The Borough's of London||Southwark, Part 4, Peckham

This post marks the end of my tour of the Southwark Borough. (Don't panic there's lots more Borough's to come). I thought I would end with this South London district because I want to change the previous perception of Peckham and Peckham Rye in particular. For many years now people have mis-conceived this place, and okay yes the crime rate and poverty rate was once very high here, but lots of things have changed in time, now days just like most run down and under developed places in London the gentrification here is massive and is continuing to grow!. Now property prices are at an all time high, more and more middle class families and students are buying and renting here and there are more independent, pop up bars and restaurants here than ever before. 

So lets take a look at what Peckham is really like today. 

Borough Name: The London Borough of Southwark

Located: South London

Districts Include: Bankside, Bermondsey, Borough/Southwark, Crystal Palace (Parts of), Denmark Hill, Deptford (Parts of), Dulwich, Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, Elephant and Castle, Forest Hill, Herne Hill (Parts of), Honor Oak (Parts of), Kennington, Newington, Nunhead, Peckham, Peckham Rye, Rotherhithe, Surrey Quays, Sydenham (Parts of), Walworth, West Dulwich (Parts of). 

Borough's I have visited: Bermondsey, Borough/Southwark, Dulwich, Peckham.

Peckham

For those not familiar with Peckham (not sure who tbh?) It is a district which is located South of the River, its main surrounding places are Nunhead, Bermondsey,Walworth, Camberwell, New Cross, East Dulwich and Brockley (most of these places I have already mentioned in this series). 

There are two major parts of Peckham, Peckham itself and then Peckham Rye. 

Peckham is notably famous as the setting in the very popular comedy classic 'Only Fools and Horses' starring David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst. The estate these two characters in the show grew up and lived on was Peckham (even though the tower block of flats in the show itself wasn't filmed in Peckham, it was actually in Bristol and most of the other locations weren't even filmed in South London). The comedy painted a very bleak picture of the area and back then it was known for its big council estates, extreme poverty,very high crime rates and lots of race issues (Peckham was and is a predominately black area), but I think the reality of the problems in area and the humble characters is what made everyone fall in love with the programme- me included.  

Photo Credit: jamesharding.net

[This article makes for an interesting read.] 

To this day Peckham still has a bad name in the press and with people who don't actually live in the area. A lot of people thought it wasn't a very safe place to live, work and socialise in and to some extent I have to say I agreed. Although just like many places in London and the South in particular Peckham has undergone some gentrification in the past decade- This is the new reality of Peckham, it is not as working class as it once was as reflected in the new housing market in the area, more people are moving in and house prices are increasing. 

 Now lets take a little look at how Peckham has changed over the years. 

J Sainsburys taken in Rye Lane, Peckham Rye (year unknown)
Photo Credit: Flickr 

Rye Lane, Peckham Rye 1981
Photo Credit: Pinterest.com

Derelict Pub in the 90's
Photo Credit: derelictlondon.com

Peckham now! Pop up Cinema
Photo Credit: londonist

Places of Interest

1. The Rye Pub

Photo Credit: perfectpint

2. Peckham Farmers Market 

Photo Credit: timeout.com

3. Roof Top Film Club 

Photo Credit: brokeinlondon

4. Threads

Photo Credit: maria-nilsson

5. Peckham Plex

Restaurants/Bars

There are a lot more diverse bars and restaurants now in Peckham, especially this new concept of pop up's - they are literally on ever street corner in London!  Here are a few places I have already tried and tested in Peckham. 

Lunch: Peckham Refreshment Rooms 

Photo Credit: TimeOut

I firstly heard of this place as it was recommended to me by a friend last year, so decided to test it out myself recently to see if it actually was as good as she had told me. I am usually quite sceptical of new independent restaurants (unless I can see the menu or website before hand)  so entering this one also made me feel quite uneasy. The food was actually really tasty and it was a far better quality place than I had imagined. They are available for Breakfast, Weekend Brunch, Lunch and Dinner every day. I chose from the Lunch menu the Buffalo Mozzarella Panzanella salad which was only £7.00. I chose to accompany this with a very tasty espresso martini which was £8.00. All in all it was a very enjoyable lunch and I probably would eat from there again. 

Its in a fantastic location as well, as it is only a stone's throw from the Station. It can get quite busy especially during Breakfast/Lunch times but I love the vibe of the place, it is very relaxed. 

Rating: 7/10 

Dinner: Artusi

Photo Credit: dulwichonview

This one I actually found on Time Out earlier on in the year and thought it sounded like a nice place to go for dinner one evening so thought I'd give it a try for you all. It is one of the more 'up market' restaurants in the area so it attracts a nice crowd. The style of food is traditional Mediterranean, the feel of the restaurant is very minimal and modern. The service was as outstanding as the food for sure. I chose the Fusilli with Peas, Panchetta and and Wild Garlic and honestly it was the best pasta I have ever eaten! The Fusilli was cooked to perfect, the Panchetta was smokey and a little bit crunchy and the garlic was not too over powering, it was all well seasoned and very fresh. I tried one of their House White Wines, which was crisp fresh and fruity it complimented my mains very well. 

Photo Credit: throughlymodernmilly.com

Overall the food was excellent, service was very good as expected and I actually personally think it looks a little out of place in the area and that it is more suited to neighbouring Dulwich but that was just my opinion on my first visit. 

Rating: 8-8.5/10

So there we have just a few little things about Peckham I wanted to share. That has now brought us onto our final District in The London Borough of Southwark, hope you will come back next time for some more interesting places in a new Borough.