The Camberwell Arms

Enjoyed my birthday dinner here and had a lovely time. The scotch bonnet pork fat on toast was so good, I just wish I could’ve had 10 of them. The broccoli “cacio e Pepe” with toasted buckwheat was good and did remind me of eating a cream pasta. The sauce was great to eat with bread too! The fish, which I now can’t remember what it was, was so delicate, zesty and delicious. The mash was creamy and smooth and the combination of everything on the plate was perfect. They kindly gave me a birthday surprise of rhubarb spritz sorbet ice cream

It's taken us a while to get a Sunday booking here, but after our recent meal I can see why they're so popular! We really enjoyed their refreshingly original take on a Sunday roast that still celebrates the flavours and ingredients of the season. We were particularly impressed at the portion of the main meats, which although pricey, provided very good value for money. I was very grateful that the staff were knowledgeable and confident on gluten free options - our waitress quickly brought over a menu marked up with hand written notes on what was safe and what could be accommodated. We were so full from the meal that we opted to share the peanut parfait for dessert, but it was so moreish we found ourselves wishing we had ordered two. Really looking forward to coming back again soon to this cozy and inviting pub.

This a double review. One for the restaurant in general, which is reliably one of the best restaurants south of the river. The menu is always innovative and fresh but with classic cuisine at it’s heart. The staples that are always there like beer onions on toast, their incredible focaccia and their legendary Sunday roasts are always a 10/10. The second half of the review is for Camberwell Arms’ catering of our wedding reception. Throughout the engagement Matilde was very easy to contact and thorough with the process of helping us select the menu and plan the day. After much back and forth customising the menu, at our tasting we were made to feel right at home and finished off with a further session with the chef to add any other bespoke elements to the dishes that had been prepared. This included a last minute request for a spare rib based canapé which was fulfilled and was the star of the pre dinner reception! The food for 75 people which included their famous porchetta and a show stopping Paris Brest was served on the day with no hiccups whatsoever. The night was finished with their sfincione which was also a hit and was completely hoovered up by the guests. I can’t recommend Camberwell arms highly enough - whether it’s for a wedding, an evening dinner with friends or a Sunday roast.

I’m confused by all the good reviews and highly disappointed by the roast we had last Sunday. My friends and I arrived and were standing around for about 10 minutes without being greeted and without acknowledgment. We then told an employee we had a booking which took staff a while to figure out where we were sat. The decor is bleak and service slow. Waiting staff seemed confused, forgetting parts of our orders and brining the wrong cutlery or missing cutlery like steak knives for our meal. The food was cold, and I assume would’ve tasted better if hot but still seemed quite flavourless. My friends and I are all disappointing to have paid for the meal even though we had asked for the service charge to be taken off it still felt like daylight robbery. Would not recommend or go back for even just a pint tbh. Broccoli was basically just a thick stalk with tiny florets on it. Bloody Mary was super average. It’s a shame because we heard good things about this roast and were all so excited for it…