O Cantina de Portugal is a lively Portuguese tapas place offering a hearty selection of grilled pork and chicken dishes alongside a traditional assortment of seafood. With generous portions and dishes like fragrant octopus salads, garlicky grilled prawns doused in olive oil, and salted dried cod flaked over thick chips — and with and a friendly community atmosphere (it’s a particularly fun place to watch European football) — this is a great restaurant for groups who want an informal and relaxed meal. Keep an eye out for the weekend specials including the whole roasted suckling pig.

One of the longest-established coffee shops in the area, owner Ali’s business has come on leaps and bounds with the establishment of his own coffee roastery, Perception — which now provides the beans for his cafe alongside occasional guests from the likes of nearby Assembly. A neighbourhood fixture evolving at its own speed.

Keshia Sakarah’s Brixton spot offers a range of island cooking rooted in her second-generation perspective: small plates of saltfish accra, fried chicken with molasses, or doubles; a trio of roti; and either curry goat or curry chicken with rice and peas. She’s currently running a monthly supper club, Baruru – check the website for dates and menus.

Award-winning chef Adejoké “Joké” Bakare says that her debut restaurant in Brixton wants to “preserve the heart” of West African food while making it more accessible to people unfamiliar with, specifically, the spices and ingredients of Nigeria. Snacky starters feature waina — fermented rice balls, served with squash, peanut, and tamarind sauce; and grated cassava fritters paired with a coconut and lime relish, while the grill section includes whole snapper, benne (sesame) chicken, mutton skewers, and beef suya. The star of the larger dishes is a goat ayamase: slow-cooked shoulder with spiced green sauce.

At Eat of Eden, spirulina, hemp, seaweed, and moss drinks pay homage to foodstuffs that Rastas have been championing since time immemorial. The interweaving of ackee, callaloo, and plantain through the menu’s curries and wraps is the hallmark, but for first-timers who aren’t sure where to begin, jump straight into the beloved, awe-inspiring platters.

The Brixton branch of Black Bear — which also has a unit in Shoreditch — wins not just for its excellent burgers, but for a lockdown side project that is now a full-fledged breakfast menu from Thursdays to Sundays, bringing sausage, cheese, and onion patties and hash browns to the party.

This gem of a restaurant has been a Brixton stalwart for decades, serving classic Eritrean dishes. Asmara is a great place for groups thanks to the large mixed platters (meat or vegan) that never fail to impress: Small heaps of fragrant chicken, sour and spicy lentils, and shredded mustard greens are piled onto tangy injera bread. With welcoming staff and an entertaining coffee and popcorn ceremony to end the meal, this easygoing spot makes customers feel at home.

Masterchef winner Tim Anderson’s cooking veers between southern Japanese staples and his refractions of them — through the local neighbourhood and London at large. So alongside nasu dengaku, chicken karaage, and Kumamoto-style pork ramen, expect a curry goat ramen, “angry bird” wings laced with ponzu, Scotch bonnet, and seaweed, and an ackee-and-saltfish fried rice.

El Rancho del Lalo was one of the few Colombian restaurants in the arcade predating its regeneration, before a rise in rent forced it to move behind Brixton Town Hall. But its excellence is undimmed: this is a place where empanadas are dense as bricks, stuffed to bursting with strands of spiced pork and fried to order so the casing satisfyingly cracks and spills out its contents. An excellent rendition of the Colombian national dish bandeja paisa comes as an enormous platter of meat and protein, including standout crispy chicharron and kidney bean stew. The gentrification continues apace, but El Rancho still outflanks units in its former home selling food at twice the price.

Acre Lane, that oft-ignored stretch of road between Clapham and Brixton, contains a few noteworthy spots — among them Khamsa for Algerian and newcomer Mikos for a rare sighting of gyros south of the river. The standout is True Flavours, a relatively new (by Jamaican standards, at less than 10 years old) takeaway joint that is permanently busy whether people are inside or not. Residents in the know will phone ahead for chef Junior’s cooking, since the warm rack in the back is not for patties but a catalogue of takeaway orders. Oxtail, jerk chicken, fried chicken, fried fish, brown stew chicken — each is likely to run out after a canny phone order is placed, but there will always be another tempting option or a small wait for a fresh batch to be made in the well-seasoned cooking pots. The most popular item by far is the pepper steak, charred and singing with thyme, slow-cooked until the meat breaks down, served with rice and peas and “jerk pasta,” a massive opportunity missed by a certain celebrity chef.

This buzzy, intimate bistro is tucked away from the frenzy of central Brixton on a quiet residential street. It is perfect for those seeking atmosphere: Naughty Piglets is all about relaxed dining in a beautiful space. The menu is small but eclectic, featuring standout dishes like pork belly with Korean spices, devon crab with pickled cabbage, and tender asparagus with cured egg yolk. The wine list is exceptional, and someone is always on hand to suggest pairings.