Bar D4100

Nunhead is certainly having its moment. While the area has retained its traditional hardware shops, fishmongers and old school bakeries, the central Nunhead Lane/Evelina Road that links Nunhead to Peckham Rye is emerging as the next “it” destination of South East London. Swarms of the uber-trendy Peckham elite can be found crowding around the big-hitters, be it while they grab an expensive coffee from Mosey by day or an alfresco aperitivo at El Vermút in the early evening – perhaps the perfect date spot, by the way – this small suburb is seemingly the place to be.

Few establishments embody Nunhead’s neighbourhood cool better than Bar D4100. From the Dinner For One Hundred team, Bar D4100 is owned by pizza legends and supper club orchestrators Jake Bucknall and Jacob Stuttard who have had a large part to play in reviving London’s supper club – and single – scene. Starting as two twenty-something mates who hosted people at their house for dinners, they have gone on to operate from three locations, appear on Masterchef The Professionals and have been celebrated in many a national publication. Bar D4100 is their best undertaking yet.

You feel like you are at your friend’s house, at an establishment that does not take itself too seriously

My friends and I decided to go for a pizza one Sunday evening, and this spot was at the top of our lists. The restaurant has a chilled out hipster design, with ‘BAR D4100′ written in large red letters on its façade. Two large windows by the front door allow light to flood into the space, and several tables and benches sit outside the main entrance for brave al fresco diners. As you walk inside, a vast pizza oven-come-bar area dominates the first section of the restaurant, and behind is a large dining room with an extra cocktail bar at the back. Instantly, there is a relaxed and romantic aura, mostly thanks to the abundance of wine bottle candles and the dominance of red in the interiors. Lighting is a little moody and upbeat tunes play, creating a beautifully inviting atmosphere for a laid-back Sunday evening affair.

The laminated, one-sided drinks menu is simple and effective, with some fun illustrations scattered throughout and little quips in the menu item descriptions. Importantly, drinks are shockingly affordable: there are £5 pints on tap and generous £4.95 Spritzes including a delicious D4100 lychee special. It is very tasty indeed. Standard cocktails are £7.50 across the board, and bottles of wine start at £26. The playful branding throughout the menus and the informality of the restaurant evoke a strong sense of fun: you feel like you are at your friend’s house, at an establishment that does not take itself too seriously.

The food is pizza, and the pizza is really very good. Featuring more endearing illustrations and even suggestions from ‘Le chef’ throughout, the food menu is equally as engaging as the drinks menu. Lunchtime Panuozzi are available every day until 5pm for those who prefer something a little lighter, but the main event is the pizza. I choose the Macgyver, which comes highly recommended, and eventually we all decide on exactly the same pizza; one of my friends subs the chorizo for artichoke, which works as a nice, salty vegetarian alternative. Tomato based and topped with basil, fior di latte, Spanish chorizo, hot honey, whipped feta and crushed fennel seeds, this is a flavour beast. The drizzled hot honey works beautifully to balance the rich toppings, which pull you in their respective meaty and cheesy salty directions with every bite. The flavour of fennel adds depth, while the fior di latte sings with a delicate freshness, softening the other components. The pizza base is very thin yet holds well, and the leopard-crusts are chewy and well seasoned. We accompany our pizzas with a lemon and rosemary aioli, which I would advocate as a must-have. The pizzas fly off our plates almost as soon as they arrive, evoking unanimous nods and positive noises from our party.

To our surprise, this is the first Sunday they are trialling a new live jazz band, which will be a weekly fixture moving forward. We catch the beginnings of their set, which only serves to boost the overwhelmingly happy and positive mood of the place. We take our time sipping on our second Spritzes of the evening as the restaurant fills with hustle and bustle. This is a fantastic destination for a relaxed catch up with friends, and would most definitely provide the right setting for an ideal date.

Our fellow diners include older couples and families with young children, so Bar D4100 is by no means limited to the young and hipster crowd that it seems designed for. With its open and inviting atmosphere, affordable drinks and top-tier pizza, I know for certain that this will be the first of many visits to Bar D4100 – it might even be my new favourite local.

143 Evelina Road
London
SE15 3HB

May 2024

by Vicky Morrison