Lemon tart to die for in Brixton

Braza's is a neighbourhood restaurant of the best kind. It doesn't look like much from the outside. Inside it is soothing - Ikea-style monotones, dark wood furniture, a few pictures on the wall. It's relaxed enough that on a July evening warm enough to melt butter, there were a few customers in shorts.

The menu is fairly short, but that means they can do everything well. Mains are piri piri chicken, pork ribs, burgers, a fish dish of the day, a frittata and a stuffed pasta. That's all: nothing fancy, but something for everyone.

I started with chargrilled halloumi, tomato and rocket bruschetta. Halloumi too often fails to show any character beyond salty rubberiness. I knew that a bit of heat is essential, but it turns out that the chargrill is its raison d'etre - the singed notes adding a savoury umami-tinge that the cheese needs. The tomato and the rocket were a refreshing contrast, and the bread itself was proper stuff, pleasingly substantial and chewy, doused in a liberal amount of olive oil.

The other half had chorizo with black honey and toasted bread. His bread had been cut a bit too thin, and toasted until any soul had departed, leaving only crispiness behind. The chorizo, though, was magnificent - a whole sausage, partly sliced and then also acquainted with the chargrill until it was bursting out of its skin. Black honey is new to me, but thanks to some in-depth Google research, it appears to be an unusual honey from south-east Asia, made by the world's biggest bees. A terrifying prospect, really, but on the plate it was just a dark brown honey, a pleasingly sweet counterpoint to the fatty, rich (though not very spicy) meat.

The fish of the day was an octopus salad, a quite substantial dish of sliced octopus, green beans, new potatoes and fennel. The fennel had been cooked until it was melting and mild, while the green beans still had their crunch. As for the octopus itself, it was slightly overcooked, leading to a hint of toughness, but it was a decent plate of food nonetheless.

Pumpkin and ricotta tortelloni with creamed spinach was another dish that showed that thoughtful pairing of ingredients is very much what Braza's is about. The pumpkin filling was sweet and slightly fruity, a great match with the green, vegetal, almost earthy notes of the spinach. It wasn't quite as imaginative as a dish from my previous visit, beetroot tortelloni served with wild mushrooms, but was still very good.

Desserts come from a local patisserie, with excellent results. The chocolate and raspberry tart didn't quite live up to my fantasies for it, but only because I would have preferred it a tiny bit richer. The lemon tart, on the other hand, was ridiculously good - thin, crisp pastry, a filling bittersweet as the tears of angels. I may have a soft spot for lemon tart, but it was as good a dessert as I have had this year.

Wines start from £14 a bottle (the house red, a Portuguese wine called Terras d'el Rei, was highly drinkable) and go up to £21. And like a smart neighbourhood restaurant, they have various special offers to entice you in during quieter parts of the week. Tuesday was free dessert night, and judging by the number of tables occupied, it seemed to be working.

Braza's

45 Tulse Hill
Brixton
SW2 2TJ
020 8678 0697