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| Café society at its finest |
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Waitresses Ewelina Wasiewicz, 23, from Poland and Greek
Vassiliki Vrioni, 25, at Café Corfu
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WELL-placed in the middle of Pratt Street in Camden, the heart
of Greek restaurants in the area, Café Corfu shares the street
between Camden High Street and Bayham Street with Sam’s Taverna.
Sam’s is truly reminiscent of the rustic restaurants in Athens.
It sits 16 towards the back past the bar and charcoal grill where
regulars meet for a drink and where most of the traditional Greek
dishes are cooked.
Café Corfu describes itself as serving modern Greek food.
And indeed they do as there are dishes not readily available at
other Greek restaurants.
For example: Filafi tou voskou, wild mushroom ragout, pan-seared
aubergine strips, chickpea rice pilafi and sun-dried tomatoes £8.95;
Pastitsada, organic wild boar tenders in a tomato and red wine sauce
served with sautéed spinach and ‘smashed’ potatoes
– wedges instead of puree £12.50.
The restaurant is well designed, with cosy areas and a large bar,
where patrons can gather for a drink before going to their table.
An ideal place for large parties but the twos and fours were not
left feeling isolated as they are mainly sat in the front with generous
space between tables.
We ordered conservatively: Psarokeftedes — salmon fishcakes
with chive saltsa (£4.75), and Pikilia – a sampler of
taramosalata, hummus, tzatziki and tirokafteri with grilled pitta
bread (£4.95).
Excellent quality and it is a very good idea to be able to order
a sampler which allows you to taste different dishes.
To follow we had Garides; tiger prawns sautéed in garlic
and Santorini white wine, warm radicchio salad and smoky aubergine
puree (£11.75) and Arni youvetsi; slow-roasted lamb shank,
cinnamon-tomato broth, Kritharaki pasta pebbles and grated Kefalotiri
cheese (£12.25). Both delicious with excellent presentation.
The Bougatsa Corfu-style – caramelised semolina custard and
warm ouzo-scented pastry served in an antique Greek coffee pot (£4.50)
and the Lemonopita – the preserved lemon cheesecake with raspberry
saltsa (£3.95) were the right choice of dessert for us.
We enjoyed the Boutari Santorini (£16.50) which attracted
our attention and lived up to its description of “crisp and
lively from 300-year-old island vines grown in volcanic soil”.
Our bill came to £61.14 which included a 12.5 per cent service
charge and the credit card receipt had been closed.
Our waiter Max had been so attentive that of course we topped up
with some cash for the ‘pour boire’ as the French call
it (somehow it sounds better than ‘tip’).
Weekends are party time at Café Corfu. On Friday and Saturday
nights there is a show at 9.30pm of Tsifteteli Greek belly-dancing.
A DJ follows for those energetic guests wanting to dance the night
away. On Sunday nights they have a live Greek Rembetika bouzouki
band at 8pm.
Café Corfu
7/9 Pratt Street NW1
020 7267 8088
info@cafecorfu.com |
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