Month: October 2004

The Castle: yet another pub review

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No decision as yet on the birthday issue.

This weekend the wife and I had some friends to stay. It was their first visit to London (or, indeed, the UK) and so we thought we’d let them see the whole city rather than just SE5, but we did get the chance to show a few places in Camberwell to them.

On Friday night they wanted to go out for a drink in a “traditional English pub”; rather than inflict that on them we went to The Grove. There was a ‘casino’ night on so the place was packed; you were given a handful of free ‘money’ when you ordered a round, which was yours to spend on the roulette table.

We arrived at about 9.30 and when we left an hour later the croupier had completely lost control of the table as a crowd of drunks (myself excepted, obviously; although I was happily on my way) threw plastic chips at him. It was good fun, but there was little chance of us coming away as winners, and we wanted to get a couple more drinks in so decided to go to The Castle (65 Camberwell Church Street, SE5 8TR), which has a license to 2am.

As a result of being the only decent pub with a late license (at least, I think so; Redstar and Cube are clubs, The Silver Buckle is a hole and I don’t know of any others) it was pretty crowded, although the crowd seemed pretty decent. The music was loud and I drank one more Guiness than was good for me, so I don’t remember any specifics apart from being handed a flower by a girl, to my wife’s obvious dismay.

Everything I’ve read about The Castle seems positive, and I enjoyed myself on Friday so I’d like to try it out again during a quieter time.

I went back to The Grove on Sunday to watch the Manchester Utd v Arsenal match. Wish I hadn’t bothered. Later that evening we took our friends to Safa for a goodbye meal. They were really impressed, and I’m not surprised; the food is uniformly excellent, the prices very reasonable and by moving away from the look of a ‘traditional’ Indian restaurant they’ve moved away from the beery crowd as well. Not that there’s anything wrong with a beery crowd per se, I just prefer them in a pub to a restaurant.

Birthday decisions

I need to decide where I’m going to have my birthday dinner/drinks (when did I stop having birthday parties?). It’s going to be for about 12 people so I can’t book a whole room, and it’s going to be on a Saturday night so I don’t want to be anywhere super-busy that will try to hurry us out. And it’s going to be the last weekend before Christmas, so it’s going to be a fucking nightmare.

My first thought was Blake House because they have the nice upstairs restaurant and bar, and it’s never been too busy before. My one drawback with the place is that the portions fall on the small side, and my friends (and I) love to eat.

I thought about The Grove as well, because of their great pizzas, but I don’t think they do table reservations and I’m not sure how willing they will be to close their snug bar on a Saturday night.

Much as I like the place’s casual atmosphere, The Vineyard isn’t the place for my birthday. However, Rock‑8 could be a good option as it has the seperate conservatory area and tapas is always a winner for groups of people. Perhaps a little too far from Camberwell centre, but right next to Denmark Hill station.

Of course I could go for Indian food at Safa, which could turn out to be a surprisingly popular option. Or I could try somewhere completely new and unexplored, but that’s a hell of a risk for a birthday meal. Especially my birthday meal.

I can definitely rule out: The Silver Buckle, 4 Sure We’re D Best, Jungle Cafe, Bolu Restaurant and a host of others beside. I may be getting older, but I’m not senile yet. And if you’re wondering why I haven’t written about the three places I named above, you obviously don’t know Camberwell.

Everything changes

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I noticed while I was walking today that the old Mary Datchelor School (which then became the Save The Children head office) and the Butterfly tennis courts between Grove Lane and Camberwell Grove have both been acquired by St George PLC. Looks like there’s going to be a big new development there, and judging by their website they deal in pretty high-end housing. I s Camberwell about to become super-chic?

I also saw that police are seeking volunteers to man the front desk of the police station with a view to partially re-opening it, not to station a full squad but to have a place to report crime. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of response the community gives to this.

Finally, Bee’s Auto Bits has closed down. I must get a shot of it’s sign (“You won’t get stung here!”) before it becomes another off licence or fried chicken shop.

Update: Photo of Bee’s Auto Bits added.

Finally, some pictures

Doctor's Surgery, Camberwell Green

While I was out this morning I took the opportunity to snap a few pictures. I want to try to take more in the near future, before the leaves fall off the trees and it pisses down with rain every day.

You can see larger versions of each picture by clicking on them; this is a view of the Doctor’s surgery on Camberwell Green, taken from the traffic island on Denmark Hill. A new bar has opened up next door.

Haircuts and fresh food

This morning I went to get my haircut at Cube (23 Camberwell Church Street, SE5 8TR). When I lived and worked in Camberwell before there was a hairdresser in the same location called Kut Klose, so the name ‘Cube’ is a big improvement. Don’t know if it’s got anything to do with the Cube Bar.

Anyway, like Kut Klose there is no appointment system in Cube. Turn up, wait, have a hair cut. Or, in my case, turn up and have a hair cut — no waiting. The guy who cut it was very efficient, no chit-chat (it’s too early for that) and did it just how I asked. £15 for a wash and cut, I was pretty satisfied.

After leaving there I went to Wing Tai, the Chinese supermarket on Denmark Hill. I think this is the same Wing Tai that had (or still has) a unit in the Aylesham Centre in Peckham. They sell loads of vegetables and ingredients and, more excitingly, fresh fish. I’m an absolute sucker for fish so I was salivating before I’d even put my order in. A thick cut of Salmon and a pound of big Prawns, for £7.60. Awesome value, and I can’t wait until the wife gets home so we can eat Camarão Alho e Oleo.

One thing Camberwell lacks is a butcher. I passed Kennedys Sausages a little further down the road, but they just had sausages and pies. They looked OK, but if I want meat I’ll have to go to Somerfield (or Peckham). Chalk one up to the supermarket giants.

On my way back I dropped in to Sophocles to buy some Ciabatta and the little greengrocers next door (I forget the name right now, but the owners are a couple of old Greek (or Cypriot) men who are always very friendly) to buy some vegetables. We’re going to eat super-well today.