The Camberwell Arms

Location: Camberwell, SE5 8TR
Cuisine: Seasonal British
Average price: £30
Website: www.thecamberwellarms.co.uk

Lead by Head Chef Michael Davies this gastro pub was warm and welcoming with friendly staff, clearly a popular lunchtime destination and indeed one of the few places in the local area where you can get well cooked, tasty comfort food.  Davies has previously worked at the Anchor & Hope in Waterloo and The Canton Arms in Lambeth, along with a few of the current staff, meaning our expectations were high. It is also worth noting that Davies is one of the co-founders of the increasingly popular Frank’s Cafe in Peckham, which has recently been gaining notoriety as the hottest rooftop bar in South-East London.

For starters we ordered the cuttlefish bruschetta as it was something we had not tried before. Despite it having been cooked and seasoned well, the texture of the fish itself left something to be desired. The bruschetta and surrounding flavours were all well balanced, and we has no doubt the dish would be particularly agreeable to those more accustomed to cuttlefish itself.

However, for the mains we chose the spatchcock roast chicken for two. This came with a healthy serving of roast potatoes and salad for both, and easily made up for the starter not entirely being to our tastes. The chicken itself had been soaked in brine for 24 hours before cooking, and this resulted in a beautifully succulent meat with a salty, almost smoky flavour to it. The chicken skin was delightfully crisp and could be enjoyed separately or as part of a complimentary mouthful of all the component parts. The roast potatoes were some of the best we’ve been served,  perfectly fluffy on the inside with a solid crunch to the exterior. The whole dish worked beautifully well, but despite the mustard mayonnaise sauce  accompanying it we both felt the dish could have been elevated to an even higher level but a deep, rich gravy.

In much the same way the starter and main satisfied our desire for delicious comfort food, the dessert then ticked the box in terms of presentation. We chose the homemade blackberry ice cream served on top of warm madeira cake. It came with candied orange zest, and the ingredients married together very harmoniously. It was the perfect compliment to the rich main, as the ice cream and zest cleared the palate in a very pleasing way.

The Camberwell Arms also has it’s own meat curing facilities, meaning that any cold meats included in starters or mains have been cured and treated on site, which adds another facet to this already highly acclaimed restaurant.

Overall we would recommend the experience to anyone looking for a high-quality Sunday roast. There were many other alluring options to chose from for the mains, including lamb cuts, slow-roasted beef joints and short braised ribs. Most of the choices come with an option to be served for two, three or even four people, making the Camberwell Arms a particularly inviting option for families looking to take the leg work out of a Sunday lunchtime. The only problem may well be trying to leave after the amount of delicious food consumed!