Boxpark Croydon takes you on a culinary journey around the globe. Here we check out some of our favourites – Big Mike’s Rooftop Lime and Koshary Kitchen, find out just what we thought and why you need to head there yourself…
We finally have the summer we deserve and there is no time to waste. Enjoy and savour every minute of it we must! Of course, warm days and nights mean just one thing – eating outdoors. In London we are never far away from an enticing dish or two. Yet, I ask you – do you know your Lime from your Koshary? To find out, head to BOXPARK Croydon where both your curiosity and appetite will be satisfied.
Big Mike’s Rooftop Lime
Sit back, chill out and relax with friends. That’s what it means to lime in the Caribbean. Chef and proprietor of Big Mike’s Calypso Kitchen, Mike Springer, is going to show us exactly how to master the lime. Think sizzling jerk chicken cooked over an open fire and gigantic hand-charred prawns accompanied by the most fittingly named calypso salad made of avocado AND pineapple. Add to the mix a ruby red rum punch over ice, served to the gentle sound of a steel pan band in the background. This merriment happens at BOXPARK Croydon’s rooftop on Sundays from now until the end of summer. You can find the dates for upcoming limes here.
I attended the press launch for this event and can tell you there was dancing, eating and a pretty good time had by all. There were juicy scallops served with calypso salad, Caribbean style herb and pork sausages and the best Bajan cocktails I’ve tasted.
If this isn’t enough, you can still check out Mike’s Calypso Kitchen at Units 5 and 6, BOXPARK Croydon. The restaurant is open everyday from midday and serves Bajan classics such as Bajan fish cakes, curry goat, goat roti, jerk wings and rice and peas. You can dine in or click and collect.
Feeling charitable? Donate a meal to the local homeless shelter or Croydon’s soup kitchen via Big Mike’s Challenge 100 where the restaurant aims to donate 100 meals every fortnight. For every meal you donate, Mike’s Calypso Kitchen matches another. The initiative has seen 1000 meals donated to the homeless shelter and soup kitchen since September 2020.
For menu, prices and more visit: bigmikesck.com
Open daily from noon. Mains start from £6.50.
Units 5 and 6, BOXPARK Croydon, CR0 1LD
Koshary Kitchen
Only in BOXPARK Croydon can we move from the Caribbean to Egypt before you can say, ‘amber list’. Koshary Kitchen at Unit 17, BOXPARK Croydon serves up Egypt’s best known national dish Koshary. Made of rice, pasta and lentils mixed with juicy tomato sauce, vinaigrette and topped with fried onions, Koshary Kitchen not only brings a little of Cairo’s street life to Croydon but it does so with style.
Whilst anyone can taste the traditional dish as it is served, you can also build your own bowl with healthier options such as brown rice, a bed of salad, spicy salmon, walnuts, prunes or aubergine. Head Chef Ramy Abdelrehim is keen to establish Egyptian food on London’s culinary landscape and has set out to do so in a healthier, more mindful way. You’ll find superfood staples roasted pumpkin and pomegranate seeds on the build-a-bowl menu alongside traditional flavours and textures such as feta cheese and pickled cucumber.
The grab-and-go menu consists of five signature bowls: Classic koshary, Hot pink, Sweet chick, Low carb and What’s your beef. An exciting twist for the Euros 2020 is the addition of Egyptian flatbread wraps – King Tut’s beef shawarma, Queen Cleo’s chicken shawarma and Ramses shrimp wrap. Each filled with pickles, red onion, salad, tahini sauce, yoghurt sauce, mint and a touch of harissa mayonnaise. Go forth and enjoy.
For more information visit: www.kosharykitchen.com
Open daily from noon. Grab and go prices start from £6.50
17 Boxpark Croydon, CR0 1LD.
