Any recommendation for cheap and cheerful eats in or around Brixton?

Plenty!

Asmara, on Coldharbour Lane, for Eritrean food.
Fujiyama, on Vining Street (off Coldharbour Lane) for Japanese ramen-type stuff.
MoCa, upstairs at Dogstar, on Coldharbour Lane, for Caribbean food.
Neon, on Atlantic Road, does a mean pizza (and other Sicilian stuff), assuming it's still going.

Otherwise, wander up to South Lambeth Road for some excellent Portuguese tapas.

If you fancy something less restauranty, the Duke of Edinburgh, on Ferndale Road, has a wonderful beer garden (although sadly you can no longer wave at passing Eurostars), which seems to have a permanent barbecue on in the summer.

My only disclaimer is that I left the area a few years ago, and things move rather fast in this part of London...

I second the recommendation of Fujiyama.

Also, for pizza, try Eco on Electric market.

I went for dinner at a newly opened family run Italian restaurant on the Stockwell Road yesterday and I was really impressed. It's a small establishment and prices are very cheap for the generous portion sizes. My pasta with clams in a tomato and basil sauce was around �5. The pasta was perfectly cooked and delicious. My brother had the deep-fried cod and chips, which was nice too. Most of the pasta dishes are priced around �5-�6. If you want cheap and cheerful then this place won't disappoint. Even the drinks are good value.

A Bite in Heaven, 73 Stockwell Road SW9.

There is always Nandos opposite the O2 Academy (formerly known as the Brixton Academy).

Nandos = food of the gods.

Franco Manca's (the erstwhile Eco) in the market is excellent if not quite as good as the foodie love in would have you believe.

I would like to ^ this statement again and again and again.

It's one of the few chains I don't mind eating in new cities or when I'm away from home. Hence why I've had it in Cambridge, Kettering, London, York....

If it's anything like Eco in Clapham, it'll have disappeared up its own fundament years ago.

If you want the old-style Eco pizzas, take a short walk to Alba, opposite Clapham North Tube, opened by the disgruntled former chef.

OT but there's an Oporto's that just opened at near Victoria Station according to this thread.

IMHO if you want great Portuguese Chicken you can't beat Oporto's, I remember as a kid going up to the original Oporto's in Bondi when they were still just one shop, and getting a "Long Bondi", the Bondi Burger is still great!

Thanks for all the suggestions.

I'll be with someone from Vancouver, so Asmara sounds like a good bet in terms of something different. If that does not work, we'll probably make our way towards Stockwell for a Portuguese feast . Any particular favourite among the various portuguese places in the area?

Incidentally, from I can gather, it would seem that MoCa is no longer.

As long as you don't want to drink. The wine list is pathetic, and the staff don't know anything about the few wines on offer. It is meant to be a PORTUGUESE restaurant for eff's sake!

Actually, the chicken is alright, but I've had much better. However, I will concede that they make a great chicken liver dish...

How did I know you would disagree?

have you ever tried the wines at a Nando's?

Nope. I did have a beer there once. I think it was a Peroni.

Note I said "food of the gods." If I had been plugging their wines, I would have said "drink of the gods."

Honestly, I don't go to Nando's for their wines. I figure that any place that sells a �5 chicken pita probably won't have a sommelier. I don't expect their wines to be good and I don't really let it bother me.

If you go to Nando's for wine, you're bound to be disappointed. But if you're going for the food, you're getting delicious food and great value for money.