Brunswick House

Jackson Boxer has made a name for himself as one of the creative minds behind Rita’s, a food and drinks collaboration that held a successful residency at Birthdays in Dalston last year, and are soon to announce their next project. Closer to home, Boxer is also part of a culinary dynasty in South London. While he is the proprietor of Brunswick House in Vauxhall, brother Frank runs hugely popular Frank’s Café in Peckham, and father Charlie looks over the beautiful Bonnington Square deli and grocery, Italo – one of London’s best-kept secrets.

Presiding over them all is Lady Arabella Boxer (mother to Charlie and grandmother to Jackson and Frank), who was a food writer at Vogue for nearly twenty years, and whose Book of English Food was recently reissued by Penguin. Coming from such stock, it’s no surprise that Brunswick House has proven the perfect location for Jackson to set up shop. With skyscrapers looming around it, the building survives as an old rabbit-warren-like manor house, much of which is home to Lassco, an architectural salvage company. Three years ago, brothers Frank and Jackson started selling espressos and sandwiches in a disused part of the building, before slowly expanding to create a beautiful dining space for more substantial fare.

Now in its third year, Brunswick House has recently had a refit, with some walls knocked down and an extension to the bar, creating more space for the bartenders – who are slinging some of the best classic cocktails you’ll find in London – as well as a revamp of the dining room. The menu? British through and through. With chef Gina Hopkins at the helm, this manor house in London is an escape of sorts, and her menu is greatly inspired by the cooking know-how of yore. “Some people say the menu is a little old-fashioned. It’s got an antiquated or Victorian feel,” she tells us. “I like updating old recipes, one of my favourite cookbook writers is Lady Clark of Tillypronie, who published in the 1920s.”

“I like updating old recipes, one of my favourite cookbook writers is Lady Clark of Tillypronie, who published in the 1920s”

“I also like to look at old collections of house recipes,” she adds, “from ladies who were in charge of a country pile somewhere, all the recipes they used for entertaining and for family. You get a good feel for Victorian and Edwardian food.” Naturally, she also turns to Lady Boxer’s books, which are “very modern. I love that kind of cooking which is really simple, quite paired back.”

During our recent visit to Brunswick House we enjoyed pork chops with gooseberry jam, greens, and nasturtiums, grilled mussels in the shell with pesto and chillies, and smoked trout with borage flowers and samphire. Thick cut duck ham aged by Hopkins, served with radishes and peas was another delight, as was the Megrim sole with courgettes and white beans.

One of the most popular dishes of late has been the veal brains, capers, and brown butter, Hopkins tells us. “People used to be more comfortable with offal and all cuts of meat,” she says. “They wouldn’t have been able to be wasteful with any part of the animal if you were going to take it slaughter.”

Hopkins, who is half Chinese, half English and grew up in Yorkshire, lived with her family in Libya, India, China, Nigeria, Malaysia, and also spent time in Glasgow. And while she takes from international techniques, her focus at Brunswick House is on finding the perfect balance between old and new – ensuring that English cuisine is alive and well in South London.

Recommended reading from Brunswick House head chef Gina Hopkins:
Modern Cookery for Private Families by Eliza Acton (1845)
The Scots Kitchen by F. Marian McNeill (1929)
Good Things in England (1932)
Food in England by Dorothy Hartley (1954)
English Food by Jane Grigson (1974)
Book of English Food by Arabella Boxer (1991)

Text by Ananda Pellerin