Coal Rooms, Peckham: Plates that pack a punch in a former train station ticket office

Sam Bryant clearly has a thing about flames. After cooking fireside at Smokehouse, he has now launched new char-heavy Peckham restaurant Coal Rooms — which he runs with the team behind nearby Old Spike coffee roastery.

The site has history on its side, occupying a Grade II listed former ticket office at Peckham Rye station. The entrance and front room is particularly tastefully restored, though sadly the back room where most of the dining takes place is a newer and less charming addition.

Still, platform views offer decent compensation and the room develops a lively atmosphere as it fills up. This is aided, no doubt, by swiftly served and keenly priced cocktails including a smoke-imbued and particularly filthy Dirty Martini.

The pace is maintained with a succession of small and larger plates, which could be treated as starters and mains but are best shared — not just because there’s a lot of good stuff to try, but because each dish tends to be basic with bold flavours, making them better in smaller portions.

A mound of shredded smoked goat shoulder is soft and juicy, oiled by a rich gravy. Grits topped with jalapenos and crunchy ‘canchita’ toasted corn kernels are creamy and rich. A blackened coal-roasted cauliflower lavished with an ultra-umami miso bagna cauda and crunchy Japanese seaweed is a highlight that should absolutely not be left just to the veggies. And chewy Peckham sourdough isn’t to be forgotten, either - it is triumphant spread thickly with smalec, a pork fat-based ‘butter’ studded with spices.

The exception to the sharing rule is a cod cheek kedgeree topped with a runny egg yolk, which could be held up as an example of how this great dish should be done. You won’t want to share that.

The only dreary dish is a burnt hispi cabbage (and pretty much a whole one at that) which comes with spices and sprinkled crackling, but nowhere near enough of either to invigorate the bitter leaves.

Along with the shredded goat, the option of both jerk and hot sauces give a welcome nod to Peckham’s multicultural community (even if only a very small section of it will ever get to see this for themselves by the looks of the current customer base).

Oh, and to finish do go for the apple cheddar pie. The cheddar is in the crust and it really, really works. A cheese course and pud in one.