The Pepper Tree, Clapham - Feb 2011

Where: The Pepper Tree, Clapham Common

How much: Starters and soups all less than £4, noodle, curry and Pad Thai dishes around the £7 mark
Come here if: you want good value, authentic food and can cope with waiting for it.

 Batting on manfully in the face of flu (or a slight cold as Dr Vole would have it) let to a night of slight over consumption and a fight on two fronts against both drippy nose and incipient hangover. Banished from the house again, I needed a quick blast of chilli heat and went for an early lunch at The Pepper Tree.

It's a simple and popular little Thai joint opposite Clapham Common tube station. Very pared down (almost unfinished) white walls, the long bench seating and communal tables are packed solid most evenings. 


At 12:30 on a Saturday I shared it with a couple of Clapham happy families and a pair of joggers fresh from the common. Ignoring their uncommonly good Pad Thai, I briefly flirted with the idea of a deep and cheap bowl of Tom Yum soup before settling on the chicken Pepper Tree curry, their spiciest dish, guaranteed to blast away my ills.

A side of sweetcorn cakes didn't set my world (or tastebuds) alight. They are fine, nothing more. Slightly overfried and a little too doughy. The treat comes with the Pepper Tree curry, exactly what the doctor ordered. Foolishly skipping the rice, I plough straight into my bowl, nearer a soup than a curry but packed with flavour. Lemongrass, Thai basil and tamarind provide the backup complexity to a punchy peppery heat. Chicken, krachai (a mild ginger-like root used in Thai and Indonesian cooking) and bell peppers cook in the heat with Thai aubergines and green beans retaining their bite and adding texture to the bowl. It's not complex, but boy is it satisfying.