Five Restaurants to Try This Weekend

Forza Win

Forza Win describes itself as “an Italian restaurant in a warehouse with an open wood-fired kitchen,” which is nothing if not accurate. Light streams into the former grain store in the mazy puzzle of streets off Peckham Rye, so it’s the perfect place for languid summer evenings: the kitchen puts out plates that wouldn’t be out of place at the likes of Ducksoup or Zucca (RIP). So there might be “parmesan chunks,” a menu poetry greatest hit; deep-fried pigs ears for the nose-to-tail crowd; charred pork chop with a whole bulb of the freshest garlic; deep-fried jersey royals; chard in chilli and garlic. There’s tiramisu, for those who so desire tiramisu, but there’s also panna cotta and boozy cherries and vin santo and biscotti, so everything is fine. Get some good, keenly priced wine, settle down with friends, and eat. —James Hansen
Unit 4.1, 133 Copeland Road, SE15 3SN

Le Gia

Deptford is known for its Vietnamese food, but Le Gia is often unfairly overlooked, marooned from the High Street where all the other restaurants congregate. Guests will find all the classics, with its pho and bun bo hue as good as any on the “Pho Mile” in Shoreditch and more generous with fragrant herbs than most, but there are rare treats to be savoured such as nem chua (fermented pork) served with garlic and chilli and a staggeringly good beef tendon salad. Walk-ins are welcome as the place is huge, though it’s worth booking at night for those who intend to indulge in their karaoke when the restaurant really comes alive. —MiMi Aye
41-42 Deptford Broadway, SE8 4PH

Goppa’ Pizzeria

Unassuming to look at from the outside, questionable interior decor, but everything anyone would probably want from a neighbourhood spot. It’s a cliche, as not a grandmother is insight, but this Italian restaurant harks towards those romantic ideas of ‘nonna’ food. Simple food with good produce, cooked well. Try the aubergine parmigiana to start, share the excellent cured meats — then have a pizza and a pasta. In the even that they’ve run out of a pasta, they’re likely to make something else for you on the spot. A short and functional wine list means that it’s always busy with locals; the staff are friendly, attentive and the prices are great. One might easily find themselves in here every night. —Anna Sulan Masing
106 Homerton High Street, E9 6JA

Lahore Nihaari

Pakistani food in east London is dominated by the holy trinity of Needoo, Tayaabs and Lahore Kebab, but a few stops away in Upton Park lies a fourth, less well-trod option that more than merits the extra half-hour round trip. Lahore Nihaari is somewhat homelier than those three behemoths, with a concise menu of grills, slow cooked meats and daals, and the feeling of being cooked for by someone’s mum (if that mum happened to also own a really good Pakistani restaurant). The draw here is cauldrons of lamb or chicken karahi, a stew of on-the-bone meat aggressively spiced with ginger, chillis and a heart-clogging layer of oil. The smallest option can easily feed two, but it would be judicious to also order buttery daal maash (a less than perfunctory nod to a healthy side veg dish) and the sesame studded kulcha naan to soak up every last drop. —Jonathan Nunn
50 Plashet Grove, East Ham, E6 1AE

Nanban

Along with sloppy burgers, glistening pappardelle, and overstuffed burritos, chicken wings occupy the upper echelon of overhyped and endlessly ‘grammed Insta-friendly fast food. When they’re not being left salmonella pink and dusted in molten gold by Foodgōd Jonathan Cheban, though, they can rank among the most satisfying things to eat on earth — pure, primal finger-licking goodness. Few, surely - in London or further afield - are as good as the so-called “Angry Birds” at one-time MasterChef champion Tim Anderson’s Nanban: sold by weight, they’re deep-fried until crisp and served with a Scotch-Bonnet-honey-ponzu sauce. It might sound like the worst excesses of Bro-ish dude-food, but the components come together dazzlingly, all masochistic brow-beading chilli heat and sweet-tart acidity. Alongside a few pints of ice-cold Kirin, a kilo should suffice as superior drinking food for a table of four; one might find a purer endorphin rush elsewhere in Brixton, but it probably won’t be legal. —George Reynolds
426 Coldharbour Lane, Brixton, SW9 8LF