CODE Neighbourhoods: Mark Gurney’s Peckham
Published 10 July 2026
“Levan is a love letter to Paris”, says Mark Gurney, co-founder, with Matt Bushnell, of Levan in 2018. The restaurant’s name is a tribute to Larry Levan, the pioneering New York DJ. All of which is to say that Levan and its next-door bar, Bar Levan, are deeply personal creations, born of their founders’ obsessions with – in no particular order – music, Paris, and the wines of Jura (the restaurant has one of the biggest collections of Jura wines in the UK).
Such singular visions thrive in a place like Peckham. “Peckham’s a great community to be part of,” says Gurney. “We’ve been here for eight years now. It’s a real melting pot of different people from different backgrounds. You really feel that quite acutely and not just the people walking past [the restaurant] but the people coming in. We have people coming in to the restaurant for birthdays, anniversaries, special occasions. We also have the kids post university at Camberwell College of Arts and Goldsmiths coming to the bar, enjoying themselves on that level. And we have everyone else in between. A mixture of affluent and less affluent all coming together on this axis of Peckham. It adds a real vibrancy to the area.” The high street, asserts Gurney, is one of the most independent in London; if you prefer to avoid the chains, you can do so in SE15.
Whether you’re local or just visiting, there’s plenty to discover. Read on for Gurney’s guide to SE15 from iconic clubs to pound stores and street food stalls.
CODE OFFER: 50% off food at Levan from Tuesday to Friday, from 12pm to 3pm, and 30% off food at Levan from Tuesday to Thursday, from 6pm to 10pm (at Bar Levan from 5.30pm to 10pm).
Levan, 12-16 Blenheim Grove, London, SE15 4QL, levanlondon.co.uk
Bar Levan, barlevan.co.uk
Where to Eat
Bara Café
A female-owned café named after the Welsh word for ‘bread’. Best known for its bara brith, Caerphilly cheesesteak, and extra thick Welsh honey butter pancakes.
CODE OFFER: 25% off total bill
44-46 Choumert Road, Peckham, SE15 4SE, baracafe.com
Rye Lane Bagels
Move over Brick Lane. Abhinav ‘Abhi’ Saxena’s Peckham bagel shop opens until 4am on Fridays and Saturdays.
100 Rye Lane, London, SE15 4RZ, ryelanebagels.com
Tianjin Dumpling
Freshly steamed xiao long bao soup dumplings and pan-fried bao in Peckham market.
Aylesham Centre, Market Place, SE15 5EW, @tianjindumpling
Janda Diner
Creative Malaysian food with a South London edge by Cordon Bleu-trained chef Ady Jacob. Don’t miss the milk-fried chicken with white pepper and pickled beetroot.
191 Rye Lane, London, SE15 4TP, jandadiner.com
Where to Drink
Montpelier
One of Peckham’s best loved Victorian pubs, located on a residential street close to Peckham Rye Station. Come for cask ales, special events, and Sunday roasts.
43 Choumert Road, London, SE15 4AR, themontpelier.net
Frank’s Café
A Peckham icon on the roof at Bold Tendencies. “Unbeatable – the best view in London, hands down.”
7th-10th Floor Multi Storey Car Park, 95A Rye Lane, London SE15 4ST, @frankspeckham
Rons Coffee House
A vegan café, open from dawn to dusk. Music, DJs, espresso martinis.
Holdrons Arcade, 135a Rye Lane, SE15 4ST, ronspeckham.com
Elsewhere Coffee
Elsewhere Coffee’s Peckham location is at Daydreamer, underneath Forza at Cornerhouse.
133 Rye Lane, London, SE15 4BQ, elsewherecoffee.com
Where to Shop
Khan’s Bargains
“Khan’s has got everything you may ever need in your life. It’s like a tardis. We use it a lot for the restaurant and nip in whenever we need something.”
135 Rye Lane, London, SE15 4ST, khans_bargain_ltd
Peckham Soul
More than 10,000 titles across two floors.
Copeland Park, London, SE15 4ST, peckhamsoul.com
Things to Do
Peckham Rye
Together, Peckham Rye Park and Peckham Rye Common make up 113 acres of open recreational grassland with ornamental and water gardens, a lake and woodland.
Straker’s Road, London, SE15 3UA, peckhamryepark.org
Hannah Barry Gallery
A contemporary art gallery, founded in 2007. Founder Hannah Barry is behind Bold Tendencies, a not-for-profit organisation supporting emerging and established international artists.
4 Holly Grove, London, SE15 5DF, hannahbarry.com
Peckhamplex
One of London’s best value cinemas. Movie-lovers cross the river for it.
95a Rye Lane, London, SE15 4ST, peckhamplex.london
Peckham Palais
One of Peckham’s best known nightlife venues, which reopened in 2026, after a decade’s closure. “It’s a cool club, doing really good music, with an amazing sound system.”
1a Rye Lane, London, SE15 5EW, palais.co.uk
CODE members get up to 50% off food at Levan from Tuesday to Friday, and 30% off food at Bar Levan from Tuesday to Thursday.
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