Up and Down the Junction
The American journalist Abbott Joseph Liebling could have been writing about our favourite restaurant located Between the Commons rather than Between Meals: An Appetite for Paris (1986), “The small restaurants where a talented owner and his wife have direct control of the kitchen produce the best food in France now.” And England too. Sinabro is celebrating its 10th anniversary so we’ve hunted out the menu from our first visit in October 2014 to reminisce and booked dinner for the late reopening in August 2024 following the summer break. Owners Yoann Chevert and Sujin Lee have lots to celebrate.
Our decade old review below is already historic. Eateries Byron and Dip and Flip, estate agents Cluttons and Roderick Charles men’s clothes shop have all closed. Sujin, who hails from South Korea, explains, “‘Sinabro’ originates from the Korean term that signifies ‘progressing slowly but surely without noticing’. That aptly describes our 10 years on Battersea Rise. Our accomplishment is without any reliance on commercial marketing or media support. Instead it has been made possible by the incredible support of our cherished local neighbours and friends who resonate with our unwavering dedication to high quality cuisine.”
First things first. Clapham Junction is not in Clapham. Never was, never will be. When the railway station was first built in Battersea, the Victorians had the bright idea of calling it after Clapham which is two kilometres away. The former was a slum; the latter as respectable as could be expected south of the Thames. How things change! Local campaigns regularly erupt proudly claiming back Battersea to where it belongs. Take note Clapham Cluttons on Northcote Road, Battersea. At least estate agents agree the best real estate in SW11 is Between the Commons. It’s a heated up toast rack of roads lined with handsome houses cushioned between Clapham Common and Wandsworth Common. As for the Clapham Omnibus it has long been replaced by the South Chelsea Tractor (range rover). This is after all Yummy Mummy Nappy Valley Uppity Middle Class Central. Upmarket has gone downstream.
Before London completely engulfed this part of semi rural Surrey, it was the home of architect Sir Charles Barry, property developer Thomas Cubitt, diarist Samuel Pepys, slavery abolitionist and saint William Wilberforce, and typographer and sinner Eric Gill. Not all at once. Battersea Rise forms one of the outer edges of the grill or grid. To the north, Lavender Hill may not have its mob anymore but gentrification – Sixties sociologist Ruth Glass is to blame for that overused term – hasn’t quite taken over. Yet.
The same cannot be said, to put it mildly, for south of Battersea Rise, the tract of land once owned by the 1st Earl Spencer. Here a Parisian meringue pâtisserie (Aux Merveilleux de Fred) qualifies as the corner shop. Byron as the chip shop. Dip and Flip as the other chip shop. The Bolingbroke Pub and Dining Room as the local. It’s not for the price sensitive. Everyone’s moneyed in The Old Bank Pub. There are as many red corduroys, yellow gilets, pink sweaters and pinkie rings on the street as in Roderick Charles’ shop window display. Welcome to Paradisian Battersea. Half the time the television series Made in Chelsea is made in Battersea.
Aside from Battersea Rise, the other boundaries of this low rise swathe of bed knobs and broomsticks land are Clapham Common West Side to the east, Bolingbroke Grove to the west and Nightingale Lane to the south. Social distractions aren’t new. William Wilberforce lamented in 1791, “I find that I must as little as is really right ask people to Battersea Rise to stay all night as it robs and impoverishes the next morning … in this way I love my time, and find indeed that less is done at Battersea Rise than elsewhere.”
So the competition is stiff, but really for boys who brunch not to mention wine and dine there’s nowhere quite like the restaurant Sinabro at 28 Battersea Rise. Welcome to Parisian Battersea. Francophile Marianne Faithfull’s song As Tears Go By plays softly in the background. In Paris do you drop the S? Does Moët have a hard of soft T? Do turbot and merlot rhyme? What about halibut and Malibu? But soon life’s perpetual worries and other first world concerns subside and fade away as lunch is served.
“We moved to Battersea three years ago,” relates Yoann who’s originally from Loir-et-Cher. “We fell in love at first sight with this area because of its urban and suburban mix. We didn’t so much choose Battersea Rise for our restaurant as it chose us. We’ve been looking for premises for four years in London and had several abortive cases. The pure Korean word ‘Sinabro’ resembles us. We work hard as ants or bees collecting their foods by instinct!” There are just 28 covers in the sparsely decorated restaurant: 12 at the bar overlooking the open kitchen, eight in a private space to the rear, and the remaining at two tables looking out the façade window onto Battersea Rise. “We have two, three and six course menus,” he confirms. “Eventually it would be good to keep only the six course tasting menu. Our customers say all of our ingredients in a dish have strong intense flavours yet are delicate.”
The two course lunch (£25.50) in October 2014 of liquid potato amuse bouche then Egg, Celeriac and Mushroom followed by Seabream, Cabbage and Mustard Sauce with Baby Gem Salad (£3.50) is modern French cuisine at its best. A two and a half course lunch soon stretches into three and a half with Fennel Bavarois, Strawberry and Lemon Sorbet for pudding (£6.90). The wine list is helpfully categorised. “Leafy and Savoury” includes Domaine Raymond Morin Saumur-Champigny 2010 Loire (£30). “Rich and Medium Bodied”, Weingut Von Winning 2012 Pfalz (£37). “Fruity and Supple”, Domaine La Ferme Saint-Martin Beaumes de Venise 2012 Rhone (£42). “Crisp and Mineral”, Château Carbitey 2010 Graves Bordeaux (£44). “Big and Bold”, Château Puy Mouton 2008 Saint-Emilion Grand Cru (£58).
“Frédéric Simonin in the 17th District is our favourite restaurant in Paris,” says Yoann. “We worked together for eight years! He is such a talented man.” His Parisian experience also included working at Michelin starred establishments Le Taillevent, Le Meurice and La Table de Joel Robuchon. Yoann met his wife and future business partner Sujin at Le Cordon Bleu, the leading cookery school in Paris. Yoann was formerly Sous Chef under Head Chef Hélène Darroze at The Connaught Hotel Mayfair.
We’ve eaten at Sinabro in the intervening years of course. There’s always the pull of a frequently changing menu. For example, in June 2016, our table for two had starters: Tomato Gazpacho (£8.00) and Egg Pasta (£9.50); mains Turbot (£11.00); and puddings Lemon Tart (£7.00). The menu varies but the standard remains ever high. In May 2020, Sinabro came to us. Opening times are now dinner Tuesday to Saturday.
À la carte dinner in August 2024 starts with a snack, Carmelised Micro Anchovies (£4.50). Starter is Beetroot Tart: goat’s cheese, onion compote, Granny Smith apple, hazelnut (£13.90). Main is Fish of the Day: cod, cavolo nero, cauliflower, mixed mushroom, orange reduction (£29.90). Pudding is Cherry: chocolate brownie, meringue, mascarpone, black cherry sorbet (£12.00). Sinabro is still modern French cuisine at its best. Sujin reveals, “We like to change the menu every few weeks.”
The wine list is more traditionally organised into “Sparkling”, “Champagne”, “White”, “Rosé”, “Red” and “Sweet”. Examples from each category in order include Crémant de Bourgogne Veuve Ambal (£59.00), Devaux Grande Réserve Pinot Noir (£82.00), Viognier Maison de la Paix 202 Pays d’Oc (£39.00), Cochon Volant Château de Caraguilhes 2019 Languedoc (£49.00), Pinot Noir Hautes Côtes de Beaune Domaine Cauvard 2018 Burgundy (£59.00) and Sauternes Château Simon 2018 Bordeaux. The Tasting Menu (£54.00) can be wine paired (£39.00). French singer Requin Chagrin’s hit Sémaphore plays softly in the background.
