in short: Buster Mantis produce roast dinners with a Jamaican touch. The generous portions, extra trimmings and wine selection make this the best South East London feast to focus your Sunday plans around
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The Food

Inspired by the owner’s childhood in small Jamaican town, Mandeville

Buster Mantis’ menu is created by the owner’s mum (a very good cook). They started serving Sunday roasts back in October 2020 - naturally combining their love for BBQ and Sunday roasts - and following its success began delivering locally earlier this year.

We tried the finish-at-home roast – everything just needs 15 minutes in the oven when you’re ready to eat. We ordered the vegan option of jerk cauliflower with callaloo and the half roast chicken with onion & thyme stuffing. Both options came with crispy (very crispy) roast potatoes, a respectable portion of vegetables and rice and peas. The meat options come with Yorkshires and gravy, but you can order all the trimmings as sides if you wanted to add some non-vegan extras to your vegan main. We ordered the mac & cheese too, which went very well with the natural wine.

The portions were generous for a sensible price – you expect to eat until you can’t move when you eat a Sunday roast at home, which is exactly what we did. This felt like a genuinely well-thought-out way to enjoy restaurant food at home; every element tasted incredible; we had that giddy ‘I’ve found a great new place to eat’ feeling. We’ve only just moved to the area, so it’s the first time we tasted Buster Mantis food, but we can’t wait to visit IRL.

At-home roasts are currently on hold now that London has opened up again; but you can book a table on Sundays to enjoy the same feast (where you won't have to worry about heating the roast yourself).

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Who?

Bridging a gap between ‘old’ and ‘new’ Deptford, the bar / restaurant & adjoining creative space has a different feel to some of Deptford’s high street eateries, but this is still a space created for locals by locals.

They have an outdoor space and have reopened following the relaxing of lockdown rules. Expect to find jerk chicken, jackfruit, curries and burgers on the eat-in menu, alongside cocktails influenced by Mandeville – the owners have spent the last 60 years between Deptford and Jamaica.

The guys behind Buster Mantis have opened two more Deptford bars with good beers, cocktails and small plates too: The Watergate and Stockton.

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Where?

Deptford

Head down Resolution Way to find the bar / restaurant - outdoor and indoor seating is available! Their roasts are currently available for collection, but will be ready for delivery too from mid-May.

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