Trying out one of Brixton's newest pubs, The Ferndale

Promoted content

The Ferndale has a larger corner section of The Department Store building in Brixton.

What can you tell us about The Ferndale?

The Ferndale opened its doors in Brixton this Spring, taking over the space that used to be Canova Hall. Billed as a 'proper pub', they've done a very good job of transforming what originally used to be an annexe to Brixton's famous Bon Marche department store into a rather lovely boozer that looks like it's been in the space for ages.

Chandeliers, disco balls and the footie on TV - what a modern London pub looks like.

Where exactly is it?

As the name suggests, you'll find it on Ferndale Road, barely a two-minute walk from Brixton tube station. That also makes it a very handy choice if you're here for anything at Brixton Academy. It's a large space, but they've been clever with the design, hiving off different areas that are more suited to those eating, or areas for groups. They show all the big football matches, but there's also a disco ball so everyone's catered for here.

What kind of menu is it?

They go big on pizzas here, with Hackney's Well Street Pizza running this as their second home. If you haven't tried their pizzas before, here's a primer. The dough is fermented for 48 hours before being hand-stretched to order and then given a blast in a traditional pizza oven at over 400°c. That gives it a great charred crust, and the right texture and taste of a traditional Neapolitan pizza. There are six options on the menu, and they also do a monthly special that's worth looking out for.

Salamino picante pizza (£14) - a straightforward pepperoni pizza with the 48-hour fermented sourdough base that Well Street are known for. It's worth visiting for one of these alone.

But there are also a load of pub classics to try too. Here's a selection of the other dishes we tried to give you an idea.

Buttermilk chicken tenders with a hickory BBQ sauce (£9) - these were really good, lovely tender chicken with a proper crunchy coating and a BBQ dip that had a decent smoky kick to it.

Halloumi fries with Louisiana hot sauce and lemon mayo (£8.50) - a strong veggie option.

Double smash burger, American cheese, house sauce, onions, pickles, skin-on fries (£16.50) - a notably good burger, nicely smashed and crispy with plenty of onions and pickles to offset all that American cheese.

Chicken schnitzel with rocket, shaved fennel and Parmesan salad (£17.50) and topped with a fried Burford Brown egg (£1.50 extra). It's very nicely done and honestly this schnitzel would give many posher London restaurants a run for their money.

What about the drinks?

There's a wide range of beers and ciders on tap from Asahi to Reliance Pale Ale from local Brixton Brewery. They also do a nice line in cocktails and the wine list is mainly in the £30s price range although if you fancy a Sancerre at £77, you can do that too.

Guinness and a stone fruit Daiquiri

Overall thoughts

There's clearly someone in the kitchen here at The Ferndale who really cares about the food going out. We were slightly taken aback by how good most of what we tried here was; for pub food it's definitely several cuts above the average. The fact that they do Well Street pizzas too means the food game here is strong. But the final clincher for us was our absolutely lovely waitress. She took our experience here to a whole new level. All in all, this would definitely be our choice of local if were a Brixton local.