The Camberwell Arms review

The latest addition to Camberwell’s growing gastro scene, The Camberwell Arms, has finally opened, so I went there last night for dinner and to see what all the positive buzz is about.

There have been some pretty big interior changes since its days as The Recreation Ground; the bar has moved to the left as you enter, and the site of the original bar is now an open kitchen and dining bar. It gives the place more atmosphere and makes it much more inviting to spend time in — both bars were pretty busy when we went in at about 7.30pm. At the rear is a dining area, which was quieter and we got a (shared) table with no difficulty — which was good, as they don’t take reservations.

The menu was fairly small (for mains, at least) but interesting, and there were a few shareable plates on as specials. I ordered slow-cooked goat, the Mrs. had pork belly, and we shared a charcuterie plate. The food was very good, certainly worth going back for, although I’m not sure it’s quite in ‘destination’ territory; I’d say we’ve eaten as well in The Bear, and perhaps slightly better in The Crooked Well and Angels & Gypsies. But it was really good, and I’m still very keen to try some of their dishes for two.

Two courses and a bottle of wine came to about £70; each main is in the £15 region. Not bad for the quality we had, but over the amount we’d comfortably spend for a quick after-work dinner. Your mileage may vary, of course.

Anyway, in summary: The Camberwell Arms is well planned, has great atmosphere, and the food is really good. A very positive start to life in SE5, and I’m really keen to see where they go from here.

Take the 148 Boris Bus to Camberwell

Just a quick update to relay the exciting news that from this Saturday, 15 February 2014, the 148 Camberwell to White City bus route will be operated by New Routemasters aka ‘Boris buses’. This is the first bus route in South London which will feature the new bus.

The 148 of course is used by many media types as it travels to the BBC — Today Programme presenter and Camberwell resident Justin Webb is a regular user of the service.

Two cheers for the new bus
However as with so many things in Camberwell it seems we go two steps forward, one step back as the Routemasters on this route, according to the SE1 website, will not be operating with an open platform at the back and will not have a conductor on board. This removes one of the main advantages of the new buses for which we as London tax payers are paying a premium.

TfL 148 bus information

Still Alive, Still Hungry

Two months since the last post, for which I must apologise. The problem is twofold:

  1. I’m very busy.
  2. There doesn’t seem to be much happening.

But we do have some actual news now: the Camberwell Arms (formerly The Recreation Ground, formerly The Castle, etc) opened yesterday, to a wave of critical acclaim (on Twitter). Haven’t had the opportunity to get there myself yet, just passed it in a taxi yesterday evening. Looking forward to good food and wine, though. Update: only a trial run on Sunday. Will open ‘hopefully next week’.

Also, if rumour is to be believed it seems that Peter Johansson, owner of his namesake cafe, is suffering from poor health and has decided to sell up. The same rumour-monger indicates that the new owner is ‘Turkish or Lebanese’.

Falafel haven’t closed, they were just redecorating. Looks lovely.

As we move into the eleventh calendar year of this blog (started in 2004) I’m still (always) looking for contributors to pick up my considerable slack. Do please leave a comment or email peter@​camberwellonline.​co.​uk. Much appreciated.

Update: Forgot to mention that the hairdresser, Headnism II, has been sold. The new owner apparently plans to keep on the same staff, so not sure much will change (at least in the short term). You ask me, they should take a leaf out of the book of the black-owned barbers and salons and open until later; kind of ridiculous to have a mostly-empty salon during the week then not be able to get an appointment on Saturdays. I’d love more flexibility of hours to get a haircut.