Peckham is always a good idea. From classics like the Peckhamplex, Persepolis and Rye Lane Market to hotspots like Levan, Lai Rai and Peckham Cellars (and, of course, Frank’s mega rooftop bar, which reopens on May 15), it’s a magnet for good times. But a trio of new openings is giving us even more reasons to hop on the Overground. From a cafe celebrating Welsh cuisine to the return of a nightlife legend and a sexy bar above a beloved restaurant, add these to your hitlist.
Bara
“Bara” means “bread” in Welsh – and hints at what you’ll find at this charming new cafe just off Rye Lane.
“Bread is such a universal and humble concept; every culture and country has some version of bread, and its simplicity can bring people together,” Welsh-born co-owner Cecily Dalladay told Broadsheet earlier this year.
Dalladay and co-owner Zoë Heimann bake bread in-house using Wildfarmed regenerative flour, and use in a multitude of ways. There’s bread for breakfast – bacon, egg and cheese encased in focaccia – and bara brith, a traditional Welsh tea bread, for morning tea. Then, come lunch, there are the sandwiches. The Caerphilly Cheesesteak is a Cymraeg-inflected wink to Philly cheesesteaks: it stars smoked Welsh beef brisket, melted Caerphilly cheese and leeks from Welsh supplier Blas Y Tir. There’s also a smoked tofu sandwich with spiced shiitake and laverbread and a harissa-spiked Welsh lamb sandwich. The menu expands on weekends to include other bread-based joys, including a lobster roll and crab rarebit.
Hausu
Brother-sister duo Tom Middleton-Joseph and Holly Middleton-Joseph and their business partner Christian Williams only opened Hausu in Peckham Rye Station’s former ticket office in 2024 – but it’s already made a mark, drawing fans for its globe-hopping menu, vintage sound system and regular DJ sets. Now, the trio are leaning into their skill at creating spaces we want to spend time in: they’ve opened a bar above the restaurant. “We’ve got a lot more people coming in wanting drinks, and we just need more space,” Tom says.
The result is a sultry room where chocolate-cherry sheer voile and Twin Peaks-inspired curtains section off intimate spaces for drinking cocktails Tom has designed specifically for the upstairs bar. “The upstairs list is more refined and 90 per cent different from the one downstairs,” Tom says. That equals seasonal cocktails that include an Iberiko tomato vodka Martini, a blood orange Sidecar and a Negroni amped up with fennel.
Holly is on food duty with snacks like oysters with house-made tabasco and lime leaf, grilled scallops with XO sauce, and anchovies in lime leaf oil. Like downstairs, music plays a pivotal role and south London DJs and artists underpin the music programming.
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Palais
Peckham has changed a lot over the past 15 years – and throughout all those changes, the former Peckham Palais nightclub, which opened in 1985 and closed in 2011, lay dormant. Now, it’s back to entertain a new generation of Peckham locals and visitors thanks to the team behind Netil360 and Night Tales in Hackney. Now called simply Palais, the venue is split across multiple levels. There’s a 500-capacity basement club, The Ballroom cocktail and listening bar, and an outdoor terrace – all with a 6am licence.
Start your evening in ’70s-inspired Ballroom with a vodka Martini stirred through with hay-smoked olives, a golden Margarita with Aperol and tangerine or a savoury olive and tomato-flavoured G&T. Then head down to the 500-capacity underground club, where there’s a no-phones policy, a Funktion-One five-way sound system and a roster of DJs.
Additional reporting by Angela Hui and Serafina Kenny.
