Khamsa Brixton is an Algerian restaurant at 140 Acre Lane in Brixton. Its cooking draws on family recipes and the chef’s cultural heritage, combining traditional methods with individual touches. Everything is prepared from scratch, so the experience centres on patient cooking, warm hospitality and the layered use of harissa, ras el hanout, herbs, vegetables and dried fruit.
Fresh salads make a colourful beginning. Grilled peppers and tomatoes are served with coriander, garlic, olive oil and homemade Algerian bread, while aubergine and sweet pepper are blended with walnuts for zalouka. Carrots with caramelised onion, caraway and coriander provide another vegetable plate. Chorba frik brings cracked wheat, tomato, herbs and a choice of chicken or lamb into a warming traditional soup.
Tajines include spicy chicken with sweet potato, chickpeas and spinach, lamb meatballs with olives and caramelised onion, and a vegetable version enriched with dried fruit and almonds. The modern couscous combines marinated lamb and chicken skewers with merguez, seasonal vegetables, chickpeas and a fragrant sauce. Rechta, made with fine homemade noodles, chicken, courgette, turnip and chickpeas in a cinnamon scented white sauce, can be ordered in advance.
Sides include hand rolled couscous, spicy rice with spinach and chickpeas, and seffa, a sweet couscous with sultanas, nuts, pomegranate, cinnamon and honey. Traditional Algerian cakes and hot drinks offer a gentle finish after the spices of the savoury dishes. Khamsa is unlicensed but welcomes wine, beer or Champagne for a modest corkage charge, which suits the restaurant’s intimate and sociable atmosphere.
Address: 140 Acre Lane, Brixton, London SW2 5UT, United Kingdom
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