremony is worth experiencing if you’ve got time – they roast the beans at your table and the aroma alone is worth the price of admission. Or, if you’re drinking, wash it all down with a bottle of Hakim, the Ethiopian beer that’s the perfect foil to all that heady dry spice.
The service is warm and patient with newcomers to the cuisine. Just remember to eat with your hands – that’s how it’s supposed to be done.
Website: lucy1stethiopianrestaurant.co.uk
Address: 211 Clapham Rd, London SW9 0QH
Booma
Ideal for modern Indian small plates with a creative edge…
Booma’s approach to Indian cuisine leans more ‘Dishoom’ than your Prince-hued, Kingfisher-soaked high-street curry house, but the food here certainly doesn’t lose sight of tradition. The small plates ‘concept’ works brilliantly here, letting you graze your way through a menu that spans regional Indian cooking with a few creative flourishes thrown in for good measure.
The blackened lamb chops arrive charred and smoky, the meat pulling away from the bone with minimal effort but with a requisite chew that actually makes them taste of something. The dal makhani is rich enough to qualify as a main course on its own, while the duck kathi roll brings Bengali street food to South London with considerable confidence. We’re wild for the spiced goat burgers – essentially a really pastoral keema made into a slider rather than served alongside a buttered pav. It works, it really does.
The colour-coded system that pairs each dish with a specific craft beer is a lovely, novel touch, though you’re under no obligation to follow their suggestions. The beer list itself is tight but carefully considered, with options that can handle the heat levels on display here. We’re big fans of the sour cherry Boon Kriek, a Belgian number that’s more delicate than it sounds.
Small plates range from £7.50 to £15, and are designed for sharing, which keeps costs down if you’re dining in a group. The space itself is pretty compact, all copper tabletops and exposed brick, creating an intimate vibe that’s smart enough for a date (if you don’t mind your sweet nothings being overhead by a neighbouring table) but relaxed enough for a casual dinner with mates. Cheers to that!
Website: booma-brixton.co.uk
Address: 244 Brixton Rd, London SW9 6AH
Madeira Patisserie
Ideal for arguably the best pastéis de nata outside of Lisbon…
Technically a bakery rather than a restaurant, but Madeira Patisserie produces around 20,000 pastéis de nata daily, and that kind of output demands respect. These aren’t your average custard tarts – the pastry is laminated in the necessary, always pleasing spiral formation and shatters at first bite, giving way to creamy, cinnamon-spiced custard that’s been caramelised enthusiastically across its surface. Passion fruit, blueberry and vegan versions keep things interesting, but the classic style can’t be beat, in our humble opinion.
They also do a roaring trade in other Portuguese pastries and cakes, all on display behind a glass cabinet, plus a decent, milky Portuguese coffee. It’s largely takeaway, but there are a few tables and stools if you want to eat in and watch the bakers work their magic. Hey, there’s even a fruit machine in here, if you want to try your luck. You could also try your luck with the infamous Franchescina sandwich, which is served here and has a fearsome reputation for taking down even those with usually massive appetites.
We’ll stick to the tarts. At £1.50 each, the pastéis de nata is a steal. Buy a box to take home, but eat at least one while it’s still warm from the oven – this is where the magic happens.
Oh, and maybe box of the bolas de berlim, another of our favourite Portuguese treats, while you’re at it. It’s a doughnut filled with sweet and creamy egg-based custard, fluffy on the exterior and thick and creamy on the inside; the perfect combination, basically.
Website: madeiralondon.co.uk
Address: 130 Stockwell Rd, London SW9 9HR
A Toca Restaurant
Ideal for Portuguese cooking with a side of community spirit…
A Toca has been serving Stockwell’s Portuguese residents since the 1980s, and walking through the door feels like being welcomed into someone’s extended family. The grilled bass is exceptional, arriving simply prepared but full of flavour, while the prego sandwich features a slab of nicely gnarly beef that its bread bed can barely contain.
Portuguese football dominates the big screens at weekends, and conversations flow between tables in ways that suggest most of the clientele have known each other for years. It’s this community spirit that makes A Toca special – you’re not just eating dinner, you’re experiencing a slice of Portuguese culture in South London.
Prices are incredibly reasonable, with most mains under £20, and the wine list sticks to Portuguese producers who know what they’re doing. Don’t expect fancy presentation or Instagram-baiting plates – this is honest cooking that prioritises flavour over aesthetics.
Website: atoca-restaurant.co.uk
Address: 343 Wandsworth Rd, London SW8 2JH
Adulis
Ideal for Eritrean cuisine in one of London’s most established East African restaurants…
Since 1996, Adulis has been doing its thing from an unassuming spot on Brixton Road with clarity and consistency. Named after an ancient Red Sea trading port, this family-run restaurant operates as something of a cultural embassy, complete with traditional coffee ceremonies and communal dining rituals.
The experience centres around injera, the sourdough pancake that serves as both plate and cutlery, topped with various tsebhi (stews). The kirchat platter for two provides an excellent introduction – a mixed selection of meat and vegetable stews that lets you sample the kitchen’s range. The kitfo is exceptional, with finely chopped beef mixed with clarified butter, herbs and paprika.
Service comes with a side of education, with staff happy to explain the food and dining customs. You’ll eat with your hands, tearing off pieces of injera to scoop up the intensely spiced stews. The honey wine (tej) is worth trying – sweet, potent, and unlike anything you’ll find elsewhere in London.
The interior keeps things simple with traditional basketwork tables and East African artwork, letting the food take centre stage. Most mains sit around £15, generous portions that easily stretch to sharing. The vegetarian selection is particularly strong, reflecting Eritrean Orthodox fasting traditions.
It’s the kind of place that rewards curiosity, with flavours that’ll recalibrate your spice tolerance and leave you planning a return visit.
Website: adulis.co.uk
Address: 44-46 Brixton Rd, London SW9 6BT
The Bottom Line
We could go on – Stockwell’s dining scene runs deeper than many give it credit for. From the traditional Portuguese cafés that serve as unofficial community centres to a new wave of independents bringing fresh ideas to the area, this is a neighbourhood where food culture feels natural, generous and inclusive.
The best part? Prices remain refreshingly reasonable across the board. Whether you’re after a quick pastéis de nata and coffee or a decent dinner out, Stockwell delivers without requiring you to take out a second mortgage. In an increasingly expensive city, that alone makes it worth the trip south of the river.
