Chalk Farm, French - Restaurant Guide

2022 Review: Just a few years after leaving London (and his two Pâtisserie des Rêves stores) behind, Philippe Conticini is back, with this huge new Camden Market patisserie, traditionally tiled and where much of the seating is outside on a large sunny days terrace. (There’s also a smaller, less characterful outlet now nearby (since November 2020) in Buck Street Market).

“Beautifully presented and great-tasting food” attracts a loyal crowd to this modern European brasserie, tucked away in a quirky site by the Regent’s Canal in beautiful Primrose Hill. “Michael Nadra is a very good chef – and unlike at many restaurants with a well-known chef who almost never sets foot in their own restaurant, he is actually there cooking the food”. Look out for the week-night specials if you’re price-conscious. Top Menu Tips – “crab and salmon ceviche starters are enjoyable; perfect duck and the beautifully presented sea bass, turkey and black cod tastes great; to finish, sticky toffee pudding, treacle tart and custard tart are all good”.

2022 Review: “It’s amazing how much fun you can have dining in a shipping container!!” – Irish chef Adrian Martin’s July 2020 newcomer may be thus housed in Camden Town’s new eco market on Buck Street, but – with its incongruously posh decor and £65 eight-course menu (£110 if you go for the wine matching) – it’s certainly not in the grungy, street food category (even if you do have to go outside to the loos in the market). As the name hints, the focus is on seasonality and foraged food, but early press reviews – while not writing the enterprise off – have given it a slightly bumpy ride. Some of our early reporters are much more upbeat, though, hailing “inspirational and outstanding cuisine” that its most ardent supporters would put “in the same class as Aulis and Story”.