Where: Angels & Gypsies, Camberwell Church Street
With whom: Three of us, proper middle class mix, Teacher Boy and The Ginger Prince. We brayed outside over a cig and talked far too loudly...
How much?: a very reasonable £30 per head for 10 dishes and a couple of bottles of wine
With this, the Grand Union and the forthcoming Tiger pub, there seems to be a definite move to drag us up, steadily up in the world... "my, at this rate, we'll be in Dulwich soon!" *leaves*...
Without sounding like a complete nob, I have to admit to nearly boycotting this place after the first couple of attempts to book / turn up resulted in failure and total mixed messages from the rather too smug Front of House lady but gave it a chance on Monday night. It definitely needs to be booked... the reviews in Time Out and The Standard were positive (though the Standard was v patronising about the 'warzone' we live in, F' off back to Kensington please) and it's still packed, even on a Monday night.
Initial impressions were positive, nice fino by the glass and a very good value wine list (the house is a very acceptable Tempranillo at £13... well worth it). The Ginger Prince and I felt almost civilised until Teacher Boy turned up to lower the tone...
The selection covers all bases with some surprisingly inventive vegetarian options to balance out the meat. We started with the Iberico Ham, the Jamon Croquetas and an unusual tortilla with piquillo peppers and chorizo... oddly the Serrano was off, leading us to think that the 8 or 10 legs hanging from the walls must have been fakes... the Iberico was good, fatty and unctuous and the tortilla worked well with the additional ingredients, though the croquetas were a little too pureed for my liking. Great breadcrumb, light and fresh, but without those little shards of ham that just make a good croqueta. The bread deserves an honourable mention, good sourdough and The Ginger Prince particularly enjoyed the slightly old school oil and (sherry) balsamic combination
We then went on to a slightly less successful fish course. We all loved the Salt Cod bolinhos, the mashed fish coated in a light batter vanished in seconds but I was less impressed by the Romana style Calamari... The Ginger Prince and Teacher Boy professed more enjoyment, but they didn't exactly vanish. The batter was patchy and they were a little overcooked, but the kitchen was getting busy by now so maybe not surprising... they came with an orange alioli, this was maybe a little too subtle for me so didn't get the effect.. The pulpo was 'meh', nothing special, but not bad (bulked out with a base of slightly tasteless potato... odd move). Had it before, know what you're getting, move on...
Moved back to the meat for the final round, with the best dish we had coming first. The lamb cutlets, rubbed with rosemary and lavender, are stunning. Charred bone and beautifully moist and pink inside. only a couple of mouthfuls, but I will come back to A&G for these alone... Wonderful quality meat cooked perfectly. No two ways about it.
To finish we had a chorizo in cider with some gorgeous pickled peppers (lifted it from acceptable to good) and the pork belly. Served with a clever cox apple salad (nearer a 'slaw to be honest) and a plum jam, it looked good... a huge portion. Unfortunately the amount of meat we had was meagre, and good as the fat and crackling were, I was just a little bit disappointed...
We retired, to the Hermits and a remembrance of 'olde Camberwell'
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