Elephant & Castle regeneration food court plan

By Aku Fu

On the corner of The Artworks on Elephant Road in the South East of London you’ll find a recently opened innovative showroom of small shops and restaurants that are all part of a regeneration programme around Elephant & Castle roundabout.

Here you’ll find the restaurant Marcel & Sons: Mauritian Comfort Food which, though as big as a small cafe, is just as welcoming and cosy. It’s run by two happy and very inviting Mauritians who gave up their previous stressful professions in technology and advertising, to run their own food place.

Although the only halal meat option here is currently chicken, they did, nevertheless, have a good selection of veggie options from which we were recommended the Bol Renverse.

The Bol Renverse, which essentially means reverse- or upside-down bowl, is a rice dish with chicken (the beef was removed) and mushroom, lots of garnish and chilli, and topped with a runny fried egg.

And a very tasty meal it was too. The rice was flavoursome and reminiscent of Malaysian cooking with a hint of fish-sauce to it.

The dried fried onions added a barbeque-type tang, and with a plethora of textures from the variety of ingredients, the Bol Renverse was a unique can’t-stop-eating experience complimented nicely by a home made lemonade that was certainly better than an off-the-shelf option.

In all, this takeaway cost a very reasonable £6.50.

Mauritian Comfort Food has a large variety of other goodies on the menu, so this is one place to definitely visit if you’re in the area.