Sunday 17 May 2009

Little Colombia in Brixton - Coma Y Punto, Brixton Market

I have never been to South America, so nearly everything I know about the continent is based on what I've seen on TV. So Brazil is samba, caipirinhas, Copa Cobana and beautiful people. Argentina is the tango, malbec, steak and beautiful people. And Colombia is ... drugs and beautiful people. Of course that's a ridiculous thing to think, but I think it's fair to say that Colombia has an image problem.
Rolling through Brixton Market on Saturday and the Northerner and I were a tad hungover after a session in two of our favourites the night before - the Old Red Cow in Smithfields and Brazas in Tulse Hill - and I most definitely was in need of food. And plenty of it. 
The market was rather untypically crowded with tourists - clearly Time Out has been going large on promoting Brixton - which meant that many of our favourite eating spots were full of people with backpacks or cameras or both. Fortunately the Northerner remember a cafe which we now know as Coma Y Punto, sitting in the heart of what is Little Colombia in South London. 
There's a hackneyed old phrase that says you can tell the quality of the place by the people who eat there, and the fact that Coma is full off Colombians - old and young, family groups and couples - is testimony to the wonderful South American ambience, and hearty portions of top quality Colombian food on offer. The portions are simply massive, yet our slender South American co-diners seemed to demolish their plates with ease. The Northerner and I started with a divine shared starter of Yuca fritters - I'm not quite sure what they are, but they're delicious, before attempting and failing to complete our mains. These dishes that included fried fish, pork belly, beans, corn bread, salsa, avocado, more yuca fritters and the best sausages I think I've ever tasted. And trust me, I've eaten my share of sausages. Something that is very evident when you see me.  The food was simply superb ,and the South American family ambience, complete with a large plasma TV showing a very long video promoting Colombia (what else) was lovely. You can't get a beer or wine there, but that's not the point of the place. You  get great coffee, and you get to practice your Spanish with some lovely Colombians. Time Out voted this place one of the better Cheap Eats. I'd go as far to say as its one of the best. But maybe I'm biased. 

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