Next time you’re in Brixton and looking for a fun new cafe, check out KataKata Brixton, the cafe that will become your group’s next hangout spot! Tucked away down Brixton Hill, KataKata is a hidden treasure bursting with colour and quickly becoming a worthy addition to the Brixton art scene. It is an art cafe specialising in vegan and vegetarian food, including galletes and crepes, as well as immune-boosting smoothies and juices.
The interior is an art piece in itself, with beautiful murals painted across the walls - the design of the cafe becoming organic - with the art on the walls everchanging: you may have visited this cafe before, and it may look completely different now! The chalk mural in the image above was one of most memorable art pieces in the cafe, with the central prompt being ‘What is on your mind?’ From the image above, you can see dozens of locals have made contributions to the mural, giving KataKata a real sense of community and an evolving character. The team are champions of creating a safe and peaceful atmosphere for Brixton locals to relax.
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This small, quaint cafe seats around 20 people, making it a hotspot for intimate gatherings and heartfelt meetings. It also means you’ll want to get here early on the popular weekends to secure your spot! The atmosphere is calm, yet lively, with South African-inspired music fuelling the vibe, as well as different designs on each of the tables and chairs, making each spot you sit in a new experience. In our opinion, it’s a great excuse to visit multiple times a week! The kitchen is on show, the cafe showing off their promise that all their dishes are made fresh and with passion. This feature was impressive to see.
The tables themselves have a minimalist design, with seasonal fresh flowers: plenty of room to fill your table with delicious food! On the menu, you’ll find galettes and crepes, both made to be 100% vegan and gluten-free. Galettes are a French traditional buckwheat savory pancake with a vegan base (hummus). There is a great range of galette flavours to choose from, including vegetarian options like the ‘Asparagus Feast’ and vegan options like ‘Green and Grain’. They have a fantastic range of sweet crepes as well, including ‘Banoffee Twist’ and vegan options including ‘Dark & Lovely’. You’ll also find a selection of herbal teas and other hot drinks. They have several freshly pressed juices to try too, including the ‘Get up and Go Juice’ and ‘Zen Smoothie’.
First up, we tried a classic Americano and the ‘Yoga Vibe’ smoothie. We wanted to try a classic coffee you would find at any cafe to see how KataKata matched up, and we can certainly say we were impressed. Despite this being a unique cafe, offering drinks and dishes many others don’t, KataKata still performs well when it comes to serving up a rich Americano with a dark aroma that strong coffee lovers will approve of.
The ‘Yoga Vibe’ smoothie was incredibly refreshing, being a simple blend of strawberry, banana and coconut milk, making this smoothie and all others on the menu completely vegan. This simple, yet delicious drink was a great way to start off our visit. We were particularly impressed and took note that we were not given a straw. The cafe not only serves vegan and vegetarian food, but holds up the values of this diet too, with the lack of straws making this cafe environmentally conscious. The staff also provided us with tap water unprompted, proving the high quality of customer service and efficiency.
Next up was our main event. We tried the Jerk Goat galette and the Banoffee Twist crepe. The crepe was still warm from being made fresh when it arrived on the table, with a sweet cinnamon and toffee smell that made our mouths water. The crepe was a generous portion, with a neat presentation that wasn’t too ‘showy’ to take away from the meal itself. The crepe was packed tight with fresh bananas and apple slices, all coated with a smooth toffee sauce: all of the classic flavours and textures you would expect from a banoffee pie, with a crepe twist! It was a very filling dish that proves fantastic value for money at only £4.75!
The Jerk Goat, priced at an afforable £7.00, had a thin and delicate galette that perfectly balanced the array of rich flavours packed inside. Despite this intensity, it never felt like a stodgy dish, instead, you could taste each individual ingredient in each bite, the chef doing an impressive job of having no flavour overpower another. The dish had an overall satisfying harmony that was a pleasure to eat. From the meaty taste of the mushrooms, to the sweetness of the butternut squash and the kick from the jerk goats cheese, every bite was never full of flavour. Both of these dishes had that rare gift: they were delicious and healthy!
One feature of the cafe that you could miss is their hidden art museum and boutique. This truly sets apart this cafe and makes it a community centre of expression. Inside the little room, you’ll find an array of items designed and sold by independent Brixton businesses, from pottery, to vintage clothes, to handmades cards and soaps! The space is also a mini museum, with an impressive collection of books on art and worldwide cultures, as well as South African artefacts for customers to explore and admire.
This space is also constantly changing, making it another great excuse to regularly check back in to this cafe to see what exciting new things are filling these shelves. The creative minds behind KataKata are also launching their own handmade pottery collection, all beautifully painted with stunning colours and designs. This is another great way to support the cafe and its continued creativity. Outside in the front seating area, you’ll also be able to explore their healthy herb garden, where you can see for yourselves how the team grow their own ingredients that go into their delicious dishes.
KataKata also becomes an events space and community centre for Brixton, with a large variety of events and classes that take place here. Previous classes have included yoga, as well as sustainability workshops for kids. They have also hosted several craft markets to celebrate and support Brixton’s creative community. There’s so much to do at this cafe that we are surprised more people are not talking about it, which is why we are now!
After an insightful conversation with one of the chefs, we can advocate for the passion that goes into making KataKata a hotspot for Brixton locals to thrive and have a safe, yet exciting space to express their creativity and get the support they need. We would highly recommend you check out KataKata at 132 Brixton Hill for delicious vegan and gluten-free meals that make it easier than ever to change up your routine and try something different, rather than your usual coffee and toastie for lunch. Visiting this cafe is a great way to incorporate more vegan meals into your diet and lead a more sustainable and happy life. If you’re lucky enough to have one of our South London Club cards, you can even bag yourself 20% off!
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