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From the same minds who brought you Ducksoup in Soho and Little Duck The Picklery in Dalston comes a new venture with its sights set on France. Camille is unassuming at first, with classic French dishes using local British produce (you’re in Borough Market, after all), lots of wine and a packed chalkboard of daily specials.
But once you’re a course or two in, windows steamy with condensation and a few glasses deep – perhaps fighting the temptation to run your finger over those last drops of sauce – you might as well be on a backstreet of Montmartre as opposed to Southwark. The interiors are rustic, but not gaudy; bottles are displayed on the walls, candles dot the tables and the whole place hums with a just-loud-enough bustle.
And the food? It delivers. We started with oysters and rhubarb (very fresh), before the smaller starter plates arrived: zesty shredded crab toast with garlic and bisque and gorgeously tender pig’s head schnitzel with a crunchy, bitter puntarelle salad.
You might as well be on a backstreet of Montmartre as opposed to Southwark
A highlight was the Jerusalem artichoke with serious bite, all disguised in a joyous, fluffy cloud of Lincolnshire poacher cheese. When it comes to mains, prepare yourself for some serious meat damage. The langoustine cassoulet – a stew of flesh in a deep, rich trad sauce – was topped with two delicate but disappointingly slim pink morsels. The pork special was on the dryer side, but saved by a swimming pool of velvety shallot and wine goodness. All of this was predictably heavy, but we were glad to have enough room for the star of the show: two crisp cubes of perfectly assembled potato pavé layers, topped with a dollop of tangy mayo and chives. Heaven.
Considering the cracking quality of the cooking and where you are on the map, all of this is on offer for a pretty reasonable price-tag. The wine list is where you’ll add damage, but the bottles on offer – we went for a well-calculated recommendation of four grape orange – is good-looking enough to splurge. We left on a sugar high of chewy meringue with sharp Yorkshire rhubarb, before venturing out into the much less romantic hubble of city workers and tourists: full, tipsy and dreaming for Paris.
The vibe Candle-lit tables and a more casual bar looking out over the market: somewhere you’d bring a third date to seal the deal (note: not guaranteed).
The food Modern, French fancy affair. One for the serious carnivores.
The drink Small independent wine-makers specialising in French – across red, white, sparkling and orange.
Time Out tip Always get your waiter to talk through the specials: you’re not going to want to miss anything.